Carlos Alcaraz firms as French Open favourite despite Rome stumble
A cross-section of odds offered on French Open men’s singles winners shows that Carlos Alcaraz is the clear favourite right now.
Ahead of the clay season, Alcaraz was among those heavily favoured but his form throughout the swing has only strengthened that position.
Still just about in touch is Novak Djokovic, who is the other man bookmakers feel is a strong shout.
The position of Rafael Nadal has weakened significantly from a few months ago and some of the odds offered on the Spaniard for a 15th French Open title might be considered overly generous if he does take his place in the draw.
Alcaraz has been very busy across the clay swing though and there is some suggestion that he might have peaked too soon after a Round of 32 exit in Rome.
Djokovic on the other hand might be perfectly poised to finally add a third French Open title to his collection as he appears to be getting stronger despite a disrupted build-up.
The Serbian has been building momentum in tricky conditions in Rome and should be a force to be reckoned with at Roland Garros.
However, there is still a lingering injury cloud over Djokovic who has picked up several niggles this term.
As to where to rank some of the contenders, the bookmakers are not quite in agreement.
Some sportsbooks favour Holger Rune ahead of Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas, but there isn’t uniformity in the estimation of the trio all hunting their first Grand Slam.
Rune, Sinner and Tsitsipas have all been tipped as future Grand Slam winners but only the Greek has made it to the final of Majors.
Tsitsipas reached the championship match in Paris in 2021 and contested his second Grand Slam final in Melbourne earlier this season.
On both occassions he was overwhelmed by Djokovic who denied him a maiden Grand Slam in both Paris and Australia.
The remainder of the field come in at considerably longer odds and even a minor upset could secure a big payday for a bold punter.
Of the outsiders, Andrey Rublev sticks out as someone with the quality to win big tournaments on clay.
According to limited data provided, Alcaraz is drawing the most interest from punters, followed by Nadal. The average odds on Nadal taking the title are around a generous 5/1 mark.
Injury doubts appear to be slowing the backing of Nadal for another title, but there isn’t much action on anyone other than the trio of Alcaraz, Djokovic and Nadal.
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