French Open Betting Preview
The 126th running of the French Open gets underway this weekend at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris. It’s the second Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year, following the Australian Open back in January which saw Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty claim the singles titles.
The 2022 French Open will run from May 22 until June 5 when Novak Djokovic will defend his title after winning the tournament last year. The Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejčíková will also be taking to the clay courts to attempt to retain her women’s singles title.
That clay surface at the Stade Roland Garros is the only one of its kind in the Grand Slams, with Wimbledon being played on grass, and the US and Australian Opens using hard surfaces.
This creates a unique challenge for the players, as clay leads to higher bounces and a slower pace. It’s also part of the reason why the French Open is often considered to be the most gruelling of the four Grand Slams.
With just a few days to go before the first serves are made, we’ve been taking a look at all the contenders to see who has the best French Open odds.
Novak Djokovic (+160)
Novak Djokovic is a player who needs no introduction. The Serbian has been competing at the highest levels of tennis since he turned pro back in 2003. During that time, he’s won a total of 87 tournaments, including a whopping 20 Grand Slam singles.
Djokovic has had the most Grand Slam success at the Australian Open, the place where he won his first major tournament and a total of nine titles. The French Open, on the other hand, is where his success has been harder to come by.
This reflects the fact that the competition is seen as the most difficult on the calendar and that Djokovic tends to perform better on hard surfaces.
After the debacle surrounding Djokovic’s exclusion from the Australian Open, he has been cleared to play in France and will be hoping to silence his critics by defending his 2021 title. With the best French Open odds of +160, he’s certainly in prime position to do just that.
Carlos Alcaraz (+175)
Carlos Alcaraz is currently the world No. 6., and still green as the surface at Wimbledon. With just four years of pro experience, he’s looking very much ahead to even greater successes, a fact that is particularly stark when compared with his contemporaries. In fact, the year Djokovic turned pro was the year Alcaraz was born. The 19-year old has already won five titles since turning pro in 2018, though he’s yet to secure victory at a Grand Slam tournament. Give him time.
The Spaniard’s best finish so far was at the US Open last year when he reached the quarter-finals. With this achievement, he became the youngest ever player to do so at the US Open and the youngest at a Grand Slam since Michael Chang in 1989, who won the French Open at the tender age of 17.
Unfortunately for him, this was the furthest Alcaraz would get, and he was ejected from the competition by Canadian, Félix Auger-Aliassime, who went on to the semi-finals.
Alcaraz will be hoping to improve his record at the Stade Roland Garros, and with odds of +175, he is considered in a strong position to do so.
Rafael Nadal (+225)
Fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal is hot on Alcaraz’s tail, with French Open odds of +275. The 35 year-old will turn 36 during the tournament, so he could be looking to stock up on additional champagne to make it a birthday to remember.
Having won 91 titles over his 21-year professional career, Nadal has certainly proven that he has what it takes to win a Grand Slam. In fact, while he’s enjoyed success at all four tournaments, he’s proven to be something of a clay aficionado, having won on that surface in the French Open on 13 separate occasions.
Nadal was on a four-year winning streak, but that was brought to an end by Djokovic last year, so he’ll be hoping to regain the title this time out.
The world No. 5 will be riding high into the tournament after winning the Australian Open for the first time in more than a decade back in January. It could be the morale booster he rides all the way to victory again in Paris.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+550)
Greek tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, is currently the world No. 4, ranking him ahead of both Nadal and Alcaraz. He’s won himself a handy eight tournaments since he began playing pro in 2016, and, at just 23, still has years to further polish his game.
He’s yet to go all the way in a Grand Slam, however, but he’s come close, making it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open on three occasions, including in 2021 and 2022, and reaching the final of the 2021 French Open. His highest ambitions were dashed, but such an up-and-coming tennis star as Stefanos Tsitsipas must take some solace in knowing that it took the world’s top player, Novak Djokovic, to best him.
Having just become the first man to win 25 tour-level matches in 2022, Tsitsipas is clearly on the cusp of one Grand Slam victory or another, so if he really hits his stride, we could see him taking the title in Paris. With +550 odds, he’s in real contention, though he no doubt faces tough challenges in Nadal, Alcaraz, and Djokovic.
Alexander Zverev (+1400)
25-year-old Alexander Zverev is currently ranked world No. 3. The German has won a total of 19 tournaments since he turned pro back in 2013, though, like Tsitsipas, he is yet to slam a Grand Slam.
Also like Tsitsipas, Zverev has come close on several occasions. In 2020, he made it to the semi-final of the Australian Open and took a step further at the US Open a few months later by reaching the final.
But after being beaten by the Austrian Dominic Thiem in the last hurrah, Zverev bounced back the following year to progress through to the semi-final of the French Open.
He’ll be hoping to build on this when he takes to the clay in Paris next week, though he’ll have his work cut out for him if he’s to beat the players with better French Open odds. At +1400, Zverev is certainly in with a shot, but it won’t be easy to land.
The Parisian clay always creates great tennis, and 2022 will be no different. With players like these all vying for the title, there are plenty of opportunities to slam down your own winning bets at Bodog in the French Open odds. Which way will you swing?
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