Day three of the 2024 French Open should be a busy one as the first-round matches in the men’s and women’s singles draws are completed at Roland Garros.
We have picked out a four-fold accumulator for Tuesday’s action.
French Open Tennis Tips
- Hubert Hurkacz to beat Brandon Nakashima @ 1/3
- Sloane Stephens to beat Yulia Putintseva @ 11/10
- Angelique Kerber to beat Arantxa Rus @ 8/15
- Gregoire Barrere to beat Alexander Bublik @ Evens
- Accumulator pays 15/2 if successful.
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Hurkacz has the power to put Nakashima on the back foot
One of the men’s matches set to get underway in the morning features number eight seed Hubert Hurkacz, who was made to work for his opening-round win by Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.
Hurkacz was taken to five sets by the 20-year-old, who broke the Pole’s usually impenetrable serve three times on his way to a 2-1 lead.
But the former Wimbledon semi-finalists fought back to finish his tiring opponent off 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
That tough workout should stand him in good stead for the challenge of facing America’s Brandon Nakashima on Tuesday.
The world number 68, who beat Andrey Rublev on clay last month for a second top-10 win in his career, overcame wildcard Nicolas Moreno De Alboran 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 to move into the second round.
Moreno de Alboran managed to get only 61% of his first serves in and faced 15 break points, but Hurkacz should be able to push Nakashima to the back of the court with his booming service to stay on top of the Californian.
Stephens a snip at better than evens
Sloane Stephens is superb value to win her first-round clash with Yulia Putintseva with her odds lengthening after she suffered four defeats in a row prior to this tournament.
But the American is a former finalist at Roland Garros and always seems to do better than expected in Paris, where the 31-year-old has reached the fourth round in nine of the past 12 years.
Putintseva beat Stephens in straight sets when they clashed in Rome recently, but it was the former US Open champion who prevailed in last year’s French Open meeting and she should rise to the occasion again.
Kerber can KO rusty Rus
It has so far been a successful return to the tour for former world number one Angelique Kerber after her 18-month hiatus.
The German reached the round of 16 at the Italian Open last time out, upsetting Veronika Kudermetova before going down fighting to eventual champion Iga Swiatek.
The 36-year-old has never previously faced world number 49 Arantxa Rus, but this clash of two wily left-handers could be a good watch.
Rus is not in great form after exiting her last two events in Rabat and Rome in the first round, but the Dutch player did beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on clay last month.
However, Kerber’s greater mobility and proven big-match temperament should see her through to a likely second-round meeting with fourth seed Elena Rybakina.
Barrere can break combustible Bublik
Another match to keep an eye on this Tuesday will be the latest clash between French veteran Gregoire Barrere and Kazakstan chaos-merchant Alexander Bublik.
Bublik smashed three racquets after erupting in rage during one of the more recent of the pair’s five previous meetings and his temper got the better of him at last year’s French Open too.
His racquet took the brunt of his frustration during a first-round exit to Giulio Zeppieri, a match which he lost from 2-1 up and you can never be sure of Bublik in these five-set encounters.
This will be the first Grand Slam meeting between Barrere and Bublik, but the Frenchman will have the backing of the home crowd and his game looks to be in good shape after recent clay-court wins over Sebastian Korda in Bucharest and Andy Murray in Bordeaux.
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Odds correct at time of writing
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