Stosur plunges from $101 to $8 in 2016 French Open betting

More than 400 lucky punters are poised for a massive windfall as Sam Stosur continues her stellar run at the 2016 French Open.

The Australian dispatched Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets on Wednesday to book a semifinal date with Garbine Muguruza, the current world number four.

Stosur has already seen off 11th seed Lucia Safarova and sixth seed Simona Halep in a rejuvenated performance at Roland Garros, where she had failed to pass the fourth round since reaching the semis in 2012.

Online bookmaker Sportsbet.com.au has confirmed that 25 punters backed the 32-year-old at starting odds of $101 to win the French Open outright, with several wagers of $20 or more.

The bookie has also received separate bets of $1000 at mid-tournament prices of $19 and $14, while one fellow dropped $188 at $81 odds for a prospective return of over $15,000.

According to Sportsbet’s Christian Jantzen, Stosur is the most heavily backed player in the ladies’ singles field.

“One quarter of all bets placed on the women’s title have gone on Sam Stosur including twice the number that we’ve seen for odds on favourite Serena Williams,” Jantzen said.

The 2010 US Open champion has zoomed into $8 outright odds, although she remains a $3.16 outsider to win her semifinal against Muguruza ($1.36).

Williams, the world number one, is yet to play her quarterfinal with Kazakhstani rookie Yulia Putintseva, while Timea Bacsinszky must negotiate the unseeded Kiki Bertens to reach the last four.

2016 French Open outright betting for ladies’ singles

Serena Williams (USA) – $1.72

Garbine Muguruza (ESP) – $3.50

Sam Stosur (AUS) – $8

Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) – $13

Kiki Bertens (NED) – $15

Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) – $41

Market provided by www.Sportsbet.com.au

Murray favourite to reach 2016 French Open final

Andy Murray has firmed as Novak Djokovic’s main rival in the 2016 Roland Garros men’s draw after sealing his place in the final four.

The quarters weren’t all sunshine and roses for the Scot, who dropped the first set in his clash with Richard Gasquet and had to fight through a tie breaker in the second to level the scores.

But Murray then proceeded to sweep the local favourite off the court, dropping only two further games to close out the match in four sets.

He will now face Stan Wawrinka, who made short work of the unseeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas to continue his defence of the men’s singles title.

Yet the Swiss star is the slight underdog at $2.06 in Sportsbet’s French Open semifinal betting markets, with Murray pegged at only $1.77.

The remaining semifinalists are yet to be decided; Djokovic is scheduled to face Tomas Berdych on Thursday, while Dominic Thiem and David Goffin will duke it out for the other slot.

2016 French Open outright odds for men’s singles

Novak Djokovic (SER) – $1.50

Andy Murray (GBR) – $3.50

Stan Wawrinka (SUI) – $6.50

Dominic Thiem (AUT) – $20

Tomas Berdych (CZE), David Goffin (BEL) – $51

Odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au