This year marks the 130th birthday of tennis’ French Open, which first took place in 1891. There have been 124 French Opens before this year’s iteration, 90 of them taking place as Grand Slam events, a status conferred on the tournament starting in 1925. Since 1928, the tournament has taken place at Stade Roland Garros, named for a French aviator. Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek are the defending men’s and women’s singles champions; Nadal returns looking to extend his record of 13 men’s singles titles held. The seven-round tournament is one of the most grueling in professional tennis, and as qualifying matches wind down, we are about to move into the main bracket of the tournament.
Let’s take a look at some news updates as you consider your online French Open betting for this event.
Tennis News: French Open Updates
Which American players are the most likely to contend?
Yesterday, we discussed the chances of 17-year-old phenom Coco Gauff at Roland Garros. Tere is also Serena Williams, who is dangerous at every major. Other than them, there is gift-ranked Sofia Kenin, who was the runner-up here a year ago. However, she recently fired her father, who had been her coach, and is creating a new team around herself. Madison Keys, once considered a player on the short list for the next Grand Slam champion, is having an off 2021. Jen Brady, ranked 14th in the world, is also looking for a new tennis coach. Sloane Stephens, also a one-time runner-up at the French Open, has had a decent clay season. In the men’s draw, Taylor Fritz is the highest ranked American. However, he has never even made it to the fourth round of a major. John Isner, now 36 years old, has made the fourth round in three of the last six French Opens. Reilly Opelka rolled all the way to the semifinals in Rome, another clay tournament that has served as a harbinger of Roland Garros fortunes as well. These three are the only U.S. men’s players ranked in the top 50 in the world.
Can Dominic Thiem post a breakthrough performance?
Dominic Thiem rolled to a terrific finish at the 2020 U.S. Open, prevailing in the final in five wins to take his first Grand Slam title. However, 2021 began with a lack of focus, energy and motivation, and his results were so poor that he walked away for six weeks, not coming back until mid-May, when he took part in the Madrid Masters. He made it to the semifinals, where he fell to Alexander Zverev. Thiem has finished as the runner-up at Roland Garros twice, losing both times to Rafael Nadal. That semifinal match in Rome did not end the way he wanted, as he lost to Lorenzo Sonego in a terrific match. He followed that up with a straight-set loss to Cam Norrie in Lyon (6-3, 6-2), leaving the same questions that dogged him before his hiatus.
How much of a role will Serena Williams and Roger Federer play in Paris?
Federer suffered an opening-round loss in Geneva, which was his first match on the clay in two years. After that, he declared that he was not likely to contend at all in Paris. In 2021, he has a record of just 1-2, having taken a long break after two minor knee procedures. Williams has 23 Grand Slam titles, but she only one match combined at two tournament stops in Parma and Rome, and that win came against someone who was not in the world’s Top 500. It’s hard to see her going that far in Paris, but the reality of the women’s draw is that the only predictable outcomes are the unpredictable ones.
What about Novak Djokovic?
Obviously, Nadal is the heavy favorite, and rightly so. But there have been times when Nadal has fallen in Paris, which puts even more pressure on the other contenders. In 2009, Robin Soderling shocked the tennis world with a fourth-round dispatch of Nadal. After that, Roger Federer became the clear favorite, and the pressure got to him. He struggled to beat Tommy Haas in the fourth round and almost went down in five sets to Juan Martin del Potrol in the semifinals. It will take mental preparation for Djokovic to prevail, whether he eventually meets Nadal or not.
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