The second tennis Grand Slam tournament of the year is upon us with the French Open getting underway on Sunday night! We run you through our best futures bets for both the men’s and women’s draw right here!
2022 French Open Futures
Men’s Outright
The men’s side of this tournament immediately became very interesting when all of Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were drawn in the same half the draw, effectively meaning only one of them will make the final. On top of that, Djokovic and Nadal are drawn to face each other in the quarter finals, which is a lot early than what we’re used to seeing over the years.
Considering Nadal’s fitness struggles in recent months, as well as recent weeks, it’s no surprise to see his great rival in Djokovic named as the favourite in this edition of the French Open. You just can’t be backing Nadal with all the issues he’s facing at the moment and while the Joker has had some problems himself, he looks to be in far better shape and a lot more capable of fighting out best-of-five set matches. With all of that said, I think he has a brilliant opportunity to win his 21st Grand Slam title and I expect him to make the most of it.
Women’s Outright
Seemingly for the first time in a number of years, the women’s draw is the one that looks to be the easier to predict compared to the men. Due to Australia’s Ash Barty retiring from the sport at the top of her game, #1 ranked Polish superstar Iga Swiatek is the odds-on favourite to win the second French Open title of her career. She’s listed at around $1.90ish at most betting agencies, while you can get $10 or better about the rest of the field.
While it may seem like unders backing in Swiatek to take out the title, those odds are absolutely justified when you consider her form this season. The 20-year-old has won 28 matches in a row, five tournaments on the spin, as well as 42 of her last 43 sets. She’s in the type of form that you rarely ever get to see at this level and I certainly won’t be opposing her on the surface where she’s been the most dominant.
Men’s Quarter 4 Winner
Outright market aside, the Men’s Quarter 4 Winner is one of my favourite markets at the French Open this year. It’s an open market with four players at single-figure odds, led by young Italian Jannik Sinner at $4 who’s my pick to make it out of this quarter of the draw. Sinner and Russian Andrey Rublev are clearly the best chances in my opinion, although the latter has been well below his best in the lead-up tournaments. Although he’s just 20 years old, Sinner has made it to at least the last 16 in the last two editions of the French Open and he's been gifted the type of draw that should see him record a personal best result this time around.
Women’s Quarter 3 Winner
The other market I’m keen to make a play on at the French Open is the Women’s Quarter 3 Winner. Much like the quarter we looked at in the men’s draw, quarter 3 is a very open on the women’s side with four players at single-figure quotes. 27-year-old Tunisian Ons Jabeur on the first line of betting at $4.50 and is my pick to make it out of this quarter. She was a late bloomer but is in career-best form at the moment and is having a stellar year on the European clay. Jabeur has made it to the last 16 in each of her last two attempts at Roland Garros and is poised to make a deep run in the coming fortnight.
