French Title Hope Hinge on Mathieu, Gicquel and a Qualifier

Metz, France –France’s title hopes rest on the three Frenchmen that confirmed their places in the Open de Moselle quarterfinal today. At the close of second round tennis betting, fourth seed Paul-Henri Mathieu established himself as France’s best hope when he beat fellow compatriot Romain Jouan in straightforward sets 6-3, 6-3. Marc Gicquel surprised the favoured Nicolas Mahut (who entered on a wild card) in a close all-French affair 6-3, 7-6 (4), while qualifier Adrian Mannarino topped another qualifier in Rik de Voest 6-4, 7-5.

So with the French triplet in the quarters and all three in the bottom half of the draw it is safe to assume that at least one will feature in the semi-final and keep French hope alive. Dare we contemplate deux Frenchmen in the semis?

Here is a look at the tennis betting action in the bottom half of the draw:

Tennis Betting Line: Paul Henri Mathieu vs. Janko Tipsarevic

Tournament: ATP Open de Moselle, Metz, France

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Friday October 3, 2008

Tennis Betting Verdict: So the slumping Mathieu has had a good tournament so far and reached the quarterfinals. His path has been relatively easy – though what with opening against Nicolas Devilder and facing a qualifier in the second round he really has not faced a stiff challenge. That is all about to change (well maybe) with Janko Tipsarevic. I slipped in the maybe because with Tipsarevic, one never knows. Tipsarevic is one of the streakiest players on the tour (not unlike Mathieu in some ways), and recently has been mired in a slump (they have so much in common) as well. The introspective Tipsarevic was at his best at the start of the season when he took Federer to five sets. Frankly, since then he has not reached that high zone he displayed that night in Melbourne. Tipsarevic has yet to muster a ranking past No. 35 in the world and win his maiden ATP title.

Mathieu is ball-striking ability and great power playing skills. He has a problem controlling and harnessing his power and is sometimes susceptible to brainless play. If he keeps his game focused, the home court edge added will lead him to victory.

Tennis Free Picks: Mathieu in straight sets

Tennis Betting Line: Marc Gicquel vs. Adrian Mannarino

Tournament: ATP Open de Moselle, Metz, France

Match Time: 05:00 AM Eastern Time Friday October 3, 2008

Tennis Betting Verdict: No. 41 Marc Gicquel favours indoor courts and as the higher ranked player, the more experienced one, he should enter this matchup with some confidence. In fact, he faced Mannarino in the challenger circuit this year and beat him 6-0, 6-7(6), 6-4. However, it was a close match and credit should go to Mannarino for coming back after losing the opening set so abysmally. Should he bring the intensity and style he brought in the last two sets against Gicquel, we may have a tough battle on the cards. More importantly, if Mannarino has figured out what he did wrong before he can use it to his advantage to beat Gicquel this time around. The stakes are higher here though as this is an ATP level event and not a challenger.

Tennis Free Picks: Mannarino in three sets

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room