in Tennis Free Picks

As the quarterfinals round of the $600,000 Open Gaz de France tennis event wrapped up, former world No. 1 Justine Henin of Belgium and No.3 Amelie Mauresmo of France advanced to semifinal round according to predictions. Also amongst the winners was Nadia Petrova who blew past Dinara Safina 6-3,6-2 and Lucie Safarova who continues to shine as she stunned No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4.

So with all the semifinalists accounted for, here are the predictions for the matchups that will play out tomorrow, in France.

Top half of the draw:

Justine Henin vs. Lucie Safarova

Prediction: While Justine Henin is clearly favored in this matchup against Lucie Safarova, the unseeded Czech player is making a habit of cashing in on her underdog status, making her a bet of great value!

The odds and the predictions point to a Henin win, but Henin has not been playing at her best thus far in the open, having to sweat out a win in three sets in both of her matches leading up to the semifinals. Considering her lack of form, and Safarova’s top form, I like the odds of Safarova pulling off another upset in this matchup and perhaps setting up a rematch of the fourth round Australian Open match against Amelie Mauresmo in the finals of the Open Gaz de France. For those of you that want to play it safe, then put your balls in Henin's court, but for those of you that have the tennis balls then take Safarova, her price tag alone deserves some consideration!

Pick: Safarova in three sets!

Bottom half of the draw:

Amelie Mauresmo vs. Nadia Petrova

Prediction: Amelie Mauresmo who has played in this indoor tournament five times, winning it twice, returns to the Open Gaz de France, as its defending champion. However, after receiving a bye in the first round, and breezing past a much weaker opponent, Nathalie Dechy, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round, Mauresmo struggled to make an impression in her quarterfinals match against a solid opponent in Anna Chakvetadze. Mauresmo was forced to sweat it out and allowed herself to be pushed to the very end of both sets, winning the match only by the slightest of margins! Hardly a dominating performance for a defending champion.

Frankly, Mauresmo has yet to impress, and while she is the favorite in her matchup against Nadia Petrova, she will have to step up her game against the Russian power-player. Particularly since Nadia Petrova, who despite being down to Mauresmo 3-5 in their head-to-head matchup record, won their most recent match in the 2006-ending WTA Tour Championships.

Petrova is not an opponent that can be easily underestimated. While the odds are against her winning a match facing the darling of the home crowd - Amelie Mauresmo, the big-serving, power-hitting Russian is a force to be reckoned with when she sets her mind to it. That being the key, Petrova needs to maintains her calm, in the wake of the odds against if she plans on pulling off a ‘mon dieux’ of an upset!

Pick: Considering I like the idea of a rematch between Amelie Mauresmo and Lucie Safarova, I should be bound to pick Amelie Mauresmo in this matchup, but I really like Nadia Petrova in this round, and while betting against the crowd favorite maybe a risk, it is one that I think might just turn out. Mainly because Mauresmo’s game seems to lack confidence, hinting at the fact that perhaps she has not moved past her unceremonious Australian Open loss.

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

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