The second Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season is upon us, as the best players in the world travel to Roland Garros for the 2025 French Open.
In 2024 it was Carlos Alcaraz who came out on top in the Men’s tournament with a 3-2 victory over Alexander Zverev, having defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner en route to his third grand slam title, before adding a fourth at Wimbledon later that year.
The Spaniard will no doubt be keen to retain his titles but will face tough competition, so we’ll take a look at the favorites the tournament as we provide you with our best free tennis betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash.
Having won this tournament in 2024 for the first time in his career despite his clear preference for playing on clay, it now seems that Alcaraz can kick on and make this competition his own.
So far this season the 22-year-old Spaniard has won two of the three European clay events that he has entered, including a dominant display against world number one Jannik Sinner in Rome where he claimed a 7-6, 6-1 in the final.
Alcaraz is one of the best defensive players on the tour, and his ability to quickly turn difficult situations into point-winning shots with his incredible forehands and reliable backhand makes him a threat in every match he is in. He’s also improved his second-serve noticeably in recent times, and his current 21-4 record on clay explains exactly why he is the favorite for the tournament.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has a difficult route to the final potentially as he could come up against the likes of Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud before even reaching the latter rounds, but he’s clearly the best player on this surface and in great form. It’s the obvious bet, but the most logical too – so back Alcaraz to claim victory at Roland Garros once again.
Current world number one Sinner returned from a three-month doping ban in Rome last time out and reached the final where, as previously mentioned, he was defeated by Alcaraz.
But his performance after a lengthy absence showed why he is the top-ranked player in the world, and boosted a lot of people’s perceptions of his chances for success in the tournament over the next few weeks.
There’s no doubt that he has the ability to go all the way here too. He’s got great variety in his shot, has the endurance to play long rallies and matches, and has the experience of having previously won three Grand Slam tournaments – although his best performance at Roland Garros came last year when he reached the semi-finals.
His route to a potential title isn’t as difficult as it could have been, but there is the worrying stat that he has lost eight of his last nine games against an opponent ranked in the Top 5 when playing on clay. The likelihood of a clash with Alcaraz in the final can’t be ignored, and if so he’d be the underdog. But should there be a shock elsewhere, Sinner’s odds here look very good value.
A three-time Roland Garros winner also found success on this iconic court when he completed his career ‘Golden Slam’ by winning Olympic Gold last year, and he is looking to become the first man to ever complete a fourth career grand slam, while also securing a 25th grand slam title.
So far this season though, the legendary Serbian player has struggled on clay having failed to reach any finals yet while also winning just one tournament at all this year.
The path to a title looks difficult considering his dwindling powers at 38-years-old, while also having a difficult set of games coming up. But if anyone is capable of turning it up one last time and finding wins it’s the man who is arguably the greatest of all-time in Djokovic. At +1200 the odds look fair and tasty too, so could be worth a dabble.
The World number three has not been in the best of form in recent times heading into this tournament, with a disappointing defeat to Alexandre Muller in Hamburg most recently – which he blamed on being violently ill the night before.
However, clay has never been his best surface despite finishing as the runner-up in 2024 and holding a 2-1 set lead at one point during that game.
His potential path to success isn’t the worst, although he faces potential match-ups against an ageing-yet-motivated Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev which could go left if he fails to turn up. Before that he has more than winnable clashes too which could see him build momentum, and he clearly knows how to navigate the tournament, so +1600 could be worth a small flutter.
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.