Tennis best bets for the French Open – Friday, June 2nd
The French Open is the second major of the tennis season, and it’s the only one that is played on clay. This year’s tournament will feel a bit different without 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, but the action should be tremendous from both the men and the women. There’s nothing quite like clay-court tennis, and we’ll be here with daily best bets for all the action at Roland Garros. With that said, keep reading for our picks for Friday, June 2nd. Make sure you also check out the Pro Picks page throughout the course of the tournament, as I’ll have some plays there that you won’t find here. We went 2-0 with our added picks yesterday.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have
Lorenzo Musetti vs. Cameron Norrie (Scheduled: 8:30 a.m. ET)
Musetti beat Norrie when the two met in Barcelona in the beginning of April, but I think the Brit is a great value play here. And what that comes down to is that I trust Norrie’s fitness and mental strength a little more than his opponent’s. Musetti has had some big wins in the first half of the 2023 season, but he hasn’t exactly been a reliable player throughout his career. He is prone to mental lapses on the court, and I think Norrie’s game could frustrate him.
Norrie is going to battle for however long this match lasts, putting extra balls in play and utilizing whatever he can to his advantage. He’s one of the smartest players in the sport, and that type of thing tends to matter over the course of a best-of-five match. The same goes for fitness, and there aren’t many players on tour that are in better condition than Norrie. If this ends up being a lengthy battle, Norrie should have a better shot at finding an extra gear late.
Norrie is also likely to do a better job of dissecting the film from their last match to put together a game plan. So, I’d expect the Brit to come out and play really well to start this one. I also think his big looping forehand will be more effective in Paris than it was in Barcelona. And that alone could make the difference here. If Norrie’s line drive of a backhand is clearing the net regularly, this could be more lopsided than expected.
There just isn’t much that separates these two players, so I like taking the underdog at great odds — especially when I view Norrie as the better player.
Bet: Norrie ML (+160)
Karolina Muchova vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (Scheduled: 10:30 a.m. ET)
If you took our advice to back Muchova to win Quarter 3, there’s no need to add to the position by betting her here. But if you didn’t, I like the Czech to get the job done against Begu. The Romanian is actually 2-0 in this head-to-head series, and one of the wins came in Madrid at the end of April. But that was a 6-4, 7-5 win for Begu, and it could have gone either way. And Madrid was Muchova’s first clay-court event of the year, while Begu was able to get her feet wet in Charleston.
Muchova is actually the player that comes into this one on a better run of form. The Czech’s straight-set win over Maria Sakkari in the first round should have sent a message to the rest of the field, and Muchova has now won five of her last six matches. Meanwhile, Begu lost to Sakkari in Madrid, and she then suffered a first-round loss in Rome. So, she isn’t exactly playing her best right now. Of course, she does have two straight-set wins in Paris already, but she has had an easy draw thus far.
Muchova’s backhand can be an issue at times, but the slow clay gives her more time to attack with that shot. And her forehand is going to be a massive weapon in this match. Muchova has the ability to hit for power, and that’s important with these heavy balls. Begu is more of a counter puncher and is going to have a lot of trouble getting shots by Muchova.
Bet: Muchova ML (-140)