Have the Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer era's of tennis betting online come to an end? With the March Madness betting basketball tournament set to begin in eight days, sports handicappers from around the world are growing more concerned with the current state of tennis than the 68 team college hoops tournament. Today we look at what has transpired in men's professional tennis over the last few months.

Near the end of February, three of the greatest tennis stars of the last decade, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all sat down with various media outlets to discuss the current state of men's tennis. In the middle of the decade from around 2004 to 2008, the trio stars at first, and then ultimately just Nadal and Federer, simply dominated men's singles tennis. Now three years later, another changing of the guard from Agassi to Nadal and Federer looks to be taking place.

Back in January, Nadal had to pull out of the Australian Open due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Federer was defeated by renaissance man Novak Djokovic in the semi - finals. With both stars eliminated from the tournament, it marked the first time since the 2003 that neither had been a part of Grand Slam tournament final. If that wasn't incredible enough, a few weeks after defeating Federer in the semi - finals at Melbourne in straight sets, Novak Djokovic once again defeated Federer in straight sets, only this time in the finals at the Dubai World Championships.

Add those two defeats in with Robin Soderling's meteoric rise to the top of the ATP standings, and it appears that a new generation of male single tennis stars is being created. Similar to Tiger Woods sudden fall in professional golf, tennis is growing into a sport, where no one man can dominate it anymore. However, in golf you can play until your 60, while in tennis by the time you turn 30, like Federer, it appears you are on your last legs.

Known as the only clay court tournament in the tennis grand slam, fans betting on tennis have experienced many historic moments since the tournaments inception in 1891. From 1891 to 1927, betting enthusiasts viewed Rolland Garros as just another tournament, since the court was made of grass. However ever since 1928, the architects of the French Open, switched the surface to a clay court, making it the most unique of the four courts in the grand slam.

From 1912 until 1924, the French Open tournament took place at the Stade Francais, which held the most international tournaments in France up until that point. However in 1928, the French committee known as the Stade de Francais, offered up land for a new stadium to be built in Paris, which they stipulated had to be known as Stade de Rolland Garros, after legendary World War one pilot Rolland Garros. Since then, Rolland Garros has been the home to some of the tennis greats and also been considered the toughest of the four courts in the grand slam.

Essentially the court is known as a difficult one to compete on, because the clay court slows down the play. The clay surface, affects the speed of the ball, and causes a high bounce, making it difficult for players who base their tennis game on serves, to gain an advantage. Although being known as the best tennis player in the world, 2009 French Open champion Roger Federer, has only won the tournament that one time. This year, he was ousted by last year's runner up Robin Soderling. In addition to Federer having difficulty, former men's star 'Pistol' Pete Sampras, never made it past the fourth round at Rolland Garros, because of how difficult the court is.

The French Open is the first of the two European legs of the grand slam tournament, and the only leg with a clay court surface. This year's champions of the tournament were Spaniard Raphael Nadal and Italian Francesca Schiavone.

When participating in tennis betting, it is important to understand every last detail about each tournament because even the smallest factor can be the difference between whether the star you are betting online to win can win. One of the most infamous courts in all of tennis is Roland Garros, the French Open court.

Roland Garros is the host of the second leg of the tennis grand slam, and has been a main stay on the tour since the early 1900s. The court was initially used as a grass court from 1891 to 1927, however since 1928 it has been the only clay court of the four grand slam tournaments. As a result of the court surface being made of clay, the tournament at Roland Garros is seen as the most physically demanding of the four leg grand tournament. The end of the French Open tournament is known as the final leg of the clay tournaments which are held every spring. Tennis star Raphael Nadal has been credited as a clay court king, and as a result has won a couple tournaments at Roland Garros.

The clay surface is both good and bad, as although it is the most unique aspect of the grand slam tournament, it is also the most difficult, because it slows down the ball and produces a high bounce. As a result, it is more difficult for tennis stars whose forte is hard serves and easy aces, to win at Roland Garros because of the limitations the clay puts on their style of play. Within the last decade, the last three top superstars to win the grand slam are Andre Agassi, Raphael Nadal and Roger Federer. Surprisingly, one star to have the most difficulty winning at Roland Garros was Agassi's chief rival, Pete Sampras, who in his career never made it to a quarter final.

World Cup betting players may have thought the tournament in South Africa was being held in Paris, as Spain and Italy came away victorious at the French Open this year.

Mens

Rafael Nadal climbed back on the throne at Roland Garros by winning his fifth French Open title, avenging his loss in 2009 (still his only loss in Paris) by beating Robin Soderling in straight sets. The straight-sets aspect wasn't even surprising as Nadal didn't drop a set, and was taken to a tiebreaker just three times. Roger Federer couldn't defend his title, falling to Soderling in the quarterfinals, and it cost him top spot in the rankings as Nadal is back in top of the tennis world.

Womens

Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur formed one of the most unlikely finals anyone would have imagined, but Schiavone became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam with her straight-set win over Stosur, an Australian. Serena and Venus Williams, the top two seeds in the draw, were knocked out in the quarterfinals, along with four-time French Open champion Justine Henin, who made her return to tennis at the beginning of the year after a two-year absence. Even in the semifinals, Jelena Jankovic was throttled by Stosur, while Elena Dementieva had to retire after the first set due to a torn calf muscle she suffered in the second round of the tournament. If you were the betting player who called that final matchup, enjoy your winnings.