Simona Halep hasn’t been playing consistently well since notching her first Grand Slam win last year at Roland Garros. Will she be able to find her form in time to defend her French Open title or will someone step in to fill those clay encrusted tennis shoes? Read on for a look at the preliminary favorites, sleepers, and the long shot for the 2019 French Open Women’s singles.
Early Betting Preview for the ATP 2019 French Open Tennis Tournament Women’s Singles Division
Favorites: Simona Halep (+375) / Serena Williams (+650)
Halep’s sweetest moment as a pro to date happened at the French Open last year. That was when she took home an elusive Grand Slam title, getting his first by beating Sloane Stephens in the finals at Roland Garros. Halep, however, is seemingly taking a long time to recover from a Grand Slam title hangover. Since his win at the 20198 French Open, Halep has crashed out in third at Wimbledon, first round at the US Open, and fourth round at the Australian Open. Halep has yet to win a title this year, and his latest attempt was foiled by Kiki Bertens at the finals of the 2019 Madrid Open. She reportedly was battling a could entering the tournament, but she should have recovered from that by the time the 2019 French Open rolls around.
Serena Williams is no longer on top of his game. Her prime is way behind her. But here’s the thing: she still is Serena Williams. At 37 years old, Williams can still give opponents big headaches and rattle their nerves simply because of her status as one of the immortals of the game. Williams have looked human of late after withdrawing from the Miami Open last March due to a knee issue, and a lot will be known about her form when she makes a return to action at the Rome Masters this month – the last preparatory tournament before the second Grand Slam even of the year. Williams has three French Open titles, the last coming during the 2015 edition of the tournament.
Sleepers: Kiki Bertens (+1400) / Madison Keys (+1200)
Kiki Bertens has been a bad woman this month. She was a wrecking machine at the recently concluded 2019 Madrid Open, where she destroyed everyone who crossed her path, as she became the first woman to win the tournament without dropping a single set. She defeated Sloane Stephens in the semifinals before taking down Simona Halep in the finals. Bertens, ranked seventh in the world, reached the semifinals of the 2016 French Open. She hasn’t gone deeper than the third round at Ronald Garros in any of the next two years.
As for Madison Keys, the American grabbed people’s attention with a win at the 2019 Volvo Car Open in Charleston for his first title of the year. That’s a win on a clay court, too, so it speaks a lot about Keys chances of doing well at Roland Garros. Last year, Keys made the French Open semifinals. As of this writing, Keys is 5-2 on clay court matches.
Long Shot: Maria Sharapova (+2500)
Off the tour last year, and without a tournament title win in 2019, Sharapova is indeed a long shot. But she has two French Open championships under her belt so cannot be counted out. After all, anything can happen on clay. Maria hasn’t played much this year, appearing in just three tournaments given a nagging shoulder injury and we last saw her in action back at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy tournament in Russia back in January. Sharapova’s participation is still in question for the 2019 French Open, but new reports have her feeling better and ready to try to win her third French Open title.
Writer’s Prediction
Kiki Bertens shocks the field and wins the 2019 French Open.
