Things are about to get much tougher for some seeded players at the 2024 French Open with the concluding men’s and women’s third-round matches set to take place on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic faces a real test of his clay-court credentials while Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka might drop a set in her matchup with WTA Tour friend Paula Badosa.
We have picked out a four-fold accumulator that features bets involving both players.
French Open Tennis Tips
- Lorenzo Musetti +6.5 v Novak Djokovic @ 10/11
- Alexander Zverev to beat Tallon Griekspoor 3-0 @ 20/21
- Jan-Lennard Struff to beat Alex De Minaur @ 1/1
- Aryna Sabalenka to beat Paula Badosa 2-1 @ 13/5
- Accumulator pays 20/1 if successful.
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Musetti can make Djoker’s day miserable
It’s fair to say that Novak Djokovic’s 2024 is not going as well as he would have hoped.
He suffered his first loss at the Australian Open since 2018, got knocked out by the world number 123 in Miami and was hit by a water bottle thrown from the crowd in Rome, which sent him into a bit of a tailspin as he crashed out in the next round to Alejandro Tabilo.
His progress at the French Open has been uncomplicated so far, but he will not relish the prospect of facing dangerous Italian clay-courter Lorenzo Musetti on Saturday.
The No.30 seed knocked crowd favourite Gael Monfils out in straight sets on Thursday and did it with a touch of panache.
His confidence is up and with a win on clay over Djokovic last year to give him further encouragement, he is capable of taking a set or two off the world number one.
Musetti has been serving well in Paris and might even be able to stay within the +6.5 game handicap even if he loses in straight sets.
Zverev won’t hang around against Griekspoor
Zverev has made quick work of his first two opponents and both of them had bigger reputations than third-round opponent Griekspoor.
The German looked like a genuine title contender in his straight-set wins over Rafael Nadal and David Goffin and we should expect another swift resolution when he faces the Dutch number one.
Griekspoor has lost each of their last two meetings without taking a set and will be lucky to get one against a player with a solid all-round game that appears almost flawless at the moment.
German set to strut his Struff
An intriguing third-round clash between up-and-coming Alex De Minaur and grizzled veteran Jan-Lennard Struff could be one to watch.
The 25-year-old Australian is enjoying a breakout French Open campaign after winning back-to-back matches on the Paris clay for the first time in his career and dropping only 13 games so far.
But he won’t find it easy against Struff, who has dropped only 13 games in two facile wins of his own — the latest coming against world number 17 Alexander Bublik in a match that lasted only 80 minutes.
De Minaur has a 3-2 edge in previous meetings, but the German won their only previous match on clay comprehensively, 6-3 6-2, and can prevail again on Saturday.
Badosa can be a nuisance to second seed Sabalenka
Sabalenka takes on her occasional doubles partner and friend Badosa for a spot in the last 16, having so far posted comfortable wins over Erika Andreeva and qualifier Moyuka Uchijima.
But former world number two Badosa gave her a very good game when they last met and may even have won.
They were tied at 3-3 in the deciding set when the Spaniard’s injury-prone body let her down again, but Badosa showed no signs of weakness in her three-set win over Yulia Putintseva this week, suggesting she can ensure this match goes the distance too.
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Odds correct at time of writing
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