Djokovic poised to wrestle French Open crown from Nadal

The winner of the Monte Carlo Masters has gone on to claim the French Open title in six of the last seven years making Novak Djokivic great value at 6/4.

Of course, this trend is solely down to the dominance of Rafael Nadal, who has won the Roland Garros showpiece six times since 2006, but Djokovic looks set to keep the run going after ending the Spaniard’s incredible spell at Monte Carlo.

Nadal had previously won eight successive titles in Roquebrune–Cap-Martin – reeling off 46 wins in that time – and led Djokovic 13-2 in the head-to-head on clay going into the final.

However, after taking the match in straight sets, despite a niggling ankle injury, Djokovic has given himself a huge psychoogial boost in his attempts to win the only Slam that has eluded him thus far.

Djokovic will now take two weeks off to rest the ankle, before using the Madrid Masters – a tournament he won in 2011 after beating Nadal –  to step up his preperations for Paris.

Nadal may have had the measure of his Serbian rival on clay for the majority of thier clashes, but Djokovic’s Monte Carlo win could mean the start of a power shift that could see the 25-year-old dominate on the surface for years to come.

Of course, Nadal, who was also below full fitness for Monte Carlo, will not relinquish his French crown without a fight and despite losing his Masters title, Ladbrokes make the Pearl of Manacor the 10/11 favourite to win this year.

Elsewhere, Andy Murray has drifted to 14/1 after crashing out in the third round of the Monte Carlo event against Stanislas Wawrinka.

Murray has yet to reach a final at Roland Garros, so those looking to back a big money selection could be tempted by the 16/1 being offered on Roger Federer.

Absent from Monte Carlo though he was, Federer has played in five of the last seven French Open finals and with a 76.10 per cent win rate on clay FedEx should not be discounted as a contender.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.