Looking at the Roland-Garros quarter finals

The French Open started a few days ago, and now that the qualifying round is finished, serious things will start. Over the next two weeks, the very top of world tennis players will compete for this prestigious trophy. During the first rounds, favorites are expected to win their matches easily, so there aren’t a lot of interesting betting opportunities.

Yet, from the quarter finals, the best seated players will play each other, and the outcome of these games will be harder to predict, let alone the name of the final tournament winner. Let’s have a look at the potential quarter finals, from top to down in the draw bracket.

• Djokovic - NadalThis is very unusual to find such giants in tennis meet so before the semi-finals. Nadal will have to pass the young talented Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime the round before, which promises to not be easy. The road to the quarter seems much easier for Djokovic.

• Zverev - AlcarazThis will be a tough game for both players, and Zverev will be in great danger against the new sensation in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz had amazing performances and tournament wins on clay this season, I expect him to beat Zverev who shows mental weaknesses in Grand Slam tournaments.

• Ruud - TsitsipasIt’s tough to predict a winner there, but Tsitsipas has the mental and technical tools to overwhelm Casper Rudd. Yet, the young Norwegian is having a great start of the season especially on clay, and he will certainly take one or two sets in that game. Tsitsipas will have a difficult round before, probably either against Shapovalov or De Minaur.

• Rublev - MedvedevDaniil Medvedev is not in a stellar form but the path to the quarter finals is open for him. Rublev might have the endurance and technical edge to beat Medvedev on clay, yet he will be in danger against Jannik Sinner in round before. For Medvedev, things will start to get tough from the quarter finals.  Now, if we look at bookmakers odds as a tournament winner, what does that tell us?

For the first year since an eternity, Nadal is not the favorite, and that makes him a fair bet, but I think his prime is passed, even on clay. With odds at 3 Djovokic is a good bet, unlike Alcaraz who is yet to prove his capabilities at Grand Slam level. Zverev has the talent to beat anyone, and with odds at 21, he is a very good choice. Finally, to have the second best player in the world Medvedev set at 41 in odds, is an anomaly and pure bargain. Regardless of what you think of the Russian player, it makes sense to bet on him with such a high potential payback.