French Open best bets for Sunday, June 2nd
We’re in the thick of the second major of this exciting 2024 tennis season, as the top ATP and WTA players in the world are in Paris for the 2024 French Open. The action at Roland Garros should be stellar over the next week, so now isn’t the time to stop watching. I’ll be doing my daily tennis best bets until we see two champions crowned. So, keep reading for some of my favorite plays for Day 8 of the French Open, which will be played on Sunday, June 2nd.
I’d also strongly suggest coming back to this story throughout the day. I try to write up as many matches as I can in advance, but it’s hard to do that in an international sport. I also like to throw in some Challenger-level bets. That said, I’ll probably be adding picks to the bottom of the story. I’ll also throw them on the Pro Picks page.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
2024 Record: 334-350 (+24.37 units)
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas is looking like one of the players to beat at Roland Garros. The Greek star won a Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo earlier in the clay-court season, and he is now 16-2 on the dirt since heading over to Europe. And Tsitsipas has already done some impressive things in Paris, dropping a total of one set to Marton Fucsovics, Daniel Altmaier and Zhizhen Zhang. All three of those players are formidable on clay. However, I do think that Arnaldi will be the toughest opponent for Tsitsipas thus far, especially with the way the Italian is playing right now.
Arnaldi beat Arthur Fils in four sets in the opening round, which was a match that many thought could go either way. Fils is a very talented player and was playing in front of his home crowd. Then, Arnaldi beat Alexandre Muller in straight sets, which is a tougher matchup than people think. And last round, Arnaldi earned a straight-set win over Andrey Rublev, who won a Masters 1000 title in Madrid and is a top-10 player in the world. That said, Arnaldi is every bit as hot as Tsitsipas. And I think he has the game to make this a longer match than expected.
Arnaldi doesn’t have as big of a serve as Tsitsipas, but he’s capable of easily racking up holds. It usually just depends on which version of the Italian shows up. But he was dialed in with the ball on his racquet against Rublev, and I think he likes playing matches in which there isn’t much expected of him. He’s a big match player and he showed that when he took a set off Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells. And he has only backed it up here. Arnaldi is also just a very smart player from the baseline, as he sets points up like somebody that has been playing for 10 years longer than he has. That said, I’d expect Arnaldi to avoid the Tsitsipas forehand as much as possible. Arnaldi can also be pretty crafty out there, so he should keep Tsitsipas on his toes with his ability to mix things up.
All in all, I ultimately think Tsitsipas will win this match. But I would be surprised if he does it in straight sets. So, I’m playing Arnaldi to win a single set.
Bet: Arnaldi +2.5 Sets (-155)
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Carlos Alcaraz
Auger-Aliassime is coming off a very impressive straight-set win over Ben Shelton last round. I had the Canadian to emerge victorious in that one, but I wasn’t expecting a lopsided match. But Auger-Aliassime is starting to recapture the form that made him one of the best player in the world in 2022. He won 69.0% of his matches that year and won five titles. Well, Auger-Aliassime might have some work to do in order to reach those marks again, but he made the final in Madrid and gave Rublev a run for his money in that match. Auger-Aliassime then played some decent tennis in Rome.
The reality here is that Auger-Aliassime is one of the best servers on the planet, so he should be able to rack up some easy holds in this match. And the same can’t be said for Alcaraz, who still has a lot of work to do on that part of his game. With that in mind, I just don’t think it’s crazy to expect a set in which Auger-Aliassime handles his business and Alcaraz throws away a service game or two. Or, Auger-Aliassime can cash this in a tiebreaker, where his ability to bomb serves would give him a small advantage. After all, Auger-Aliassime does have three wins against Alcaraz, and his two losses came in 2023 and 2024. Those results are pretty easy to flush considering Auger-Aliassime is back to playing like himself.
Bet: Auger-Aliassime +2.5 Sets (-115 – 1.5 units)
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Hubert Hurkacz
This is a pretty straightforward one for me. While I’m a little concerned about Dimitrov playing somewhat late into Saturday, I’d be pretty surprised if he lost to Hurkacz on clay. Dimitrov isn’t exactly at his best on slower courts, but Hurkacz is a big server and that’s really his only major weapon on a tennis court. Well, the court speeds here make it a little harder on Hurkacz to hold. That should give Dimitrov the opening he needs to win this thing. Dimitrov is a solid enough returner to consistently put pressure on Hurkacz’s serve, and I’m not sure the Pole will be able to do much damage as a returner here. Also, most of the long rallies in this match should go Dimitrov’s way, as he’s just much more polished than Hurkacz. There’s a reason Dimitrov is 5-0 against Hurkacz in his career. I think he moves to 6-0 in a match that has favorable conditions for him. Plus, if this thing is close late in sets, Hurkacz’s past inability to get by Dimitrov could get in his head.
Bet: Dimitrov ML (-125 – 1.5 units)
Clara Tauson vs. Ons Jabeur
Jabeur struggled in a big way towards the end of 2023 and she started 2024 in similar fashion. But Jabeur has won seven of her last 10 matches and is starting to look a lot like the player that made three Grand Slam finals. With that in mind, I think you’re getting a good price on Jabeur to beat Tauson here. I’m a big fan of Tauson’s ability to hit for power from the baseline, but she really doesn’t do much else on the tennis court. And it takes a little variety to win at Roland Garros. Well, Jabeur certainly has that variety. She arguably has the best touch in the women’s game, as she hits tremendous slice shots and can also hit some remarkable drop shots. And Jabeur also has the ability to power up when she needs to. Overall, I just think that Jabeur will do a good job of keeping Tauson guessing here. Let’s just hope this is played with an open roof. If the weather forces the tournament officials to close it, you’ll want to try and get out of this. Lower bounces would make Tauson a lot more dangerous. Fortunately, the forecast isn’t calling for rain right now.
Bet: Jabeur ML (-145 – 1.5 units)
Added Plays
Kyle Edmund ML (-137 – 2 units) vs. Li Tu [Surbiton Challenger]
