The quarter-finals comes to an end this Wednesday in Paris with the players from the top half of the draw in action on the men’s competition. Bookmakers Review breaks down the fixtures below and lists the best available odds from green listed bookmakers.
Murray vs. Nishikori
Regardless of this tournament’s outcome, Andy Murray will leave Paris as the world no.1. After slow start, Murray definitely raised his level in the previous two matches. Besides defeating Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets in the 3rd round, Andy booked a place in the last eight of the French Open with an easy 6 – 3 6 – 4 6 – 4 victory over Karen Khachanov.
Despite some concerns regarding Kei Nishikori’s physical condition, the 27-year-old Japanese seems fully recovered from the wrist injury that prevented him from competing at his best throughout the clay-court season. Looking now at Nishikori’s campaign in Paris, the world no.9 reaches this stage of the competition after an outstanding comeback against Fernando Verdasco.
This should be a very interesting contest between two of the best players on the ATP World Tour. Despite Kei’s recent win over this opponent at the 2016 US Open, Murray should be too strong on this surface. Therefore, Andy deserves to be the undeniable favourite at 1/4 at William Hill while Nishikori is available at 333/100 at BetVictor. Due to the low price on Murray’s moneyline, our advice is to place a bet on his -1.5 Set Handicap at 59/100 at Ladbrokes.
Wawrinka vs. Cilic
The 2015 French Open champion – Stan Wawrinka – continues to pursue his 4th Grand Slam title. While some players struggle to perform under pressure, Wawrinka is famous for playing his best tennis on the important moments. Besides his phenomenal 85.92% winning record on Majors since 2014, Stan won 82.00% of his previous 50 tie breaks on Grand Slam events.
Playing in Paris brings great memories to the 2005 French Open juniors’ champion – Marin Cilic. Despite his undeniable quality on red dirt, this is only Cilic’s first appearance in the quarter-finals of Roland Garros. Apart from not losing a single set on his successful campaign in Paris, Marin only allowed his opponents to win 6.50% of his service games throughout the tournament.
These two players know each other very well with their first encounter taking place back in 2006. Besides Stan’s 11 – 2 lead on the h2h, the Swiss won all their last seven meetings. Due to Wawrinka’s dominance and brilliant record on Grand Slam events, he’s the clear favourite to win this match at 2/5 at Bet365 while Pinnacle offers 2/1 for Marin’s victory. In addition to the value on Stan’s moneyline, his -1.5 Set Handicap is also a great approach to this match at 83/100 at SBOBet.