Think outside box to make French Open money on Nadal and Djokovic

Given that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are 1/9 and 1/20 respectively to win their French Open quarter finals, a JCB is needed to dig up some better value at Roland Garros.

We were correct in our selections in the first batch of quarter finals involving Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer and have another pair of bets here that combine to make a 13/5 double.

Novak Djokovic to serve more aces than Tommy Haas @ 1/1

There are a few players in men’s tennis that are really difficult to gage for punters as the levels of their performance can differ from game to game.

Tommy Haas warrants a place on such a list and he would have a big chance here if emulating the performance that saw him upset Djokovic on the hard courts of Miami earlier this year.

The fact that the world number one looked below his best in the last round when beating Philipp Kohlscreiber in four sets is another reason that this match is hard to call.

If Djokovic finds his A game and Haas struggles in the manner that saw him beaten by Richard Berankis on the clay of Houston earlier this season, this could be over quickly in straight sets.

But should both reproduce the type of performance from their respective fourth round clashes, this may go the distance.

Therefore, it may pay to focus on serve markets for this showdown, with Djokovic overpriced to send down the most aces.

Granted, Djokovic has only managed 10 aces in Paris so far in his 13 sets, compared to 34 in 14 sets from Haas, but the Serb is a far better returner than the opposition that Haas has faced so far.

Furthermore, Djokovic has won the aces battle in his last three encounters with the German.

Rafael Nadal v Stanislas Wawrinka: Over 9.5 games in 1st set @ 5/6

Wawrinka’s head-to-head record with Nadal makes grim reading as he has not even managed to win a set in any of their nine career meetings and he has the added pressure here of being the last remaining Swiss player alive in a Grand Slam for the first time.

However, with Nadal not seemingly firing on all cylinders at Roland Garros and Wawrinka enjoying a decent spell of form, there is the possibility that the Swiss could at least win a set for the first time at 6/4.

The safer option could well be opting for a tight opening set.

Of the previous nine meetings, seven have witnessed a first set of at least 10 games, while perhaps more importantly, all four of Nadal’s contests at the French Open this year so far have also crossed this line.

Another slow start is more than plausible here as the seven-time winner formulates a gamepan to dissect Wawrinka.

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