The French Open is back to it’s usual May-June slot and there’ll be spectators in the stands, it will be a great start to the summer for tennis fans around the world and at Sports Betting Guide we’ll be following this legendary tennis event until the finals complete on the 12th and 13th of June. If you're new to betting on Tennis, check out our full tennis strategy guide here and pick up a few tips.
The qualifiers for the 2021 French Open starts today and completes during the week before the main draw, which will take place on Sunday the 30th of May.
For the French Open, players are seeded on the basis of their position in the world rankings, but a final draw is done for the matchups, and as the competition works in a bracket system, the draw will have a significant impact on French Open betting cards.
We will have our final picks once the draw is done as well as some picks along the way once the tournament really gets going, but let’s have an early look at the men's tournament favorites and potential outsiders. All of our partner sites will both have pre-match and live betting available during the tournament, a good welcome offer from a top quality sportsbook can help you gain value on French Open betting significantly and we always recommend picking up a new welcome offer when betting on a large sporting event. Read on for our best early winner picks on the men's side of the 2021 French Open
French Open Early Picks
Rafel Nadal just took another clay title in Rome and the Spanish legend will be returning to the French Open at Roland Garros where he has won 14 times before, as an overwhelming favorite at odds -120.
It’s very impressive how a player can muster up a record that brings about this kind of pre-tournament favorite odds, but it’s very reflective of his overall French Open record of 100 wins and only 2 loses – it’s just so tough to beat him over 5 sets on this ground.
There isn’t much money to be made betting on a -120 tournament favorite, but predicting the first time someone else except Nadal takes the title could bring a nice chunk of change.
In this years draw, Nadal will be in the same bracket as Novak Djokovic who’s the #2 favorite at odds +400, that means that they won’t be able to meet in the finals and that we’ll be able to look at players with higher odds from the other bracket to make the final and have chance for the upset.
The number 2 player in the world and top seeded in the opposite bracket of Nadal and Djokovic is Daniil Medvedev, but he is no fan of clay and his odds of +2500 should probably be higher.
Stefanos Tsitsipas +800 has shown good recent form and has turned into a contender, but we’d like his odds to be even higher. The +800 we found at Unibet, he ranges between +600 and +800 on different sportsbooks. If you want to go with a pre-tournament bet on Tsitsipas, make sure to pick the sportsbook that has the highest odds.
While Dominic Thiem is officially the third favorite to win the title at sportsbooks, he hasn’t played much in recent months, making him a very tough pick.
Early outsider picks
While there are quite a few players with relative low odds that we don't like so much for a Roland Garros upset, there are a couple of picks that we feel bring definite value at this stage. We're highlighting a Russian and an Italian to potentially upset the tennis world and end the dominance of Rafael Nadal.
Alexander Zverev
At +1800 we have a more interesting bet of Alexander Zverev, but it’s contingent on him getting drawn into the opposite bracket of Nadal and Djokovic. If this happens, there’s a fair chance that he can make it through that bracket with enough energy to contend in a final.
Zverev's main issue will be fatigue and form and it'll be a good sign if he finishes off early round matches quickly to retain as much power in the bag as possible. If you're thinking of picking out a winner bet after a few rounds, whether or not Zverev has had quick matches so far is worth it to keep an eye on. As for us, we think he's worth a bet at his current odds.
Matteo Berrettini
Another player who was down with injury earlier in the season but now looks like to be turning into form is Matteo Berrettini. Once again the draw is an important factor and Berrettini will need a favorable one, but at +5000 it’s a good spot to get value on a potential outsider.
He's very solid when playing on clay and him being injured earlier in this congested season could actually prove worthwhile as he's relatively well rested compared to the filed. It takes 2 weeks to win a French Open and every ounce of energy will be needed.
Berrettini was a finalist in Madrid and if his form peaks at just the right time, he could be making a strong run towards the final.
Best early bets
Our early bets:
Alexander Zverev +1800 at Unibet
Matteo Berrettini +5000 at various sportsbooks.
Casper Ruud was someone else we had a good eye on, but his wrist injury looks troublesome and it’s a bad spot to be hurting in if you’re looking to win a tennis tournament. We're leaving him out of our early picks, but if he looks good during the tournament he is someone to keep an eye on as well.
References:
https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/results/QM?round=1'
