Every tennis fan has geared up to watch the French Open 2011, which commenced on May 22 to June 5. Enthusiasts, for their favorite players, are rooting religiously. The 110th edition of the Grand Slam is currently taking place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France and it is played on clay courts. Aficionados are eager to see if Rafael Nadal, five-time French Open champion will clinch the title again. Last year, in the women’s category an Italian player, Francesca Schiavone emerged victorious.

In 2011, Novak Djokovic took his unbeaten record to 38 wins. In the first round, he enjoyed a 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 dismissal of hapless Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker. To break John McEnroe’s Open era record of 42 for the best-unbeaten start, Djokovic needs five more wins and a sixth victory will make him the first man to win the Australian and French Opens back-to-back since Jim Courier in 1992.

At this year’s French Open, Roger Federer was all about the serve in the opening match and his strategy served him well. Without facing a single break point in beating Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3), the 16-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the second round.

Federer said that from his side, the important thing was to be solid in his own serve. He added that he thought he played a good match.

For the women, defending champion Francesca Schiavone and top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki made it through.

Tennis betting

lines have received a ton of action these last few weeks for 2011 French Open. The odds are Roger Federer (1/100), Maxime Teixeira (22), Novak Djokovic (1/100), Victor Hanescu (22), Caroline Wozniacki (1/25) and Aleksandra Wozniak (11).

French Open · Novak Djokovic · Rafael Nadal · Roland Garros

Kevin Anderson won his opening match of the Madrid Masters, defeating Olivier Rochus 6-2, 6-4. The big-serving South African sent down 12 aces and broke Rochus’ serve four times. He towered over his 30-year-old Belgian opponent.

Anderson now faces a overwhelming prospect in the second round. He will be facing the second seed Novak Djokovic, who has remained undefeated in 27 matches this year. Currently, Anderson is ranked 35 in the world.

Nikolay Davydenko went down to Spain’s Marcel Granollers 7-5. 6-2, while German Florian Mayer upset Serb 16th seed Viktor Troicki 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Mayer lost the finals on Sunday in Munich to Davydenko.

Djokovic and Anderson have met twice. In a tight three-setter, Anderson won in 2008 and Djokovic prevailed early last month, in the quarterfinals. Both the matches against one another were at the Miami Masters event (on hard courts).

In a season, which has seen Djokovic, rack up 27 wins for no losses, he is untouchable to date and he is living a tennis dream, which cannot go on.

The Serb admitted that he does not think that it is realistic to go without a defeat in the first for months of the season. He added that if you believe you can achieve it and you are fit physically and mentally fresh, motivated and dedicated to the sport, anything is possible.

The second seed owns five titles at the ATP-WTA Madrid Masters and he is coming into his first serious clay test of the spring in Madrid as the French Open start on May 22 draws near.

Oddsmakers from online sports book have Novak Djokovic is the favorite to march forward to the next round. The best odd for Djokovic is 1/33 and for Anderson, it is 14.

Kevin Anderson · Madrid Open · Novak Djokovic · Olivier Rochus

World number seven Samantha Stosur of Australia overwhelmed the 33rd ranked Spaniard, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the opening round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix played at the Porsche Tennis Arena at Stuttgart, Germany. To step into the second round of the $721,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament, the fifth seed Australian took 80 minutes to wrap up her straight sets triumph at 7-5, 6-1.

Stosur tended to put forth pressure upon her adversary early and she ignited the contest with her typical belligerence. She opened her shoulders on both wings and securing the opening set appeared to fill Stosur with confidence. She was able to read Martinez Sanchez’s intentions at will and winners flew off both the backhand and forehand side.

Last year at Stuttgart, the runner-up Stosur registered her fourth successive triumph over the Spanish rival. During the last year, the Aussie overwhelmed Sanchez three times and now leads the all time head-to-head record against her by 4-1. In the opening set of the contest, Stosur had some difficulties as she took time to get her eye in the game. In the second set, Stosur blew away the Spaniard to seal win for himself.

Last year, with triumph over Henin at Roland Garros, Stosur took revenge her Stuttgart final defeat before beating top seed Serena Williams and fourth seed Jelena Jankovic on the way to the final.

Stosur in the second round will meet Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova. The Australian defeated Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 7-5 6-3.

The internet sports picks are offering great tennis odds. Stosur is favorite to go into the next round. The tennis betting odds for Stosur are 4/9 and Hantuchova are 2.

Jelena Jankovic · Porsche Tennis · Samantha Stosur · Serena Williams · WTA

No. 34 Ole Miss and Mississippi State will hit the road this weekend to face off against the Auburn Women’s Tennis team (4-15, 0-8 SEC). At 3 p.m., Friday, the Tigers will take on the Bulldogs and the Rebels at 1 p.m., on Sunday.

Making the Bulldogs 2-12 on the season and 0-8 in the SEC, Mississippi State is winless in its last nine matches. The Bulldogs will be looking for Alexandra Perper (5-7, 2-4 SEC), Vivian Pietraroria (3-9, 0-6 SEC) and Roseline Dion (2-9, 0-4 SEC), three freshmen to persist to develop and get key wins for the team, as they make up half the starting line-up. Perper has been playing at the No.1 spot ever since the commencement of the season and therefore there will be a lot of pressure on him.

For MSU, Freshman Alexandra Perper has proven her worth, as she has now amassed five triumphs in the top spot for the Bulldogs. Against Whitney Wolf of LSU, Perper had her first win over a ranked rival. Also, this weekend freshmen Vivian Pietraroia and Roseline Dion look forward to to pick up a couple of solid SEC wins as they contend on courts 5 and 6.

Junior Mariia Ryzhova are looking to carry on the streak this weekend against the brilliant Tigers, after coming off a huge singles triumph against Georgia last weekend. This weekend, Juniors Olesya Tsigvintseva and Jordan Zachary will also be challenging as they will show off their proficiency in doubles and singles action.

Matches will be moved indoors to the McCarthy Gymnasium, in case of inclement weather.

Bulldogs · Mississippi State · Ole Miss · Ole MissMississippi State · Tigers

Somdev Devvarman and Milos Raonic will be locking horns in the Sony Ericsson Open 2011, in the Miami second round on Friday. Last year in the Tashkent Challenger, came their only earlier encounter, where Raonic triumphed 6-4, 7-6(5).

After an incredible beginning to 2011, Canada’s top-ranked talent has reached a career-best No. 34 world ranking. When he overpowered Fernando Verdasco in the final of the SAP Open in San Jose in February, he became the first Canadian to capture an ATP World Tour title. At the ATP event in Memphis, he was the finalist. He lost to American Andy Roddick in a hard three-set final.

Somdev Devvarman is at present India’s top player and at the moment, the former NCAA tennis champion is enjoying a form surge of his own. It will be a fascinating matchup between the two. Last month, he made the Johannesburg final and on his way to the Indian Wells fourth round, he shocked Marcos Baghdatis. He has moved up to a career high ranking of 73. He has been improving and appears to be a different player over the years.

Devvarman will force the young Canadian to show a lot of persistence and to hit plenty of balls. He is a spirited counter-puncher and will give the Canadian a strong fight; however, Devvarman’s chances of breaking Raonic’s serve are far less than Raonic’s opportunities of breaking Devvarman’s serve.

The sportsbooks are offering great basketball odds for this match. The best odds for Milos Raonic are (8/15), while for Somdev Devvarman (11/6).

Andy Roddick · ATP · Milos Raonic · Somdev Devvarman

The world’s top men and women gather to compete in Miami for the Sony Ericsson Open, which will be one of the hottest non Grand Slam tournaments of 2011. The event will immediately be played after BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California and Scheduled to begin on March 21. Because of two consecutive major events in North America, that’s why March has always been an important month on the Calendar.

Tennis Odds for this event have not yet been posted in various sports betting sites.

About the Sony Ericsson Open, the preceding event at Indian Wells has traditionally provided good insight. It is early to pick favorites for Miami’s tournament however, since Indian Wells has yet to be played. For the hard court tournaments in North America, the recent events in Asia and South America provide the most accurate predictions.

In late February, the number three player in the world Vera Zvonareva defeated the world’s No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in Doha, Qatar. With seeds corresponding to their current world rankings, it’s most likely that both of them will enter the Sony Ericsson draw.

As the second seed, defending Champion Kim Clijsters comes into Crandon Park. In the final, last year, she overpowered Venus Williams 6-2 6-1. This year, the runner up will make a comeback, as the sixth seed.

Several other less known players who are coming off hot streaks in late February are to watch out for. While at the same time Anastasia Pavluchenkova raised the trophy in Monterey, Mexico, Gisela Dulko claimed the title in Acapulco, Mexico. Jelena Dokic won the event in Malaysia. If Dokic will even play, unless she competes at the qualifying rounds, though it is uncertain.

Even though Victoria Azarenka had a poor February, losing early in Dubai and Doha, the 2009 Champion comes into Miami as the ninth seed. Samantha Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Li Na, and Jelena Jankovic are the other top ten seeds, who are possible “dark horses” which can be unpredictable at big events.

BNP Paribas · Jelena Jankovic · Kim Clijsters · Sony Ericsson Open · sports betting

India has some reprieve in their Davis Cup World Group opener against defending champions Serbia as World no.3 Novak Djokovic will stay out from the contest. In front of a home crowd in Belgrade in the 2010 final, the Australian Open victor led Serbia to a momentous triumph over France. Djokovic will be focusing on the U.S. hard-court season and consequently has opted out of the March 4-6 first-round world group tie.

The visiting side’s self-belief did draw a little boost in the Thursday’s draw. The visitors will be playing without their star players Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes.

On Thursday, the World Group first round was declared. Ranked 629 in singles, Rohan Bopanna will be facing a stronger challenger. Only during the Davis Cup, the doubles specialist on the tour, beckoned for singles responsibility and he will start the proceedings against Viktor Troicki. Bopanna’s rival Troicki is positioned 17 in the ATP rankings.

Somdev Devvarman has squashed some of the top-50 players previously and he, in recent times reached a career-best 80. He has the capability to push Janko Tipsarevic in the other singles match on Friday. Tipsarevic is at present ranked 45. Expect Somdev to give some hard-hitting fight to Janko.

According to various tennis betting odds, the best bet for Janko Tipsarevic (1/7) against Somdev Devvarman (13/2) and Viktor Troicki is (1/25) vs. Rohan Bopanna (14).

For the second straight year, India secured their place in the privileged 16 by overpowering Brazil 3-2 at home in the World Group play-off and a defeat will definitely pull them back in the play-off round. The two countries are tied 1-1. When Serbia played as Yugoslavia in 1988, they beat India 3-2 in New Delhi. In 1927, India had witnessed a win by beating them 3-0 in Zagreb.

ATP · Davis Cup · Leander Paes · Mahesh Bhupathi · Novak Djokovic

This week, the world’s top women tennis players compete at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. The urban oasis of the United Arab Emirates growing city has become a venue for one of the most prestigious tournaments on the WTA tour, besides Grand Slam and Masters Events. The $360,000 prize money is one of the largest sums offered on regular WTA events. The winner odds for this tournament have been published in various sportsbook betting sites.

Eight of the world’s top tennis ladies came to compete for the title in Dubai. Last year’s champion Venus Williams could not defend her title this year. Australian Open champion and current world number 1 Kim Clijsters will also be absent from the event. Nevertheless, there is plenty of excitement in Dubai coming from the game’s other stars.

The top seeds received byes in their first round matches and enjoyed some time off the court exploring Dubai. There weren’t any surprising victories in the first round of action featuring the lower ranked players. 14th seeded Ana Ivanovic lost her first match to the lefty veteran Patty Schnyder, but Ivanovic has a history of inconsistent results. Wildcard Sania Mirza of India, who is also a fan favorite in Dubai, won her first match 6-3 6-1.

The competition heated up in the second round as the top seeds got to show off their form. First seed Caroline Wozniacki won her match, as Anna Chakvetadze retired in the second set. 7th seed Victoria Azarenka was challenged by Chinese qualifier Peng, but Vika prevailed in a tough third set tiebreak. Second seed Vera Zvonareva comfortably won 6-3 6-1. After two and a half hours on court, Australian Open runner up Li Na lost to Yanina Wickmayer in three sets, which is the upset of the tournament so far.

Australian Open · Kim Clijsters · Sania Mirza · sportsbook betting

It is the first time in five years, Kim Clijsters, the Australian tennis Open winner is two matches away from returning to the number one ranking. Of the Paris-Coubertin tournament this week, the Belgian needs to make the semi-finals to overtake Denmark’s incumbent Caroline Wozniacki. A tournament she won in her only other attempt in 2004.

In 2003, Clijsters held the top ranking and in 2006, she had it for seven weeks before her retirement and subsequent return to the game two years later. She now has four grand slam titles. She said that if she manages to do it again during her second career, it would be great. She added that if she could not make it, then she would not be disappointed.

Clijsters first became No. 1 in August 2003 and it would always mean more to her. She was 20 years old then. In January 2006, the Belgian last held the top spot. before her premature retirement four years ago, she was at No. 1 for 19 weeks. Out of those 19 weeks, 12 came before her first major victory at the 2005 U.S. Open.

After the world No. 78 beat Iveta Benesova in her opening match, she will be facing Germany’s Kristina Barrois.

Meanwhile, Vera Zvonareva made a winning start to her campaign at the WTA Tour’s Pattaya Open in Thailand. She had lost the No. 2 ranking after her semifinal defeat by Clijsters in Melbourne.

To set up a second-round clash with Thai qualifier Nungnadda Wannasuk, the top-seeded Russian, Wozniacki beat Austria’s Tamira Paszek 6-4 6-2. Former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, in her first match since her early exit at the Australian Open beat Thai wildcard entry Nudnida Luangnam 6-0 6-2 and the second-seeded Serbian will next play veteran American Jill Craybas.

Australian tennis Open · Caroline Wozniacki · Kim Clijsters · U.S. Open

Justine Henin, former woman’s World No.1 announced her retirement from active tennis due to her elbow injury. On her website, the 28-year-old Belgian said that the doctors told her that she could not continue her profession at this high level as her elbow is too fragile. In Melbourne last week, Henin’s final match was a third-round defeat to Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova. Since her third-round loss in the Australian Open to Kuznetsova, she had undergone multiple medical examinations.

During her career, she won seven Grand Slams and in 2008, she had quit the sport first when she was ranked number one in the world before returning to the WTA Tour in Jan 2010. Henin won the US Open twice, the Australian Open in 2004 and the French Open on four occasions. Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam title to elude her. There she was the beaten finalist in 2001 and 2006. In 2004, she had won Olympic gold.

At the beginning of the 2010 season, she had a change of heart and returned to the game, reaching the final at the Australian Open. The rest of her comeback season was not as reassuring. In her fourth-round loss to Kim Clijsters, she fractured a ligament in her right elbow.

Henin said that she was shocked, when doctors asked her to give up tennis. The same injury has forced her to call time on her playing days for good. She added that she suffered a lot last week and she has rarely been spared the pain. She believed that her will would take the upper hand. She has accepted that her career finally ends.

French Open · Grand Slam title · Justine Henin · Kim Clijsters · Svetlana Kuznetsova