French Open men’s quarter-finals: Djokovic battles Berdych, Thiem tackles Goffin
Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | June 1, 2016
2016 French Open
- Men’s Singles Quarter-finals
- Thursday, June 2nd
- Matches scheduled: From 12:00 BST
- Roland Garros, Paris
- Live on ITV4 and Eurosport
Novak Djokovic v Tomas Berdych
ATP world number one Novak Djokovic faces familiar foe and top seed Tomas Berdych in the French Open quarter-finals and, despite a dominant head-to-head record of 23-2, one of the Serbian racket star’s rare defeats to his Czech opponent came on clay.
That was at the Rome Masters (a tournament of many names) three years ago, however, and deadly Djokovic has recorded 10 consecutive victories against Berdych since. It should come as no surprise for punters to learn, then, that Djokovic starts as an overhwleming odds-on 1/14 match favourite and 4/9 to end his wait for a career Grand Slam.
Dropping just a single set at Roland Garros so far, Djokovic has historically found Berdych battles fairly straightforward, so that price can be enhanced to a better 8/13 for a 3-0 straight sets result in favour of the Serb.
Making any sort of case for considerable 7/1 match outsider Berdych is difficult, though he did take a set off Djokovic in their last clay court encounter. There is more appeal about the 11/4 on offer for Djokovic winning this French Open fixture in four sets.
Dominic Thiem v David Goffin
Although Austria’s rising star Dominic Thiem lost in four sets to David Goffin of Belgium during the last 16 at the Australian Open, they meet at Roland Garros in the clay court Grand Slam a round further.
Just one place in the men’s seedings separated these two in the draw, yet Goffin is a 5/4 outsider to repeat his Melbourne win at the French Open, and 9/2 for another 3-1 victory.
The withdrawal of Rafael Nadal left Thiem’s route to the quarter-finals in Paris as a clear path, so he starts as odds-on 8/13 match favourite for his latest Goffin game.
Clay courts seem to suit both these talented players who will soon enter their prime, and that is reflected bu the fact thaeir head-to-head history reads one win apiece on this surface.
If Thiem is to take Goffin down, then a reverse of the Aussie Open result looks likely, because the Austrian ace has won all but one of his Roland Garros matches in four sets. Another 3-1 victory for Thiem is a terrific 3/1 chance in what is a tight contest to call.
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Coral’s top tip: A 3-1 Djokovic defeat of Berdych is an awesome 11/4 price, if the Czech can produce his best tennis and give the world number one something to think about.
