Ricky Dimon
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Why wait until Monday when you can get the French Open started on Sunday? That is what tournament organizers appeared to start asking themselves several years ago, and even the Australian Open is now following suit. No more are those 2 events waiting until Monday to get the festivities underway. The result is an embarrassment of riches for tennis fans on the first Sunday, as a whole host of opening-round matches will be played. Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Carlos Alcaraz are among those taking the court.
Let’s take a look at the best bets to be made on the Day 1 schedule.
Sofia Kenin +2.5 games over Laura Siegemund (-108)
It is true that Kenin may not be the most reliable of players given her struggles in 2024, but you have to like her chances on the big stage. After all, this is a major champion (2020 Australian Open) and former French Open runner-up (also 2020) that we are talking about. Moreover, she recently upset Ons Jabeur at the 1000-point tournament in Rome. Eleven years the American’s senior (36 to 25), Siegemund advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2020 but otherwise has been past the first round only once in nine total appearances at this tournament. Not one other time has she gotten out of the second round. This is a match Kenin can even win outright.
Zizou Bergs +4.5 games over Alejandro Tabilo (+105)
Tabilo’s price is inflated because of his recent run to the semifinals of the Rome Masters, which featured an upset of Novak Djokovic. Yes, that is impressive – but Djokovic has been wildly out of sorts and by his own admission doesn’t prioritize anything other than Grand Slams. Expectations are also high for Tabilo now, and with that comes pressure. It would not be a big surprise to see him bow out of Paris right away at the hands of Bergs. The Belgian is also playing well, recently qualifying for the Rome main draw and extending Rafael Nadal to 3 tight sets. He also qualified for the French Open, so he already has a trio of confidence-boosting wins under his belt. At the very least, Bergs should cover.
Parlay: Dayana Yastremska ML over Ajla Tomljanovic and Nicolas Jarry ML over Corentin Moutet (-102)
Parlaying a pair of decent-sized favorites with each other is generally a sound strategy when it comes to tennis betting. Yastremska and Jarry are no exception. The former is facing an opponent in Tomljanovic who has played only 2 matches since the start of February because of a knee injury. The Aussie also retired from her most recent match earlier this month, so she heads to Paris as a significant question mark. Meanwhile, Jarry has been outstanding on clay in 2024 and is coming off a runner-up showing in Rome – where he upset Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way. The Chilean should be in line to go a long way at this tournament.
