The third round of the French Open rolls on this weekend, and as the matches progress the competition gets even hotter. We're getting more and more moneylines that are in a reasonable range, making for some great matches and tremendous value.
With that said, I've picked out a few matches I'm betting below.
Marco Cecchinato vs. Lorenzo Musetti
Start Time (approximately): 5 a.m. ET
This will be a tight match between fellow countrymen I expect to be decided in four or five sets.
Lorenzo Musetti has had a meteoric rise over the last year or so, taking down some of the more accomplished players in the sport like Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Marco Cecchinato is 11 years his elder at 28 years of age, and very accomplished as a former world No. 18 and Roland Garros semifinalist.
Musetti has ripped through some fantastic competition on his way to the third round, beating a tough cookie in Yoshi Nishioka in straight sets after taking out the 13th-best player in the world in David Goffin without dropping a set.
Both men have won a ton of matches on the clay this year, with Cecchinato going 19-11 and Musetti checking in at 16-10, so it's difficult to separate the two with how they're playing.
Checchinato's big serve has really been working, and there's a chance he could overpower the weak Musetti forehand. I expect Musetti to have a bit of an adjustment period here to the pace before he starts ripping winners off the backhand wing and taking control.
I'm also a bit more confident in the teenager's finesse and variety, which will come in handy with the clay heavy from the rain.
You can get the best deal on the over at William Hill, while you can find the best deal on his moneyline at FanDuel.
Pick: Musetti (-142) | Over 36.5 Games (-118)
Roger Federer vs. Dominik Koepfer
Start Time (approx.): 3 p.m. ET
My heart doesn't want to fade Roger Federer, but it must be done.
The fact is, for all the beautiful backhands he's hitting down the line, he's making just as many errors. His body hasn't yet caught up with his mind, and even he'd admit that he's not himself out there. Federer has relied on his serve a whole lot in the few matches he's won, and that should be harder with the clay a bit more wet in Paris.
Dominik Koepfer has had a weird up-and-down year, but, boy, has he looked relentless on the clay at times. He came through his last match against Taylor Fritz with flying colors, impressing with that massive two-handed backhand he can hit. Koepfer isn't a very special player, but he's solid and consistent enough to ask many questions of Fed.
Because of this, on a surface Federer already wasn't comfortable on to begin with, I think there's a good chance Koepfer takes multiple sets and maybe even wins.
You can grab the best odds on Koepfer at FanDuel for this match.
Picks: Koepfer +285 | Koepfer +5.5 Games (-110)
