A number of dark horses loom at this year's WTA French Open. Some unseeded players will make runs, some former top-ten players will regain respect on the surface that gained them their reputations, and others will simply pull off the outright upset. We at betsfreebets.com will take a look at some of the dark horses who present better chances than the sports books would have us believe.

Domika Cibulkova is a player who has great athleticism. Her main weakness has always been that her serve is very attackable. On a surface that makes the serve more vulnerable than usual, Cibulkova will encounter many obstacles to holding serve. She will counter these obstacles by taking advantage of break points on the serves of her opponents. Cibulkova v Lepchenko should be a match that favors the higher-ranked Slovakian. In all likelihood, the match will trade around 1.40 and 1.60 for Cibulkova. If she advances, all of her subsequent matches should exceed 1.60. She has a chance to advance into the second week of the tournament.

Ana Ivanovic is a former French Open winner. There are not many players who fit this description currently in the draw and it is for this reason that she deserves attention as a dark horse in this event. Her play has taken a turn for the better in the last few weeks, and there is no reason to believe that she will have trouble continuing to make her mark on Paris.

Petrova v Szavay is a pairing that matches talented, veteran opponents. Either player could advance for extra rounds, but Petrova has much more experience and potential to advance here. Surely, the winner will have chances to make a mark as the tournament moves on. Petrova could move on to matchup with Venus in a Petrova v Williams affair, or continue to battle with Rezai in a Petrova v Rezair contest. Expect each of these matches to provide value on both sides as there will be uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the events.

If Arantxa Parra Santonja were to upset Venus Williams, one could say that she claimed the number two seed in the tournament. If she proves successful, she has the type of veteran experience to be able to parlay her victory into further success at the same tournament.

Dulgheru is another tough customer who has the potential to take the seed from the number three seed Caroline Wozniacki in a Dulgheru v Wozniacki affair that could be one of the better matches of the tournament. There is no doubt that the match will be competitive. Wozniacki's clay court preparation has fallen short of expectations because of injury complications. Dulgheru has been consistent and methodical in both her preparation and execution. We at betsfreebets.com believe that if she is able to assume the number three seed, lookout for Dulgheru to make waves in Paris.