French Open best bets for Monday, June 3rd
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 9 of the French Open, which will be played on Monday, June 3rd.
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: 338-351 (+28.87 units)
Elina Svitolina vs. Elena Rybakina
Rybakina is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, but the 24-year-old has never been further than the fourth round at Roland Garros. And while that might change here, I’d be surprised if Svitolina doesn’t give her some problems. Rybakina’s biggest weapon is her serve, which is why she’s near the top of the WTA leaderboard in hold percentage. But the slower courts in Paris make it easier on opponents to get her serve back. And Svitolina is a remarkable returner, so I think she’s going to put a lot of pressure on Rybakina. On top of that, Svitolina hits a heavy ball from the baseline. And not only do I think Svitolina can go blow for blow with Rybakina when it comes to power, but I also like the Ukrainian’s top-spin forehand in these conditions. She’s going to use that to make it hard for the world No. 3 to comfortably rip winners.
Overall, I just find it hard to ignore that Svitolina is 2-1 against Rybakina in her career. I know Rybakina is a different player than she was when they last met, in 2021, but Svitolina’s game hasn’t fallen off very much. I like her to win a set and I’m also sprinkling the moneyline.
Bet: Svitolina +1.5 Sets (-115 – 1.5 units) & Svitolina ML (+245 – 0.5 units)
Francisco Cerundolo vs. Novak Djokovic
Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti set a French Open record for latest finish time for a match. The two played until 3:06 am local time on Sunday, which means Djokovic will be coming into this match on a really odd schedule when it comes to rest and recovery. Considering we haven’t seen great form from the world No. 1 to begin with, that makes it hard to envision a scenario in which he completely outclasses Cerundolo. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is a much smarter player, so I trust him to figure out a way to advance. But I don’t see him winning by anything more than a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 scoreline. And that would mean a cover for Cerundolo, who realistically has a shot at winning a set or two.
Cerundolo also happens to be pretty similar to Musetti, who nearly beat Djokovic last round. Both players have a lot of speed along the baseline, but they also have the ability to blast shots. So, Djokovic could have a hard time hitting winners against Cerundolo, and the Argentinean will move the Serbian all around the court with his ball striking. We just have to hope that Cerundolo doesn’t let nerves get the best of him. He’s an average server on a good day and his forehand can occasionally get away from him. If that happens here, he might struggle to compete. But this is just a very big spread for a player with Cerundolo’s talent, especially with Djokovic reeling.
Bet: Cerundolo +7.5 Games (-138 – 1.5 units)
Taylor Fritz vs. Casper Ruud
Holger Rune vs. Alexander Zverev
I wanted a play on Ruud to beat Fritz, so I’m playing the back-to-back French Open runner-up in a parlay. Fritz is a tremendous player and has taken his game to new heights on clay, but beating Ruud will be a tough challenge. Not only does Ruud have a career-high winning percentage in 2024, but he is also 20-4 on the dirt this season. Ruud won titles in both Barcelona and Geneva, and I just think he has a little too much game for Fritz. Ruud hits one of the best topspin forehands in the men’s game, which is a real asset on the dirt. And he really just has a great feel for maneuvering the baseline and constructing points on clay. On top of that, Ruud has made significant improvements as a server in recent years. So, he should hold pretty easily against Fritz, who isn’t much of a returner. And while Fritz’s serve is super dangerous on faster courts, holding isn’t as straightforward for the American on clay. In fact, we just saw him struggle to win service games against Thanasi Kokkinakis, who is a terrible returner.
With the second leg of this parlay, I’m taking Rune to win a set against Zverev. Both of these players have had some close calls in this tournament, with Rune nearly blowing a 2-0 lead against Flavio Cobolli and Zverev coming back from a double-break deficit in the fifth set against Tallon Griekspoor. But both players were able to pull through and set up this blockbuster showdown. Zverev is viewed as a real contender to win this tournament, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he won this match. But I do think Rune is too talented to lose this match in straight sets. The 21-year-old has a big serve and a good combination of aggressiveness and overall rally tolerance along the baseline. That should be enough to allow him to play deep into sets against Zverev here.
Zverev has also had some shaky moments all throughout this tournament, including some poor sets against Rafael Nadal and David Goffin. He ultimately won those matches in straights, but he can’t afford to take his foot off the gas against Rune. The Dane actually beat Zverev in straight sets in a clay-court match in Munich two years ago. So, he’s going to head to the court with some real confidence. He just needs to be locked in as a returner. Zverev has a great serve and Rune’s return game has been a weakness in 2024.
PARLAY: Ruud ML & Rune +2.5 Sets (-101 – 1.5 units)
Added Plays
Timofey Skatov +1.5 Sets (-161) vs. Laslo Djere [Prostejov Challenger]
Alex De Minaur vs. Daniil Medvedev Over 3.5 Sets (-185 – 1.5 units)
Pedro Cachin ML (-138 – 1.5 units) vs. Dennis Novak [Prostejov Challenger]
Hady Habib ML (-167) vs. Diego Barreto Sanchez [Sante Fe Challenger]
