the second grand slam of the tennis year is about to get under way at roland garros. there’s little doubt who the favourite is on the men’s side of the competition, with rafa nadal heading for paris as top dog with the bookies yet again. meanwhile, the women’s singles look wide open. ahead of the tournament, we’ve run through all of the contenders to pick out some top betting tips.
for latest french open betting odds, take a look at our odds comparison, which gives you the best price on offer for each player at roland garros this year.
french open contenders and dark horses
rafa nadal heads in to this tournament as the reigning champion yet again, after he continued his incredible reign at the french open. the spaniard is a 10-time winner of this competition, from just 13 attempts. with a couple of poor years behind him, nadal looks back to his best ahead of his return to paris, so surely no one can stop him this year.
meanwhile, the women’s draw is completely different, with a dead heat at the very top of the betting. rafa nadal is priced at just 4/9 with ladbrokes to win the men’s singles. the betting for the women’s title, meanwhile, has simona halep and elina svitolina neck and neck, with halep the slight favourite at 11/2 with betfair in the outright winner betting. will she follow up on that and claim her first ever grand slam title this month?
men’s french open betting tips – nadal too strong for rivals
this year’s french open is not a tough one to go through, with nadal so far in front with the bookies. at 4/9 with ladbrokes he’s a tad short for a grand slam event, and he’s followed by alexander zverev at 7/1 with betvictor. half of the big four are missing out this year, while novak djokovic sits at 12/1 with 888sport after a tough run of form. the serbian is the fourth favourite, and he’s directly followed by david goffin at 40/1 with betfred.
that’s a huge gap in the field, with the competition shaken up by the absence of andy murray and roger federer. we have a weird mix of options after that, and we’re tempted by nadal even at odds-on. he’s won 10 of his last 13 entries at the french open, and after dominating on clay this year so far he’s really justified at that price, so we wouldn’t put anyone off backing him.
however, looking for bigger value is understandable, so we suggest dropping out of the top four favourites with the bookies. we see a couple of longer priced options in this tournament, starting with stan wawrinka. while the swiss player is only just back from injury, he’s made two finals and a semi at this tournament in the last three years, yet he’s 50/1 with betvictor. secondly, world number four marin cilic can be found at 50/1 with betfred, and his run to the semis of the italian open makes us think that he’s also a big price. while nadal is heavily backed, you might want to take advantage and back those two outside options. having said that, it might pay to back the outsiders each way as it will be no surprise if nadal triumphs once again!
while halep leads the way in the betting, we have some doubts about her in grand slams. she’s not yet made it over the line in a major, and it’s a big ask for her to win this time around. there’s a huge mix of styles at the top, running down to serena williams at 10/1 with 888sport, despite her coming in unseeded as the 454th ranked player in the world.
another on the comeback trail is maria sharapova, who is seeded for the first time since her return to the sport. the two-time french open winner is searching for a sixth grand slam, and she sits at 11/1 with coral for the title ahead of the tournament. while she sits out at 29 in the world, she’s made a quick return to the top 30, and we expect her to contend here after being back from suspension for over a year now. we can see sharapova making a point at this tournament, which is the only major she’s won twice. with that in mind, she’s our pick in a competitive field this year.
don’t forget to take a look at our tennis odds comparison ahead of this tournament, which has the best betting odds for all of the french open contenders.