talkSPORT betting tips – Best tennis bets and advice for French Open Friday

The third round of the 2024 French Open begins on Friday, with men’s world number two Jannik Sinner and reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek leading a star-studded line up at Roland Garros.

This season’s tournament has so far been plagued by rain delays, but with better weather expected heading into the weekend, the action is set to be in full flow as the competition builds towards its much anticipated climax.

For Friday’s matches, we’ve picked out a four-fold which expects the top seeds to dominate.

French Open Tennis Tips

• Jannik Sinner to beat Pavel Kotov in straight sets @ 1/2 
• Carlos Alcaraz to beat Sebastian Korda 3-1 @ 3/1
• Coco Guaff to win the first set and beat Dayana Yastremska @ 1/5
• Aryna Sabalenka to beat Paula Badosa 2-1 @ 13/5
• Accumulator pays 22/1 if successful.

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Second seed Sinner to breeze into fourth round 

After dispatching home favourite Richard Gasquet in ruthless fashion on Philippe-Chatrier, men’s world number two Jannik Sinner returns to action on Friday. 

The current Australian Open champion has looked in fantastic form on the clay courts in the west of Paris, beating both Gasquet and Christopher Eubanks in straight sets in his opening two rounds. 

A similar outcome in the third round looks likely as he faces off against unseeded Pavel Kotov, who himself defeated former 2015 French Open winner Stan Wawrinka 7-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 to reach this stage. 

The pair have only met once on the ATP tour, with the 22-year-old Italian winning in straight sets at the Madrid Open just over a month ago. That result should give him the upper hand on Friday, as they face off again on the same surface.

Alcaraz to continue march towards title 

After reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz will be hoping to go two better this time and emulate countryman Rafael Nadal in winning the French Open. 

The men’s world number three defeated J.J. Wolf in straight sets in the first round, dropping just four games in the process, before beating unseeded Dutchman Jesper De Jong 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2 on Wednesday to advance to round three. 

Now comes his first big test as Sebastian Korda stands in his way. The American – who is seeded 27th, one place higher than his world ranking of 28 – has struggled a little for consistency this year though, and failed to get past the round of 32 in both Rome and Madrid. That makes it tough to see him causing a major upset against Alcaraz. 

With the 21-year-old Spaniard having dropped a set last time out, a similar outcome could well be expected here, given that Korda did have some success over Alcaraz on the clay in Monte Carlo in 2022. However, Alcaraz has improved greatly since then and should possess too much power and skill for Korda to sustain a challenge.

US Open champ Gauff too hot to handle

Fresh from her maiden major win at the US Open in 2023, women’s world number three Coco Gauff looks like a player full of confidence as she attempts to take her first French Open crown. 

Reaching the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia during her warm up for this Roland Garros appearance, the 20-year-old continues to impress overall and has looked particularly comfortable on clay. 

So far in 2024, Gauff has claimed victory in nine of her 12 matches on this surface, one of which saw her defeat Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-4 6-1 at the Madrid Open in late April. 

After breezing through the opening two rounds and reaching the semi-final stage at the Australian Open earlier in the year, she should have enough to advance in similar fashion once again.

Sabalenka to face third-round battle

Ranked women’s world number two as recently as April 2022, Spain’s Paula Badosa has faced an uphill battle in recent years due to a succession of injuries. 

But so far at the 2024 French Open, she has impressed across the board, playing some of her best ever tennis to reach the third round. 

Wins from one set down against women’s world number 26 Katie Boulter and Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva have also highlighted her fighting spirit, but a clash with reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka could prove one step too far.

The current world number two has been in formidable form this year, winning 25 of her 32 matches, including twice defeating the 26-year-old Spaniard, and she can extend that record even if Badosa may put up a fight.

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Odds correct at time of writing

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