French Open Normal service was resumed last weekend when Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer to win the Madrid Open. Tennis spread betting fans have become used to the epic battles between these two and on the clay courts it's normally the Spaniard who prevails. Nadal would admit that his fitness was poor 12 months ago, but it was still a shock for spread bettors when Robin Soderling beat him in the fourth round at Roland Garros. His record on clay is simply outstanding, winning 168 of 174 matches on the specialist surface and he will quite rightly be at the top of the Sporting Index tournament index this year. If Nadal is the 'King of Clay', Federer is just about the king of everywhere else. He has now won all four Majors and is surely the greatest player ever to have played the game. Some spread punters might think that clay isn?t his most suited surface - and they'd probably be right - which makes it even more incredible that he?s made it to the last four finals in Paris. Nadal has been his nemesis here, but now that he's got the monkey off his back thanks to last year's title, spread bettors looking to oppose Federer will need nerves of steel. Of course, those who like a spread bet on the tennis know that there is a lot more than just the outright market to get involved with. Punters often like to play the total number of games in the final in these big tournaments, especially after the recent marathon clashes at Wimbledon. However, punters looking to buy games on the spreads in this year?s final will want to see a very different one to the last two. In 2008, Nadal demolished Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, while Fed also beat Soderling in straight sets 12 months ago. However, prior to 2008, eight of the previous nine finals had all gone to at least four sets, so spread punters should tread carefully. Justine Henin returns to Roland Garros for the first time since coming out of retirement and those punters supporting her on the spreads will be hoping she can clinch her fifth French Open title. It was an all Russian final 12 months ago, though, and Dinara Safina ended up with the runners-up spot for the second year in a row, losing to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova. Spread bettors never write off the Williams sisters in the Majors, but neither has made it to the final since they faced each other in 2002. In fact, no American has contested the final here in that time with Belgium and Russia dominating. Total games spread punters will be interested to look at the trends over the past few years in the final. All of the last eight victors have won in straight sets and the total games have been remarkably similar during that time - the most being 21 and the lowest 14. There was one major discrepancy in 2001, though, when Jennifer Capriati beat Kim Clijsters 12-10 in the final set for a match that had 39 games. Grab an account at Sporting Index and receive a £200 free bet!
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