Johanna Konta v Marketa Vondrousova
French Open Tennis – 10.00 am
ITV
What a moment, what a tournament it has been from Britain’s Johanna Konta. After never before having won a match at Roland Garros at the French Open, she finds herself in the semi-finals. She has been in blistering hot form and this is the culmination of some great clay court form she has laid down this season. Konta has been to the finals of Morocco and Rome on the dirt this season already. She is now 8/11 with leading bookmakers to win this semi-final fixture in the Grand Slam.
Konta will get plenty of patriotic backing as one of the best bets of the day to win her match. This is her third Grand Slam semifinal but has lost the previous two. Konta will be facing up to Czech player Marketa Vondrousova who has been in great form this season. The 19-year-old has been to two finals during the 2019 WTA Tour. Vondrousova beat world number one Simona Halep in Rome recently, before falling to Konta in the quarter finals. She is the underdog in what is her first ever Grand Slam final four match, but she is not going to be a pushover.
Pakistan v Sri Lanka
Cricket World Cup 2019 – 10.30 am
Sky Sports
You just never know what you are going to get out of Pakistan at a tournament. They had a horror show in their opening fixture of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, losing to West Indies by seven wickets. It was a shambles of a batting performance, Pakistan getting skittled out for 105 runs only. That was their 11th straight ODI defeat. But then as bad as they were against the Windies, they were equally as brilliant in their second match against England.
England had thrashed Pakistan 4-0 in a ODI series ahead of the World Cup, so were big underdogs for that match. But they held on, defending a very good 348 score against the tournament favourites. So what’s next for them? They are 1/3 odds-on to get a win against Sri Lanka on Friday. Sri Lanka opened with a pretty heavy defeat against New Zealand and then took victory over Afghanistan in a weather-shortened game. They have looked pretty fragile with the bat though and Sri Lanka are big 12/5 underdogs with top bookmakers for this.
Denmark v Ireland
Euro 2020 Qualifiers – 7.45 pm
Sky Sports
This is a big Euro 2020 qualifiers for both of these. For Denmark it will be just their second game, having opened with a good, but dramatically earned point away at Switzerland. Denmark were trailing 3-0 with five minutes left to play but somehow managed to rescue a point, their third goal coming in the 93 minute of the game. Denmark have remained undefeated in their last seven games, drawing each of their last three. On home soil, the bookmakers have them at 4/7 to win this qualifier.
Denmark and Ireland met in the UEFA Nations League group stage at the back end of last year, playing out 0-0 draws in their two meetings. Denmark have scored at least two goals in four of their last five games. The Irish have made a perfect start to qualification, winning their first two games. They were 1-0 successes only against Gibraltar and Georgia though. Ireland had been on a six-match winless streak of form before that. They have scored just two goals in their last six games, and the top bookies have them as 7/1 underdogs against much tougher opponents.
France Women v South Korean Women
Women’s World Cup 2019 – 8.00 pm
BBC
This is the opening fixture of the Women’s World Cup 2019. It is going to be a special night in Paris then for the French side in front of their home support. There’s the opening ceremony to go through, so there should be a party atmosphere. The French are one of the leading sides in the world and start the tournament as the joint-favourites alongside the USA. They have massive star power and are huge odds-on favourites to win this match. So much so, leading bookies have them at 1/2 to win to nil.
South Korea are going to have a difficult night here. It’s a daunting game for them to walk into. South Korea only made it through to the World Cup via a playoff tie, and they are not the strongest side in attendance from the AFC. They are out of form as well, preparations not having going well for them. South Korea have lost each of their last four games now and this would be a massive World Cup shock if they found a way to avoid defeat in this fixture.
