French Open best bets for Saturday, June 1st
It’s time for the second major of this exciting 2024 tennis season, as the top ATP and WTA players in the world will be in Paris for the 2024 French Open. The action at Roland Garros should be stellar over the course of this fantastic tournament. I already went ahead and previewed some of the action in my French Open tournament preview, where I broke down the draws and gave out some of my favorite futures. But I’ll be doing my daily tennis best bets here. So, keep reading for some of my favorite plays for Day 7 of the French Open, which will be played on Saturday, June 1st.
I’d also strongly suggest coming back to this story throughout the day. I try to write up as many matches as I can in advance, but it’s hard to do that in an international sport. I also like to throw in some Challenger-level bets. That said, I’ll probably be adding picks to the bottom of the story. I’ll also throw them on the Pro Picks page.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
2024 Record: 329-346 (+24.04 units)
Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Alex De Minaur
Struff has had a fantastic clay-court season already, as he won a title in Munich and is now 11-3 on the dirt since the start of 2024. He’s just a very underrated player overall, but he’s also a lot better than you’d think on clay for a big server. Struff’s ability to easily hold serve and then end points quickly with his booming groundstrokes is very valuable on slower surfaces. And he has also done very good work as a clay-court returner over the last 52 weeks. With that in mind, I like Struff as an underdog against De Minaur. The Australian is in the middle of a career year and has clearly taken his game to new heights. But De Minaur has a losing record on clay in his career, and this is going to be a tough matchup for him.
I know De Minaur is one of the best defenders in tennis, making it hard to get the ball by him. But he also has a hold percentage of just 70.9% on clay over the last 52 weeks, so Struff should be able to pounce on his serve. And I’m not sure De Minaur has the power required to consistently hit winners in these conditions. So, I’m playing this somewhat big. And if this somehow ends up being an indoor match, Struff could end up winning pretty easily. The low bounces would make it impossible for De Minaur to handle his power. So, if you’re awake and see this is being played under a closed roof, you should really fire away.
Bet: Struff ML (+104 – 1.5 units)
Tallon Griekspoor vs. Alexander Zverev
Griekspoor is dealing with a nerve block that is currently causing tingling down his arm. So, he’s something of a risky player to bet on right now. But Griekspoor has looked pretty good since arriving in Paris, as he beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 in the first round and followed it up with an impressive straight-set win over clay-court specialist Luciano Darderi in the second round. Through two matches, Griekspoor’s serve has also looked as good as ever. And as long as he is serving like his normal self, he’s a tough player to beat. That’s why I like Griekspoor to win a set against Zverev, especially at even-money odds.
Zverev might be one of the most in-form players in the sport right now, but he did give Rafael Nadal and David Goffin chances in his first two matches. And if he’s sloppy at all against Griekspoor, he’s going to drop a set. There’s also just a good chance that we see a tiebreaker or two in this match, and that makes it hard not to like Griekspoor to get himself on the board. I’m not going huge on this or anything, but I just don’t think Griekspoor is getting much respect from the oddsmakers. He’s a top-25 player and he’s steadier than most because of his approach.
Bet: Griekspoor +2.5 Sets (+100)
Paula Badosa vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Badosa and Sabalenka were really battling it out in Stuttgart a little over a month ago. Sabalenka took the first set in that match in a tiebreaker, but Badosa won the second set 6-4. Unfortunately, the Spaniard had to retire at 3-3 in the third. But that was the third time that these close friends had ever met on clay and all of the matches would have gone Over a total of 19.5. That’s ultimately why I’m going to the Over on this number here.
Badosa is a player that can really play some high-level tennis on clay, and I actually think these conditions suit her a lot better than the ones in Stuttgart. If this match isn’t played indoors, the court speeds will be slower than they are in Stuttgart. That would benefit Badosa, who moves a little better than Sabalenka does. And it would also take away some of the effectiveness of Sabalenka’s power game. That should even the playing field, allowing Badosa to play deep into a set or two. And I don’t think her winning one is out of the question.
In the end, Sabalenka should find a way to win this thing and advance. But I’m expecting a close match and can see it coming down to the very end. And if she does end up losing, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for my Iga Swiatek or Madison Keys futures.
Bet: Over 19.5 Games (-138)
Bianca Andreescu vs. Jasmine Paolini
I had Anna Kalinskaya to beat Andreescu last round, but the Canadian played a tremendous match. Her movement looked a lot better than I expected after some significant time off, and she also looked pretty sharp in regards to point construction. That said, I like Andreescu’s chances of keeping things close against Paolini here. Paolini is a very good clay-court player and will definitely hold her own when it comes to baseline play. She’s also going to get into some of Andreescu’s service games, as she’s a very good returner. But I also think that Andreescu is going to absolutely batter Paolini’s serve. And if the Canadian is doing damage as a returner in this match, it’s just hard to see Paolini blowing her out. I also would be pretty surprised if Andreescu loses in straight sets. And if she wins a set, she should cover this spread.
Bet: Andreescu +4.5 Games (-147)
Added Plays
Tommy Paul ML (-141 – 2 units) vs. Francisco Cerundolo
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Novak Djokovic Over 3.5 Sets (-141 – 2 units)
