June’s sensational French Open finals saw women’s finalist Maria Sharapova victorious once again, while Nadal clinched the coveted championship title for the boys.
In a nail-biting showdown, Sharapova beat Romania’s Simona Halep 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 at Paris’ Roland Garros clay courts, while Nadal settled an ongoing feud with Serbian former world no.1 Novak Djokovic, beating him 3-6 7-5 6-2 6-4.
Saturday’s victory was the second French Open title win for Sharapova,
rocketing her status to the number 1 spot in the Singapore rankings and climbing to number 5 in the world rankings. She had previously fallen to a three year low, the ninth spot, in March, giving her most recent victory even more significance.
High tensions
Meanwhile, Nadal’s victory was the ninth French Open title for the 28-year-old. After losing to Wawrinka at the Australian Open Final in January, back problems were a continual problem for the Spaniard, making the French Open crown an especially memorable occasion for the star. He later admitted in a press conference that it was a particularly emotional about his most recent win.
Emotions were running high all round as Sharapova sank to her knees when clinching her final winning point. In particular, the star admitted that her victory was so special because of the playing conditions in Roland Garros.
“I didn’t grow up on clay. I didn’t play on it. I just took it upon myself to make myself better and do it.
“You’re not just born being a natural clay court player. Ok, maybe if you’re Rafael Nadal, but not me.”
Sharapova’s 22-year-old opponent Halep was humbled by the experience and admitted to having a few post game tears. “I was crying at that moment for a few minutes, and then I was smiling. I played very good tennis, so I’m really proud of these two weeks.”
A betting sport
The French Open has not been without its ups and downs and bettors have seen their predictions thwarted and odds slashed throughout the season. Looking back to before the quarter finals, Federer’s performance proved why sports betting sites had
three players favored ahead of him and his odds set at 5-1 or worse. Despite a sterling reputation, Federer lost out to Ernest Gulbis, making this year’s tournament the first in eight years in which the star had not made it to the quarter finals.
Meanwhile, bettors who had overlooked Nadal earlier on may be eating their words now – just three weeks ago, the hot favorite for the title was his longstanding opponent Novak Djokovic. Experts cited a number of reasons for Nadal’s potential loss, including three losses on clay courts in a single month, the same amount of clay losses he had had in the past two seasons combined.
The road to the quarter finals saw Sharapova’s odds slashed after she defeated Sam Stosur with a sensational nine game winning streak. With her new rankings, bettors will be turning their attentions to her for Wimbledon, with her current odds stacked at an average of 11/2.
Nadal, meanwhile, has equally favorable odds of winning the Wimbledon Men’s Championship, averaging at 4/1.
With both players turning their careers around recently for amazing victories in the French Open, they deserve every success.