Bouchard, Raonic Underdogs at 2016 French Open

The 115th edition of the French Open’s main draw will start this Sunday at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The clay court grand slam’s draw is on Friday, May 20.
The 2015 French Open men’s winner, Stan Warwinka, will return to defend his title, but he’ll have some major competition from the number one seed and -133 odds favorite Novak Djokovic, who will be trying for the fifth time to complete his career Grand Slam.

Djokovic finished as a runner-up last year, but he also has a tough road to the trophy, with serious contenders like Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and nine-times French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the mix.

For the women’s draw, defending champion Serena Williams will be making a play for her third French Open title in six years. Williams is the +210 favorite, but she has some tight competition with Angelique Kerber, Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova, who have each beaten Serena Williams in the last year.

Canadians in the 2016 French Open

It’s a sparse year on the schedule for Canadians playing in the French Open. Many Canadian players have seen their rankings drop over the past year, and most can’t make the cutoff which is set at 250. Eugenie Bouchard, Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil are the only Canadians who’ve made the cut.

Eugenie Bouchard

Bouchard has struggled through the last couple years after her breakout season in 2014, when she reached the Wimbledon final and semifinals in Australia and at Roland Garros. The 46th-ranked Bouchard is coming off an impressive win over the 2nd ranked Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the second round of the Rome Masters. It was her first win against a top 10 player since 2014.

Bouchard is in Paris preparing for the French Open with her coach Cyril Saulnier and coaching mentor Nick Saviano. She is currently listed as +5700.

Milos Raonic

The 9th ranked Raonic has struggled on clay courts this season, and may struggle to compete against this event’s powerful competition. He was doing well in Monte Carlo before losing to Andy Murray, and was beaten again by Nick Kyrgios in Rome and by Novak Djokovic in Madrid. Current betting odds list Raonic at +8100.