French Open Women's Betting: Kirilenko amongst opening-day winners

Kirilenko to advance to second round...

The action from Paris gets underway on Sunday and Abelson Info pick out their value bets for Day 1 from Roland Garros...

Two of the top three seeds take to the court on the first day of the French Open 2014, and it is unlikely that either will face too many difficulties in advancing to the second round.

World number one Serena Williams begins the defence of her title against Alize Lim, and while the pair tweeted a photograph together at the players' party prior to the draw the French youngster will undoubtedly be both nervous and excited about the prospect of facing the top seed.

However, it is unlikely that she will give the home crowd much to cheer about as she is untested at this level, and while the pressure is off, we can't see her coping with the power and aggressiveness that Williams will likely direct at her from the start.

Meanwhile, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska is also in action as she prepares to take on world number 34 Shuai Zhang, and having comfortably beaten her opponent in their only previous meeting, the Polish star will likely be in confident mood.

However, this surface isn't her favourite, and so she will be guarding against complacency as she hopes to at least make the latter stages of the tournament.

The elder of the Williams sisters is also in action, as Venus faces Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic. While the talk is already focusing on a potential all-Williams encounter in the third round, this may prove to be a tricky opener for the veteran. 

Elsewhere, Angelique Kerber will be expected to prevail in her first round clash with Katarzyna Piter, while the same could also be said of Daniela Hantuchova against Jovana Jaksic.

However, things get a little more interesting across the remainder of the schedule for Sunday, as although Maria Kirilenko doesn't arrive in the best of form, the Russian ace is good value to come through in straight sets against Johanna Larsson, who has really struggled over the past few months.

The same could also be said of Annika Beck as she has clinched victories in both of her previous meetings with Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets, the last coming as recently as Doha this year, and she will fancy her chances of advancing at the expense of her Bulgarian rival.

Meanwhile, amongst the potential shocks on day one, keep a close eye on Lauren Davis as she takes on Yaroslava Shvedova.

The young American is six spots above her rival in the world rankings but is seen as an outsider for the clash. Shvedova fell at the first hurdle in Madrid before a run to the quarter-finals in Nurnberg this week.

However, Davis picked up two morale-boosting wins in Rome a fortnight ago and continued her preparations in Strasbourg, and there is a sense she is capable of causing an upset out on Court 17.

Recommended Bets:
Back Kirilenko to beat Larsson 2-0 @ 2.447/5
Back Davis to beat Shvedova @ 2.6613/8