The weekend is here, and the tennis at Roland Garros is heating up! These matches are on the earlier side of things, but I can't think of anything better than waking up, making some coffee and watching some Grand Slam tennis. Let's take a look at some bets to have with that tennis and coffee!
Here are my picks for Coco Gauff vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Ons Jabeur vs Clara Tauson in my 2024 French Open betting picks.
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2024 French Open Betting Picks
Coco Gauff (-750) vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto (+550)
6:30 a.m. ET
It feels like I've had way too many bets in recent days on these big favorites, but the fact that they keep doling out totals in the 19 to 19.5 range with matchups like this means I'm coming back for more.
Look, as unreliable as the American's first serve can be, she's an elite returner, possibly the best mover on tour, will outlast just about anyone in a prolonged rally and is right near the top of the game. She may not among the top tier of players on the women's tour, but she's in a category by herself for me as the fourth-best.
If you're going to trouble her and make her play longer sets or matches, you're going to need to play at your best and most likely need a powerful serve and/or groundstroke. So far this year on the clay, Gauff has been pushed by Jaquelin Cristian (tall player with a strong serve), Paula Badosa (same thing), Qinwen Zheng (ditto), Madison Keys (sensing a pattern yet?), Marta Kostyuk (elite baseline power) and Iga Swiatek (already one of the best clay courters of all time).
Cocciaretto doesn't possess the serve or baseline pop that any of those players have. She's much closer to the solid players that Gauff has dismantled like Magdalena Frech, Arantxa Rus or Tamara Zidansek.
The reason for this is fairly simple. If you can't find cheap points against her on serve or instantly seize control against her weaker second serves, you end up playing longer rallies, which as I mentioned above are her bread and butter.
Cocciaretto simply doesn't have the game style to be able to punish her enough for me to believe this total should be higher than 18 or 18.5 games.
Pick: Under 19.5 games (-125 via DraftKings)
Ons Jabeur (-160) vs Clara Tauson (+125)
8:30 a.m. ET
The prices on Jabeur are starting to make a bit more sense to me, even if her game is vastly superior to those she's been playing. The penchant for unforced errors and letting her opposition keep things close is remarkable.
Through 1.5 sets last match, Jabeur's return data was sparkling. Yet she had barely won the opening set, only had two breaks of serve to her name and actually had to recover an early break deficit in the second set. The way her forehand disappears on her in big moments and in advantageous positions in points can't be understated.
That said, she's once again the player with much more variety and shouldn't be overwhelmed by playing against someone like Tauson who pummels the ball from the baseline.
Further, the variety she plays with should be doubly effective in this one. Tauson is only 21-years old, but her list of injuries and physical issues is a lengthy one. She's also someone that certainly won't be able to exploit any physicality edge here, with Jabeur being the more fit of the two.
Finally, Tauson's movement isn't great and she can fatigue or break down physically if made to run and cover the court point after point. With Jabeur being one of the more keen players to mix in drop shots on tour, that certainly feels like it'll be the case on Sunday.
I may be asking for punishment with this one, but I'm backing the Tunisian at least one more time at Roland Garros.
Pick: Jabeur -2.5 games (-110 via BetMGM)
