The second Grand Slam of the season gets underway in Paris with Roland Garros certain to provide the idyllic backdrop to some sensational tennis. Here are our top 2019 French Open betting tips.
Tournament History
The French Open has been an event on the tennis calendar for 128 years and has been held at Roland Garros since 1928. The event has always been held in Paris and has always been played on clay – making it the culmination of the European Clay Court season that runs from early April to early June. The 2019 edition of the tournament will see the French Open prize pot inflate, with over 42 million euros to be distributed to the players, making it one of the most lucrative tennis tournaments in both the male and female game.
Format
The French Open adopts the same format as Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open. Once the qualifying rounds are completed, 128 players make up both the male and female main draws – with matches taking place over a 2 week period.
Venue
The French Open has been played at the courts at Roland Garros since 1928 and the event has always been staged in Paris. Racing Club de France and Tennis Club de Paris were some of the original hosts of the French Open prior to the move. Despite numerous relocation attempts from various parties, the event looks to be in a stable position in the sporting calendar and Roland Garros looks to be the ideal host location currently.
Dates
Sunday 26th May – Sunday 9th June 2019.
Previous Winners (Men’s)
There is one man who has become synonymous with the French Open and that is Rafael Nadal. The Mallorcan has won 11 French Open titles, a world record at one Grand Slam tournament and he will once again be the man to beat again this season. Swedish superstars Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander have won 6 and 3 French Open titles respectively whilst Brazilian ace Gustavo Kuerten also has 3 Grand Slams to his name. In more recent times, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka have also picked up one French Open each but can’t shift Nadal’s dominance.
Previous Winners (Women’s)
An eclectic mix of players have clinched the French Open in the women’s game and Chris Evert tops the charts with 7 tournament wins historically. German legend Steffi Graf won a remarkable 6 titles at Roland Garros whilst Belgian ace Justin Henin picked up 4 French Open titles in a 5 year period in the mid 00’s. Serena Williams has clinched the title 3 times in Paris whilst defending champion Simona Halep will be hoping to retain her title here in 2019.
2019 Tournament Preview
Men’s:
Eleven time champion Rafael Nadal picked up his first clay court trophy of the season in Rome last week and looks to be finding form at the right time.
Novak Djokovic is the world number 1 following an impressive run of form and the Serb will fancy his chances of picking up a 2nd French Open here.
Roger Federer looks set to make a rare appearance at the French Open but could be a good outside shot with the pressure off.
2018 runner-up Dominic Thiem has enjoyed an impressive start to the year and looks well set to push the established elite all the way this week.
Upstarts such as Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will also fancy their chances in what could be quite an open draw.
Women’s:
Predicting results in women’s tennis is becoming increasingly difficult but world number 1 and current US and Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka will be looking to make it three Grand Slams in a row here.
Serena Williams is expected to return here following an injury break but she is always a danger in any draw she plays in.
Defending champion Simona Halep is arguably the best player in the world on clay so she is sure to be in the mix, as is last year’s runner up Sloane Stephens, world number 2 Petra Kvitova and Rome Masters champion Karolina Pliskova.
2019 French Open Tournament Preview
Men’s Outright Winner Odds:-
The second Grand Slam of the year gets underway in Paris and it should be an enthralling fortnight of tennis. With Rafael Nadal very much the man to beat, there should be plenty of thrills and spills along the way.
Here are some of our favourites for the French Open title:-
Rafael Nadal – 11/10 (Bwin) –
Question marks surrounded the Mallorcan prior to his Italian Open win, with three consecutive semi-final defeats in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid upping the intensity. He looked back to his devastating best in Rome and should take that form to Paris where he will be looking for a 12th French Open title.
Novak Djokovic– 5/2 (Bet365) –
World number 1 Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a superb season, winning the Australian Open as well as the Madrid Masters. He may detail clay as his weakest surface but he has already won one French Open title and how he would love to pick up another here, to hold all 4 Grand Slams at the same time.
Dominic Thiem – 6/1 (Betsafe) –
Last year’s runner up Dominic Thiem has enjoyed an incredible 2019, winning the titles in Indian Wells and Barcelona to make him one of the favourites here in Paris. The Austrian will be better for the experience of reaching the final last year and looks well placed to mount a serious title charge here.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – 20/1 (William Hill) –
The Greek youngster has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the ATP Tour rankings and is firmly in the world’s top 10 players. He has defeated Nadal and Federer on clay in recent times and with his tendency to up his game on the big occasion, he could be a shrewd outside bet in Paris this year.
Roger Federer – 33/1 (888sport) –
The 20-time Grand Slam champion only has the 2009 French Open in his cabinet and a decade on from his only title, he looks a long shot at Roland Garros. He has historically rested during this period to be fresh for the grass court swing but he looks ready to go in Paris and could cause some damage.
Alexander Zverev – 40/1 (Betfred) –
The young German has endured a difficult year on the ATP Tour and he seemingly can’t seem to string a run of wins together. He is yet to pick up a trophy this term and has no real clay court form to speak of but he has a game capable of beating anyone on his day.
Top Pick – Rafael Nadal – 11/10 (Bwin)
Outside Pick – Stefanos Tsitsipas – 20/1 (William Hill)
2019 French Open Tournament Preview
Women’s Outright Winner Odds:-
Naomi Osaka holds two Grand Slam titles as the WTA Tour rolls into Paris and with plenty of big names vying to knock her off her perch, it should be a fascinating fortnight at Roland Garros.
Here are some of our favourites for the French Open title:-
Simona Halep– 9/2 (888sport) –
The defending champion has been a solid performer on the WTA Tour all season and will once again be the woman to beat in Paris. She has spoken of her preference to playing on clay and her expert movement and solid ball striking could be pivotal in her bid to retain the title.
Kiki Bertens – 9/1 (Ladbrokes) –
The Dutch powerhouse has climbed the rankings to world number 4 in recent times and she looks to be finding form at the right time. Another player who tends to play her best stuff on clay, she will be one to look out for in what could be a very open draw in Paris.
Naomi Osaka – 14/1 (Betfred) –
The defending US and Australian Open Champion has lacked consistency in 2019, with off court matters seemingly proving difficult to deal with – but she is still a major player on the WTA Tour. The only question mark centres round her clay court suitability but she looks way overpriced here.
Petra Kvitova – 15/1 (Betsson) –
The Czech superstar has enjoyed another solid season and will be relishing the prospect of winning her maiden French Open. She is firmly in the world’s top 3 players and despite not possessing the best record on clay, she will have the benefit of being protected by her seeding and could go far this year.
Sloane Stephens – 16/1 (Bet-at-Home) –
Last year’s runner up continues to produce the results on the WTA Tour and is firmly amongst the world’s top 10 players. She could feel a little aggrieved to have missed out on the trophy last year when blowing a strong lead over Halep and she will want to go one better this time round.
Karolina Pliskova – 16/1 (William Hill) –
Yet another player in good form, Pliskova stormed to victory at the Italian Open last week and has historically produced solid results on clay. She has gone under the radar somewhat in the 2019 season but looks a very good value bet to potentially go deep at Roland Garros.
Serena Williams – 20/1 (Guts) –
Serena Williams makes her return to the tour at Roland Garros and will be the woman to beat for every player in the draw. She has won the title in Paris 3 times but has better results on other surfaces and it could be a big ask to go all the way here but with Serena, anything is possible.