Given Rafael Nadal’s sheer dominance at the French Open over the years, predicting who will win at Paris may not be very difficult. But, betting on French Open is not any less exciting than betting on other grand slams.
Even if you’re sure that Rafa will win the cup, it may not be a cakewalk to guess who will meet him in the final. It could be Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, or Alexander Zverev.
Thiem, Tsitsipas, and Zverev are playing very well this year.They are playing consistently on clay courts, which makes betting on French Open an exciting proposition.
At Fun88, our experts have analyzed the tennis betting odds to tell you how the male draw will look like. Read on….
The odds are in Rafa’s favour of winning The French Open a record 14th time
Most people would be surprised if you bet against Rafael Nadal winning at the French Open 2021 tournament. And, you can’t blame them. After all, apart from Nadal, no one in male tennis history has won a grand slam 13 times. This year, too, the odds indicate that Rafa is going to emerge as the champion at Paris a record 14th time.
Let’s bring some facts to put things in perspective. Since making a debut on Roland Garros in 2005, Rafa has not won the French Open only 3 times. He has a 13/13 record in the French Open finals, which means he remains undefeated in the tournament’s final match. No player has ever pushed Rafa to a fifth set in a final match.
Rafa has won the French Open four times consecutively in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. In 2016, he pulled out of the tournament due to an injury. Rafa wasn’t in his usual top form initially in this year’s clay season, but he showed his talent by beating Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final.
Djokovic is the second favourite to lift the cup in Paris
After Nadal, all betting odds indicate that Novak Djokovic is the second favourite to win at Roland Garros in 2021. Although Novak hasn’t won the French Open as often as he has other tournaments, there’s no doubt that he’s next only to Rafa on clay.
Novak was inconsistent on clay in his initial part of the career, but he improved his game, and that yielded results. He even won the French Open in 2016. People often argue that Rafa had pulled out of the tournament in 2016 and that led to Djokovic winning it. Still, winning a grand slam is no joke. Apart from winning the French Open in 2016, he reached the finals in Paris on four occasions, which is no mean task.
We do think that Djokovic is your best bet to win the tournament after Rafa.
Dominic Thiem is a close third behind Djokovic to win the French Open 2021
At his peak, Dominic Thiem is a complete player on clay. Sometimes, he’s so good that it seems that he can even beat Rafa. If he had not lost to Nadal in two consecutive finals in 2018 and 2019, Thiem would have already won the cup in Paris. Odds indicate that Dominic Thiem is your best bet to win the French Open 2021 after Rafa and Novak. Remember that Thiem had even beaten Djokovic in a semi-final match in Paris in 2019, which shows his strength as a player.
He also won his first grand slam by winning the US Open in 2020. It appears that Thiem has broken the jinx. But, this year, he’s been a tad inconsistent. For instance, he lost in Round 16 to Cameron Norrie at the Lyon Open, which is also a clay-court tournament. There’s no doubt that Thiem is one of the best male players in the world, but he’ll really have to work on his consistency if he wants to do well at Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas and Zverev can pull off a surprise at the French Open this year
Outside of Rafa, Novak, and Dominic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander “Sascha” Zverev are the two players who are likely to perform well this year in Paris. Greek youngster, Tsitsipas, has impressed tennis-lovers with his game in the last few years. He even reached the semi-final at Roland Garros in 2020, losing only to Djokovic in a five-setter marathon.
Among the next-gen, Stefanos is definitely a talented clay-court player. He’s also playing well in this year’s clay season, having reached the quarter-finals of all the events except the Madrid Open. Odds also hint that Sasha Zverev can pull off a surprise at Paris this year.
Zverev doesn’t have an impressive record at clay, but he has shown a lot of improvement this year. Sasha recently beat none other than Rafael Nadal in the Madrid Open semi-finals by 6-4 and 6-4. He eventually went on to win the tournament at Madrid. For years, experts are saying that Zverev is close to winning a grand slam. Maybe his ultimate moment will come in Paris this year. Let’s wait and watch.
Diego Schwartzman is likely to go deep into the tournament
The Argentine clay-court specialist, Diego Schwartzman, is expected to go deep into the French Open 2021 tennis tournament. He even reached the semi-final in Paris in 2020 and the quarter-final in 2018. On both occasions, he lost to Nadal. In March, Diego won his home tournament, the Argentina Open, so he seemed to be in good form. But, recently, he lost to Richard Gasquet in the second round of the Lyon Open, which is also played on clay courts. That said, Diego is a player to watch out for at the French Open 2021, and odds do indicate that.
Daniil Medvedev is unlikely to do well in Paris this year
Daniil Medvedev is undoubtedly one of the most talented young-gen players. He has also reached the finals of the US Open in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2021. But, when it comes to French Open, his record is dismal. He has never gone beyond the 1st round at Paris, and betting odds indicate that Medvedev won’t go far in the tournament this year. If you really want to take a crazy chance, you may bet on Daniil because the odds are against him this year.
Here’s the list of male French Open winners of the last 20 years:
| Player | Years Won |
| Rafael Nadal (Spain) | 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 |
| Novak Djokovic (Serbia) | 2016 |
| Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) | 2015 |
| Roger Federer (Switzerland) | 2009 |
| Gastón Gaudio (Argentina) | 2004 |
| Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) | 2003 |
| Albert Costa (Spain) | 2002 |
| Gustavo Kuerten (Brazil) | 2001 |
The male draw at Paris is looking really interesting. Although Rafa has an impeccable record, there are other talented players as well who provide exciting options for tennis bettors. At Fun88 we’re super excited to see how the French Open unfolds this year.
Keep coming back to this space because we will provide you with French Open 2021 live scores and results, tennis betting tips and predictions, competitive odds, lucky draws, and prizes to make your betting journey super exciting.
Related Read: French Open Women’s Betting Odds| A List Of Winning Female Tennis Players
