Ricky Dimon
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The second Grand Slam of the tennis season is underway at Roland Garros. There has already been some chaos on the women’s side, but men’s favorites like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz cruised through their opening matches. First-round action will wrap up on Tuesday.
For the Aussie Open, the first major of the season, I compiled a 26-13 record with my daily bets. I also nailed Nadal at +900 outright as a 3-star best bet and Ashleigh Barty (+275) was my successful pick to win the women’s title.
I am 4-1 at Roland Garros through two days (one match from Monday is still outstanding, as rain postponed play). Let’s keep the momentum going!
Denis Shapovalov ML over Holger Rune (-130)
In a best-of-three situation, the price on this match would be accurate – with Shapovalov being a slight favorite. Unfortunately for the 19-year-old Dane, best-of-five is the story at Grand Slams. At this point in his young career, physical problems are a major problem for Rune. He frequently suffers from cramping during his matches – even matches that don’t last more than two sets. That’s bad news for world No. 40, because he is unlikely to make short work of Shapovalov. The 15th-ranked Canadian has reached at least the quarterfinal of the last two majors and he recently advanced to the last eight in Rome. Shapovalov has won 29 matches at slams throughout his career; Rune has won zero.
Mayar Sherif ML over Marta Kostyuk (+116)
The surface may dictate the outcome of this match, as Sherif has been outstanding on clay over the past few seasons. She is 107-29 on the slow stuff dating back to 2020, including 12-3 so far this season. Kostyuk is just 3-3 on clay in 2022. The Ukrainian has been very outspoken about what is going on in her country and may not be 100 percent focused on tennis. She has won no more than two matches in four of her last five tournaments. Moreover, there is a lot of pressure on Kostyuk to defend a ton of ranking points from last year’s fourth-round result in Paris. Look for Sherif to capitalize on a great opportunity.
Parlay: Jannik Sinner -2.5 sets over Bjorn Fratangelo and Simona Halep -1.5 sets over Nastasja Mariana Schunk (-139)
Count on both Sinner and Halep kicking off their campaigns in routine, straight-set fashion. With Halep there is no need to overthink anything. The 30-year-old won the French Open in 2018 and although she may not be in her absolute prime, she is still ranked a respectable 19th in the world. Schunk is an 18-year-old German ranked No. 165. This is her first appearance in the main draw of a major and it probably won’t last long.
Sinner may have a bit of a tougher time since he has to sweep three sets instead of two, but it shouldn’t be an issue. The 20-year-old Italian is 24-6 this season, reached the French Open quarterfinals in 2020 and has never lost to anyone other than Nadal at this tournament. In fact, Sinner is one of my favorite men’s singles outright bets at +4800. Fratangelo is toiling away down at No. 186 in the world. The 28-year-old American has not won a main-draw match at a slam since the 2017 U.S. Open and has not won a set in a slam main draw since the 2019 Australian Open.
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