French Open Women's Betting: Lisicki to prevail in all-German encounter

Will Lisicki reach the heights of last year's run to the Wimbledon final?

Abelson Info delve into the second round action at Roland Garros and pick out some interesting match-ups ahead...

There was a huge upset on Tuesday with second seed Li Na crashing out of the tournament after a first round loss to Kristina Mladenovic, and that only further strengthens the case for Serena Williams to defend her title.

The world number one will be hoping to avoid a similarly early upset when she faces Garbine Muguruza in the second round, but based on form and history it is unlikely she'll have too much to worry about.

Williams dropped just two games in the only previous meeting between the pair at the Australian Open last year, and it could get interesting in the next round as she is on a collision course with her sister.

Similarly, Venus Williams has the advantage in the head-to-head record against her next opponent, Anna Schmiedlova, and considering that the win came as recently as Miami earlier this year, the veteran star will fancy her chances of setting up a third round clash with her sibling.

Also in action on Wednesday is seventh seed Maria Sharapova, and we don't expect her to have too many issues against Tsvetana Pironkova after winning all four of their previous encounters.

Nevertheless, things get a little more interesting across the rest of the schedule, with compatriots Mona Barthel and Sabine Lisicki facing off in an all-German clash.

Lisicki has struggled to hit the heights of her success at Wimbledon last year and has rarely made much of an impression at any of the tournaments she has participated in since January.

However, she will be looking for a confidence boost ahead of returning to her favourite surface this summer, and her odds in the set betting market make her worthy of an investment.

The same could also be said of Dominika Cibulkova despite her troubles in the build-up to this tournament, but after the Slovakian ace eased through her opening test, she will be confident of putting together another run at a Grand Slam.

Eugenie Bouchard also returns to action on Wednesday after she avoided the curse of arriving off the back of a tournament win only to fall in the first round, and while she does face a tougher test against Julia Goerges, the Canadian should pick up another win.

Meanwhile, there is potential value to be had as Flavia Pennetta looks to rediscover the kind of form she showed last year and at the start of this when she takes on Johanna Larsson.

The pair have split their two previous clashes, with the last coming on clay in Bastad last year.

Larsson was able to take her Italian rival the distance on that occasion, and while she won't have home support to back her, it could still be a tricky afternoon's work for the world number 13.

Recommended Bets

Back Lisicki to beat Barthel 2-0 @ 2.26/5
Back Pennetta to beat Larsson 2-1 @ 2.727/4