Why Novak Djokovic is the man to beat at this year’s French Open

Without a shadow of a doubt, Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player on the planet right now and the Serbian will take some beating at next month’s French Open. The world number one is yet to win the title at Roland Garros, which is the only clay-based Grand Slam of the year.

And despite his poor record at the event, Djokovic will fancy his chances of bouncing back from last year’s final defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka and going one better this year. As of April 21st, the Serbian is priced at 4/5 in Coral’s French Open bet markets and plenty of punters will be backing Djokovic to win the 12th Grand Slam title of his already illustrious career.

However, it won’t be easy. Andy Murray could give Djokovic plenty of problems, especially if he continues his 2015 clay form. While Murray crashed out of the French Open to Djokovic at the semi-final stage last year, he remains a potent threat and could benefit from additional time off the courts during the spring months following the birth of his first child.

Having said that, Rafael Nadal is also showing signs of a revival and the Spaniard could win an incredible 10th French Open title this summer if he plays at his very best. Nadal has struggled for consistency in recent years but he showed plenty of resilience to win the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month – it would be foolish to write him off.

If you want to bet on the French Open this year, you can currently get 10/1 on Nadal defying the odds to claim yet another Grand Slam success. And while this would be the fairytale result for those tennis romantics, it’s hard to see Djokovic passing up another opportunity as he looks to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.

Ultimately, the French Open is now one of the hardest major tournaments to predict and any one of Murray, Nadal or Wawrinka are capable of lifting the title. However, Djokovic will have the bit between his teeth and it would take a brave man to back against the world number one – especially as he’s so close to securing legendary status in the tennis world.