French Open fourth round: Home hopes face Swiss stars in bottom half

Roland Garros will be treated to a repeat of one of lat term’s Davis Cup final clashes in this year’s French Open men’s singles fourth round fixtures, as Gael Monfils looks to upset all-time Grand Slam great Roger Federer again.

While clay is not the Switzerland sporting star’s strongest surface, Federer has won this title before back in 2009, so Coral rate him 8/1 joint fourth-favourite alongside Kei Nishikori for a second triumph here.

Although Federer has three Roland Garros victories over round four foe Monfils (2008, and in straight sets in 2009 and 2011), he’s worryingly lost the last two head-to-heads on clay.

This make 13th seed Monfils a tasty 2/1 to dump Federer out in the last 16. Odds of 9/1 are also worth a punt for another straight sets victory, if you feel Federer’s run of French Open wins in this year’s draw is due to end.

It might be better investing in the reverse, however, as Swiss sensation Federer (odds-on 4/11 match favourite) has earned all his Roland Garros results so far without dropping a set. For him to win in three, something he’s done against Monfils here before as outlined above, take a superb 7/4.

The France v Switzerland battle is not merely confined to one contest, though, as Federer’s compatriot Stan Wawrinka (a 16/1 shot to add to his one previous Grand Slam title here) clashes with Gilles Simon. Whoever wins these round of 16 encounters shall face off in the quarter-finals.

While Federer held a clear head-to-head advantage (8-4) over Monfils, Wawrinka is not so fortunate with his upcoming opponent. Simon shocked him in Shanghai 2-1 last year to bring their previous battles to two wins apiece, and another upset is a 9/4 chance here.

While Simon is not fancied for a straight sets shock here, he’s the same price to win 3-1 or 3-2 at equal 7/1 prices.

Crucially, however, Wawrinka has the only victory on clay – in five sets at the French Open three years ago. As a result, he is an odds-on 1/3 match favourite, and a repeat result with this match going the distance is a 5/1 shot.

Wawrinka is rated much more likely to dispense with Simon swiftly, though, at 13/8 for a straight sets win, or 11/4 to win it in four.

Coral betting tip: Federer is fantastic at 7/4 to maul Monfils in straight sets.