The second Grand Slam of the season is fast approaching with the players heading to Paris for the French Open and the market is dominated by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and the recently-returned world number one Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have won the last five Grand Slam titles between them and many tennis observers expect one of that illustrious duo to maintain their recent dominance at Roland Garros in the French Open, with the main draw getting underway on Sunday, May 25th and concluding on Sunday, June 8th.
The draw has yet to be finalised for the clay-court Major but this tournament is unique as it is played on a specialist surface and there are players that handle conditions much better than others. Here are our tennis betting selections for the second Slam of the season.
Selections
Carlos Alcaraz to win the French Open 11/8
Casper Ruud to win the French Open each-way 12/1
Francisco Cerundolo to win the French Open each-way 40/1
Alcaraz the man to beat in Paris
Alcaraz is already a four-time Grand Slam champion, despite having only recently turned 22 and he looks like a tough man to stop in his bid to make it back-to-back wins on the Parisian clay.
The Spanish superstar was forced to withdraw from competition in Madrid at the end of April due to an adductor injury, but he quashed any injury concerns with his latest title triumph in Rome.
Alcaraz dropped only one set on his way to that title and straight-set victories in his final three outings against in-form Jack Draper, home favourite Lorenzo Musetti and fierce rival Sinner show him to be operating at the peak of his powers.
Sinner was making his first tournament appearance since winning the Australian Open in January due to a three-month doping ban, so could come on for that outing, but Alcaraz silenced him in front of his own crowd in Rome and it is hard to see how roles can possibly be reversed in Paris.
That also means that Alcaraz has won four of his last five meetings with Sinner and, with the Italian likely to need more time before unearthing his A-game, the Spaniard is a worthy tournament favourite.
Rudd respected too
With last season’s runner-up Alexander Zverev struggling to put his best foot forward and three-time Roland Garros hero Novak Djokovic a declining force and having endured first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid, Casper Ruud could represent the each-way value.
The Norwegian was runner-up in the French capital to King of Clay Rafael Nadal in 2022, and then was gallant in defeat against Djokovic when having to play second fiddle once more in the 2023 final.
This surface brings out the best in the 26-year-old and he has had an excellent build-up to Paris, winning a Masters 1000 title in Madrid either side of quarter-final appearances in Barcelona and Rome, suggesting that he could be ready to capitalise were the big two to falter.
Cerundolo one to watch
It would be dangerous to underestimate the chances of Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, who is up to a career-high ranking of 18 and is improving all the time.
The Buenos Aires native has made five clay-court finals on the ATP Tour and semi-final runs in Munich and Madrid this season show what he is capable of when armed with his optimum conditions.
Cerundolo may need a bit of luck with the draw to figure but he has made the fourth round of the French Open in each of the last two seasons and has the potential to go even further this year.
