French Open 2025 | Men’s Day 4 Tips & Preview

The defending champion got off to the perfect start. He defeated the big serving Zeppieri in straight sets but more importantly, won 59% of 2nd serve points and did not have his serve broken. Marozsan was just as dominant against Nardi but holding serve will be a challenge against the best clay courter on the planet. Marozsan did beat Alcaraz on clay in 2023 and that result cannot be ignored. He was able to attack the Alcaraz 2nd serve in that match and it will give him some confidence to play his game. There has been at least one tiebreaker in each of Marozsan’s last four losses on this surface and although he may not be good enough to win, this will be a competitive match.

It was smooth sailing for Ruud in his opening round win over Ramos-Vinolas with the two-time finalist here winning in straight sets. Borges went the distance in his win over Frenchman Kyrian Jacquet and will need to improve significantly on that performance if he is to challenge the Norwegian here. Ruud was a comfortable 6-3 6-2 winner in their only prior clash in Los Cabos last year and the concern for Borges is that he won only 33% of 2nd serve points in that match on what is a fast hard court. That suggests that Ruud will be very comfortable in the baseline exchanges in this match which means he will break serve multiple times per set.

In his opening round win, Tsitsipas looked every bit the former French Open finalist. He dominated the baseline exchanges and was able to win 63% of 2nd serve points but faces a very different opponent today. The biggest difference – Gigante is a lefty and that is a problem for Tsitsipas whose inside-out forehand will be going into the Gigante strength. Moreover, Gigante will be able to attack the Tsitsipas backhand with his forehand. The Italian won a Challenger Tour event in Rome last month, breezed through the qualifiers here and dropped a total of only 6 games in his first round win. There is also no doubt that he will talk to his countryman Lorenzo Musetti who has defeated Tsitsipas twice on clay in the last four tournaments played.
Best Bet: Gigante To Win A Set – YES ($1.95)

Prior to this tournament, Tiafoe was knocked out in the opening round in 6 of his previous 9 appearances at the French Open. Meanwhile, Carreno-Busta has made the quarters here on two occasions and has grown up on the red dirt. The veteran has been involved in a lost list of tight matches on clay in recent months and this has the makings of a thriller. Tiafoe won 63% of 2nd serve points in his win over Safiullin but will not go close to that number here. Am expecting 4-5 tight sets so will be backing the Overs.