ATP Roland Garros Men’s Round Betting Preview & Picks For 1st Round

With the 2017 French Open set to get underway in just over 48 hours on Sunday May 28, tennis betting enthusiasts everywhere need to know which players, besides the incomparable Rafael Nadal, are looking like they’ll have the best chance to bag the second grand slam title of the year With ‘The King of Clay’  the clear-cut prohibitive favorite, let’s find out if he’ll win his record, 10^th title at Roland Garros or whether he’ll be upset by one of the other top contenders.

ATP Roland Garros Men’s Round Betting Preview & Picks For 1st Round

2017 French Open

When: May 22, 2017 – Jun 11, 2017 Where: Stade Roland Garros Edition: 116th

Rafael Nadal -135

Not only has ‘Rafa’ won a record, nine French Open titles, but he’s also bagged a pair of Masters 1000 titles in Monte Carlo and Madrid for the first time since 2010 while reaching the finals of the Aussie Open as well. Nadal will have plenty of motivation seeing as how he hasn’t hoisted the trophy at Roland Garros in each of the past two years. Nadal has compiled a scorching 36-6 record on the year and is playing the best tennis we’ve seen in a couple of years at the very least. Nadal is a near-perfect 17-1 on clay courts this year and that alone says he’ll be very difficult, if not impossible, to beat at Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic +450

The second-ranked player in the world is in the middle of a “crisis” as he recently called it. Novak Djokovic is a modest 20-6 on the year with one title at Doha, but that’s not good enough for the man that ruled the ATP World Tour as recently as a year ago. The ‘Djoker’ did reach the finals of the Italian Open, but ended up losing to World No. 10 Alexander Zverev in the finals, although, in his defense, he did have to play two matches on Saturday the day before the finals. After the loss, Djokovic making a shocking announcement that former ATP superstar Andre Agassi will coach him at the French Open when it gets underway on Sunday. “We are both excited to work together and see where it takes us,” Djokovic said. “We don’t have any long-term commitment. It’s just us trying to get to know each other in Paris a little bit.” The former World No. 1 is just 8-3 on clay this year and just 1-1 in grand slam matches after falling in the second round in Australia.

Alexander Zverev +5000

The 20-year-old  Zverev may be a +5000 longshot, but I love his game and genuinely believe he’ll be the top-ranked player in the world at some point in the near future. Zverev beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 almost two weeks ago to win the the Italian Open and become the youngest player to win a Masters 1000 event since…you guessed it, Novak Djokovic did so a decade ago in Miami. Zverev has put together a nice 27-9 record on the year with three titles while heading into the French with a solid 16-3 mark on clay.

Stan Wawrinka +1000

Wawrinka won the 2015 French Open by beating Djokovic in the finals and that means he could upset the entire field again, although I don’t think it’s likely this year with ‘The Stanimal’ entering the French with a modest 16-8 record and no titles to date. Still, there’s nothing like seeing Wawrinka rip his unrivaled one-handed backhand past generally dazed opponents.

Andy Murray +700

Murray might be the top-ranked player in the world, but like Djokovic, he hasn’t looked like it very much in going 16-7 this year with one title at Dubai. Murray is just 4-4 in eight clay court matches this year and just looks out of sorts these days. Here is a look at the complete odds to win the ATP portion of the 2017 French Open.

2017 French Open Men’s Odds

Rafael Nadal: -135 Novak Djokovic: +450 Andy Murray: +700 Stan Wawrinka: +1000 Dominic Thiem: +1200 Kei Nishikori: +3300 Nick Kyrgios: +3300 Grigor Dimitrov: +4000 David Goffin: +5000 Milos Raonic: +5000 Juan Martin Del Potro: +5000 Alexander Zverev: +5000 Gael Monfils: +6600 Tomas Berdych: +8000 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: +8000 Lucas Pouille: +10000 Richard Gasquet: +10000 Marin Cilic: +12500 David Ferrer: +12500 Pablo Cuevas: +15000 Fabio Fognini: +15000 Jack Sock: +15000 Pablo Carreno-Busta: +20000 John Isner: +20000 Gilles Simon: +20000 Benoit Paire: +20000 Kevin Anderson: +25000 Feliciano Lopez: +25000 Now, let me offer up some picks on a handful of first round matches.

No. 1 Andy Murray vs. Andrey Kuznetsov

As much as I’d like to see Andrey Kuznetsov win this match, he simply doesn’t have the consistency or firepower that it takes to beat Andy Murray. The World No. 1 advances in three sets.

No. 9 Alexander Zverev vs. Fernando Verdasco

As much as I like Alex Zverev, he’s not dispatching lefty veteran Fernando Verdasco in straight sets. Still, the young superstar will win and advance in four.

Benoit Paire vs. No. 4 Rafael Nadal

Benoit Paire is a French native and that means he’s simply not winning. Well, at least not against Rafa. Paire will put up a fight, but Nadal wins in three sets.

No. 6 Dominic Thiem vs. Bernard Tomic

One young guy, (Thiem) maximizes his talent and hustles all the time while the other (Tomic) is lazy, spoiled and as week as a 5-foot-6 player as opposed to the 6-5 underachiever he is.

Marcel Granollers vs. No. 2 Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is not playing his best tennis, but there’s no doubt that he’ll beat Marcel Granollers in straight sets, seeing as how he’s motivated and now has a great clay courter in his corner in Andre Agassi. Djokovic wins in three sets.