Roland Garros and the French Open have not been as kind to Serena Williams, the top seed, as other surfaces and other Grand Slam events. The red clay in Paris has been good enough for Maria Sharapova, the two seed, who has won this event twice in the last four years but will prove her downfall in 2015. In fact, the two top picks Serena Williams (11/4) and Sharapova (5/1) have short odds that don’t reflect the way they have been playing or the quality of the competition.

Maria triumphed at the Italian Open but the pros know she can be had. Williams bypassed Rome to rest her elbow which will surely be tested on clay. There’s a reason Serena’s odds are longer than usual. She will not win in Paris in 2015 where she has only escaped the second round once since 2010.

There are better wagers out there than these two. Look young! The 2015 field is more wide open than any women’s Grand Slam event in years. This open could well be decided between the ears because the clay can neutralize Sharapova’s power game. If Kvitova (12/1) can focus or if Halep (11/2) can settle and play her game or if Caroline Wozniacki can conquer big match jitters, the tournament could well belong to that player who is toughest mentally. We figure that to be long-distance runner, Caroline Wozniacki (25/1).

Her newfound stamina and quickness will serve the fifth seeded Dane well in Paris. The draw, well, that’s another matter. The top bracket has Serena and Azarenka (a third round paring), Venus Williams, a former champion, and dangerous German Andrea Petkovic. There’s plenty of fight there but Wozniacki is in the best shape in the top.

You never know what Kvitova will bring to the table. Seven steamy matches on slow clay probably do not work well for the 4^th seeded Czech. And 6^th seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard is in a second year slump. The door might be open for Madison Keys to make a run in the weak bottom half of Page One.

Page Two

The lower half of the draw is led by the gritty second seed Maria Sharapova.  Sharapova will face an immediate first round challenge from unpredictable lefty Kaia Kanepi. Samantha Stosur will compete in the third round and if Sharapova is still alive, Lucie Safarova will test her in the fourth round.

It won’t get any easier with Spain’s Carla Navarro Suarez lurking in the quarters. Seeded eighth, Navarro Suarez had success in Rome and prefers clay.

Romania’s tenacious Simona Halep can’t be happy with her year thus far, but Paris could be her breakthrough event for the frequent flyer. Simona can force the extra shot and that works well on clay. Ivanovic has won here before and would face Simona in the quarters but Halep will have to hold off 14^th seeded Aggie Radwanska, another 2015 underachiever, fourth round.

You can never count Maria out but Halep should emerge from the lower half before falling to Wozniacki in the championship match. The balance in this field poses difficulties for the favorites. Take longer odds with finely tuned Wozniacki and you won’t regret it.

Actually, there are a few reasons we will not see Rafa lift the championship trophy in Paris in 2015, not the least of which is that the tour players see weakness and opportunity where once they saw invincibility and prayer. Rafa Nadal is not only "beatable," he'll have trouble reaching top seed Novak Djokovic in the quarters. It's not easy to say that about a champion who has only lost four matches at Roland Garros since 2000.

Who Might Champion

There are a number of challengers ready to defeat the reigning champion, who has failed to win on Europe's clay court tour this season. Every now and then, you hear whispers that the $72 million career earnings have softened Nadal mentally and physically. Throw into the mix a number of young studs along with Rafa's old rivals, who are outplaying him on clay, and it's amazing that Nadal is 10/3 and the second bookmaker favorite. Don't get pulled in. Rafa will not win Roland Garros in 2015.

What used to be challenging to figure who would runner-up in Paris is now a legitimate gamble to pick the 2015 winner. The heavy favorite is world number one Novak Djokovic (11/13) who has already added the 2015 Australian Open, and two clay titles, the Monte Carlo Masters and the Rome Masters to his treasure chest. Novak appears to be in great shape and good form. This man never goes out easily and wherever he lands, it will be messy. Djoko might meet Nadal in the quarters and could get a challenge from 15 seed Kevin Anderson before meeting Rafa but his biggest challenge will come from the bottom of the first page, Scotsman Andy Murray.

Most experts feel Murray is as ready as he has ever been to perform well on clay. Winner in Munich and at Madrid where he toppled Nadal in the finals, Andy has a new clay confidence working for him. At 9/1, the Scot is a good play.

But, not as good as Kei Nishikori at 20/1, the 5th seed. The pace at Roland Garros will give Nishikori a boost. He will have to play through the likes of 4th seed Tomas Berdych in the quarters and could meet Federer, Monfils or Wawrinka in the semis but Kishikori is a player nobody enjoys playing. Endurance and speed are at a premium in Paris and Kai has plenty of both. Home crowd favorite Jo Wilfried Tsonga might be waiting in the quarters but Kai will wear him down. We like Nishikori and Wawrinka to face each other in the semis.

That rules out Roger Federer (25/1) and Monfils (100/1). Federer, the second seed is not drawing much attention. Clay is not his favorite surface although he is a former champion here. Wawrinka looks like the cream of a weak bottom bracket on the second page but bookmakers like Nishikori on the bottom half of the draw.

And, The Winner Is Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Dimitrov (100/1), Ferrer (150/1) will pay a price for the top-heavy draw. Nishikori could cruise through the bottom. We always like Djoko and Murray but this time around, we like Kai Nishikori to lift the trophy in an event filled with upsets at the top and predictability at the bottom.

Players to watch

Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Parthiv Patel were the only batsmen of MI who resisted against the bowling of Delhi Daredevils by scoring 30, 30 and 28 runs. Lendl Simmons, Unmukt Chand, Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya should be more positive in their approach to win the games for their team. Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah and Harbhajan Singh must add more spices in their bowling.

David Warner along with Shikhar Dhawan shared a breezy opening partnership of 130 for SRH vs. KKR with their individual scores of 91 and 54. Ravi Bopara, Naman Ojha and Lokesh Rahul are supporting batsmen while Moises Henriques and Karn Sharma are fine all-rounders. Their bowling revolves around Pravin Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dale Steyn and Bipul Sharma.

Time & Venue

Saturday, April 25, 2015 @ 10:30 GMT, 16:00 local at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Weather

A clear blue sky during the day with the temperatures around 28-33ᵒC.

Toss

The winning captain will prefer to chase the target after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The wicket was found batting friendly in the 12^th match of the tournament played between MI and CSK.

Teams

Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma (C), Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel, Unmukt Chand, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad – David Warner (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Naman Ojha, Ravi Bopara, Moises Henriques, Karn Sharma, Pravin Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bipul Sharma, Dale Steyn.

Prediction

SRH can win the forthcoming match keeping in view the present output by MI.

Although the team’s overall performances have been far from being similar to what they were three or four months ago, Real Madrid managed to overcome their internal crisis and are currently on a very positive streak. After overcoming Málaga last weekend, a match where Real Madrid needed to dig very deep to defeat a very organized Andalusia team, Los Blancos granted their ticket to the UEFA Champions League Semi-finals by defeating Atlético Madrid last Wednesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s boys have finally overcome their neighbours and rivals of Atléti this season and, with such win, they took another solid step towards the renewal of the European champions’ title they grabbed last season, precisely at expenses of Los Colchoneros.

Their upcoming clash at Galicia will definitely be far from easy, especially if we have in mind what happened last season and the quality game that Celta usually displays when playing at home. Real Madrid are currently two points behind Barcelona at La Liga’s table and, for that reason, they cannot allow any unexpected upset during their travel to Balaídos next Sunday, otherwise they would certainly be forced to say goodbye to the Spanish league title once again.

As for Celta de Vigo, the Galician team seems to have returned to the right path after their less impressive period last month.

After their goal galore (6-1) against Rayo Vallecano at Los Balaídos two weeks ago, Los Celestes snatched a vital win after their always complicated visit to the Basque Country, where they defeated Eibar thanks to a single goal from the usual suspect, Nolito.

Celta tend to be very strong when playing at home. Eduardo Berizzo’s boys have already managed to defeat Atlético Madrid this season in front of their enthusiastic supporters and they will surely give Real a busy night next Sunday.

Regardless of Celta’s recent improvements and of what happened last season, Real Madrid are firm favourites for next weekend’s match.

Celta

Stats: W-3 L-1 D-1

Recent Form - WWDLW

Real Madrid

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - WWDWW

Possible Line-ups

Celta (4-3-3) - Alvarez - Mallo - Cabral - Fontas - Jonny - Krohn-Dehli - Augusto Fernández - Radoja - Nolito - Orellana - Larrivey

Real Madrid (4-4-2) – Casillas - Carvajal - Pepe - Sergio Ramos - Marcelo - Kroos - Isco - Khedira - James Rodriguez - Ronaldo - Javier Hernandez

Injury List / Suspended Players

Celta de Vigo

Borja Oubina (inj)

Planas (inj)

Real Madrid

Luka Modric (inj)

Karim Benzema (inj)

Gareth Bale (inj) (in doubt)

Head-to-head matches:

Top Players:

Celta de Vigo

Nolito

Augusto Fernandez

Orellana

Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo

Toni Kroos

James Rodriguez

Predictable Goal Scorers:

Celta de Vigo

1. Nolito
2. Larrivey
3. Orellana

Real Madrid

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Javier Hernandez
3. James Rodriguez

Half-Time Score

Celta de Vigo 1 Real Madrid 1

Full-Time Score

Celta de Vigo 1 Real Madrid 2

Players to watch

Suresh Raina, Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis were the main scorers for CSK vs. RCB with 62, 39 amd 33 while Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni are part of their strong batting. Ashish Nehra was the star performer with four wickets as Ishwar Pandey, Mohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Bravo form a stable bowling unit.

Shaun Marsh and David Miller dispatched 65 and 54 runs for KXIP against RR whereas Murali Vijay, George Bailey and David Miller have scored over hundred runs but Virender Sehwag along with Glenn Maxwell are off colour. Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh are their top wicket takers with eight each while Mitchell Johnson, Axar Patel are doing their best with the ball.

Time & Venue

Saturday, April 25, 2015 @ 14:30 GMT, 20:00 local at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai.

Weather

Afternoon thunderstorms expected with the temperatures around 27-34ᵒC.

Toss

CSK will opt to bat first and KXIP can go for chase after winning the toss.

The Pitch

Most of the batsmen enjoyed batting in the 4^th match of the event played between CSK and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Teams

Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni (C), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Ashish Nehra.

Kings XI Punjab – (From), George Bailey (C), Virender Sehwag, Murali Vijay, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Axar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shivam Sharma, Gurkeerat Singh.

Prediction

CSK will be the most likely winners at their home ground in the coming encounter.

Players to watch

Tamim Iqbal bulldozed the bowling attack of Pakistan, blasted 312 runs in three ODIs at a herculean average of 156.00 comprising two hundreds and one fifty. Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar are the other centurions while Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Rony Talukdar and Litton Das are ready to tease the visitors with their willows. Shakib Al Hasan will be their prime all-rounder while Arafat Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mashrafe Mortaza and Nasir Hossain are in prime form with the ball.

The Green Shirts will be led by the seasoned all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, who is a match winner on his day. Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saad Nasim, Mukhtar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan will look after their batting while Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail and Wahab Riaz are useful all-rounders. Rest of their bowling unit will comprise Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal.

Time & Venue

Friday, April 24, 2015 @ 12:30 GMT, 18:30 local at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.

Weather

Forecast of Thunderstorms with the temperatures around 23-28ᵒC.

Toss

The winning captain will opt to chase the target.

The Pitch

The wicket has produced a lot of runs in the recently concluded ODIs and the home bowlers were successful in their operation.

Teams

Bangladesh – (From) Mashrafe Mortaza (C), Shakib Al Hasan, Abul Hasan, Arafat Sunny, Litton Das, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rony Talukdar, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.

Pakistan – (From) Shahid Afridi (C), Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Imran Khan, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Rizwan, Mukhtar Ahmed, Saad Nasim, Saeed Ajmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.

Prediction

The Bengal Tigers have their tails up after grasping the ODI series and will be the favourites to win the Only T20.

Players to watch

Ajinkya Rahane along with Shane Watson were the prominent batsmen of RR vs. KXIP with 74 and 45 as Karun Nair contributed 25 runs. Steven Smith and Deepak Hooda are batting well whereas James Faulkner is there to assist his team as an all-rounder. Chris Morris, Pravin Tambe, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia are looking after their strong bowling.

Virat Kohli chipped in with his maiden fifty of the event for RCB against CSK but that was not enough to win the game. Manvinder Bisla, Rilee Rossouw, Dinesh Karthik, AB de Villiers must score consistently that can enable their team to post hefty runs on board. Their bowling revolves around Yuzvendra Chachal, Mitchell Starc, Harshal Patel, David Wiese and Iqbal Abdulla.

Time & Venue

Friday, April 24, 2015 @ 14:30 GMT, 20:00 local at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad.

Weather

A typical summer day with the temperatures around 25-43ᵒC.

Toss

Both skippers will opt to chase after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The surface produced quite a few runs in the last match between RR and KXIP.

Teams

Rajasthan Royals – Steven Smith (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Shane Watson, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair, Stuart Binny, Deepak Hooda, James Faulkner, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Pravin Tambe.

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli (C), Manvinder Bisla, Rilee Rossouw, Dinesh Karthik, Sarfaraz Khan, AB de Villiers, David Wiese, Mitchell Starc, Harshal Patel, Iqbal Abdulla, Yuzvendra Chachal.

Prediction

Rajasthan Royals will be the most possible winners in the coming match.

Players to watch

Manoj Tiwary, Shreyas Iyer and Angelo Mathews scored 32, 31 and 28 runs vs. KKR while Mayank Agarwal, Jean-Paul Duminy, Kedar Jadhav and Yuvraj Singh can hit back any time. Angelo Mathews is a fine all-rounder and their bowling consists of Imran Tahir, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra and Domnic Muthuswami.

Lendl Simmons, Unmukt Chand and Rohit Sharma were the main contributors for MI against RCB with 59, 58 and 42 runs whereas Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu and Parthiv Patel can contribute useful runs. Harbhajan Singh became their champion bowler by grabbing eight wickets in the tournament and he is getting valid support from Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.

Time & Venue

Thursday, April 23, 2015 @ 14:30 GMT, 20:00 local at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.

Weather

A hot and humid day with the temperatures around 24-40ᵒC.

Toss

DD can prefer to bat and MI might go for chase after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The previous game played between Delhi Daredevils and Kolkata Knight Riders at the same venue ended as a low scoring one.

Teams

Delhi Daredevils – Jean-Paul Duminy (C ), Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Angelo Mathews, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir, Domnic Muthuswami.

Mumbai Indians – Rohit Sharma (C), Lendl Simmons, Parthiv Patel, Unmukt Chand, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Lasith Malinga, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan.

Prediction

Mumbai Indians can register their second win of the IPL 2015.

Players to watch

David Wiese and AB de Villiers scored 47 and 41 runs in the last game vs. Mumbai Indians and rest of the batsmen were dismissed in their twenties. They require big innings from Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Manvinder Bisla and Rilee Rossouw. Yuzvendra Chachal and David Wiese have taken 5 and 4 wickets respectively while rest of their bowlers must learn from them.

Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith and MS Dhoni contributed 62, 40 and 31 as Brendon McCullum is in good nick. Suresh Raina and Faf du Plessis are not keeping up their promise whereas Bravo, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are looking after their bowling.

Time & Venue

Wednesday, April 22, 2015 @ 14:30 GMT, 20:00 local at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Weather

Partly cloudy with the temperatures around 22-35ᵒC.

Toss

RCB will prefer to field and CSK can opt to bat after winning the toss.

The Pitch

The wicket responded equally well for the bowlers and batsmen in the 16^th match of the tournament played between RCB and MI.

Teams

Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli (C), Chris Gayle, Dinesh Karthik, Manvinder Bisla, AB de Villiers, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese, Iqbal Abdulla, Abu Nechim, Yuzvendra Chachal, Varun Aaron.

Chennai Super Kings – MS Dhoni (C), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Ishwar Pandey, Ashish Nehra.

Prediction

CSK might be the possible winners in the forthcoming encounter.

Last Saturday, Barcelona had to dig very deep in order to overcome a well organized and hard working Valencia side at Camp Nou. A goal on the first minute of the match by Luis Suarez and another on the dying moments of the second-half was the best Barcelona managed to do to defeat a Valencia team who failed a penalty kick on the early moments of the match by their captain Dani Parejo and have plenty of chances to score, especially during the first 45 minutes.

After the break, the Catalan appeared to be fairly more confident and controlled the match the best they could until Leo Messi made his glorious walk towards the second goal just a few seconds before the final whistle.

To increase the team’s motivation levels, Barça granted another solid over Paris SG last Tuesday and booked their place on the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona won 5-1 on aggregate and have almost put the French champions to ridicule during both matches.

The upcoming clash against Espanyol will certainly be far from easy, but Barcelona cannot afford any more slipups as the one from Sanchez Pizjuan against Sevilla if they want to maintain their advantage at the top of the table.

As for Espanyol, it is fair to say that the Blanquiazules have been having an overall good season so far. Their manager, Sergio Gonzalez, has been doing a very good job with the players he has at his disposal and the team is currently on a six match row without a single defeat.

After defeating Athletic Bilbao two weeks ago at Cornella El-Prat, Espanyol failed to get anything better than a draw against the relegation-threatened Levante last weekend.

The match against their neighbours and rivals will definitely not be easy for the Periquitos, but they will surely do everything within their reach to cause Luis Enrique’s men a major upset.

Espanyol

Stats: W-2 L-0 D-3

Recent Form - DWWDD

Barcelona

Stats: W-4 L-0 D-1

Recent Form - WWWDW

Possible Line-ups

Espanyol (4-4-2) - Casilla - Arbilla - Alvaro - Moreno - Duarte - Lucas - Sanchez - Lopez - Alvarez - Garcia - Caicedo

Barcelona (4-3-3) - Bravo - Montoya - Mathieu - Mascherano - Alba - Busquets - Xavi - Rakitic - Neymar - Suárez - Messi

Injury List / Suspended Players

Espanyol

None

Barcelona

Vermaelen (inj)

Head-to-head matches:

Top Players:

Espanyol

Sergio Garcia

Kiko Casilla

Felipe Caicedo

Barcelona

Lionel Messi

Luis Suarez

Neymar

Predictable Goal Scorers:

Espanyol

1. Sergio Garcia
2. Felipe Caicedo
3. Lucas

Barcelona

1. Lionel Messi
2. Luis Suarez
3. Neymar

Half-Time Score

Espanyol 0 Barcelona 2

Full-Time Score

Espanyol 1 Barcelona 3