Tennis

Experience was the key word for a couple of major champions in the 3rd Round with Madison Keys and Osaka getting the better of two upcoming stars (Mboko and Jovic). Things will not get any easier moving forward and the one name standing in everybody’s way in this half of the draw is top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff’s title defence has come to an end so we will have a new women’s champion.  Aryna Sabalenka vs Naomi Osaka Monday Sabalenka -4.5 ($1.80) The remaining women in the draw better be worried because Sabalenka is coming off her best match of the tournament. The world number…

The top half of the men’s draw is turning into a survival of the fittest with 5 of the 8 third round matches going to a deciding fifth set. Tiafoe came from two sets down but his four-hour match was trumped by two others with Arnaldi needing 5 hours to get past Collignon and the battle between J.M Cerundolo and Landaluce stopping the clock at 6 hours and 3 minutes! Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Alejandro Tabilo Monday Tabilo To Win A Set – YES ($1.73) Auger-Aliassime made it through in four tight sets against Nakashima and is yet to dominate a…

With the bulk of the big names making it through, we have some intriguing 3rd Round matchups on Day 7 including the young pair of Jovic and Mboko taking on Grand Slam champions in their respective matches. Despite their inexperience, both are in better form than their opposition and should be the ones to make it through to the next round. Last year’s finalists (Sabalenka and Gauff) are heavily favoured to progress. Aryna Sabalenka vs Daria Kasatkina Saturday Sabalenka -6.5 The world number one was below her best for a second consecutive match dropping serve multiple times and making 31…

The tournament was dealt a massive blow with world number 1 and overwhelming favourite Jannik Sinner going down in five set. He led two sets and 5-1 before illness struck with Juan-Manuel Cerundolo taking full advantage. It means we are likely to have at least one new major finalist as Berrettini is the only player remaining in the top half of the draw to have made it through to the second Sunday of a Grand Slam. Auger-Aliassime is the most accomplished player in this half of the draw but don’t be surprised if he heads for the exits today. Felix…

Zverev and Ruud cruised into the 3rd Round but the same cannot be said about multiple other contenders. Djokovic was well below his best, Jodar dropped a set against Duckworth while Fonseca came from two sets down to win the battle of the young guns. His upcoming battle against Djokovic is the must-watch match of the day. Quentin Halys vs Alexander Zverev 6:15am* Saturday | Philippe-Chatrier Sets Zverev 3-0 ($1.55) Zverev has been a man on the mission in his opening two matches. He has been completely dominant on serve and has been playing with an increased level of aggression…

Jessica Pegula was the biggest casualty of the 1st Round while last year’s finalists (Sabalenka and Gauff) had a tougher time than their respective score lines suggest. It was also a good day for the young pairing of Mboko and Jovic who could both stand in the way of Sabalenka if results go according to plan. Aryna Sabalenka vs Elsa Jacquemot Thursday A 6-4 6-2 win over Bouzas-Maneiro suggests that Sabalenka was dominant but anybody who watched the match would know otherwise. Bouzas-Maneiro failed to convert a series of game points along the way and was still able to generate…

Medvedev, Bublik, Cilic and Norrie were among the notable names to head for the exits. Sinner was in ominous form and it does not look like there is anybody in this half of the draw that will go close to stopping him. Jannik Sinner vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo Thursday Under 27.5 games Sinner was a dominant 6-2 6-2 6-2 winner when these two faced off at Wimbledon a few years ago and the news gets worse for the Argentine here. The Italian has developed into the best player in the world since and this is a surface where you must…

We lost three seeded players from the bottom half in the opening round (Lehecka, Fritz and Etcheverry) with Ruud surviving a five setter and Djokovic coming from a set down to win in four. Rafael Jodar was without question the most impressive performer and is the one player to keep an eye on! Tomas Machac vs Alexander Zverev Wednesday | Court Philippe-Chatrier Over 34.5 games ($1.83) For the 9th time in his last 10 major appearances Tomas Machac has made it through to the 2nd Round. His reward, if you want to call it that, is a battle against the…

Swiatek was dominant in her opening round match and has sent a message to the field that the winner of the tournament will have to get past her. Rybakina and Andreeva are among the challengers but may be made to work harder than expected on Day 4. Sara Bejlek vs Iga Swiatek Wednesday | Court Philippe-Chatrier Swiatek -7.5 ($2.02) As expected, Swiatek was relentless in a crushing win over Emerson Jones. She now faces another youngster with Bejlek’s win over Sloane Stephens just the second of her career at Grand Slam level. It ended a four-match losing streak and the…