The French Open is here and Sunday's order of play features some scintillating matchups!
I’ve found value on two of Sunday's matchups — Siegemund vs Kenin and Wang vs Bai.
Read on to find 2024 French Open picks.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing tennis matches and seeing tennis odds.
2024 French Open Picks
Laura Siegemund (-176) vs Sofia Kenin (+146)
7 a.m. ET
Laura Siegemund last played in Rabat (clay), falling 4-6, 3-6 to Viktoriya Tomova in the quarterfinals. Siegemund won just 44% of her service points, getting broken six times. The German did win 44% of her return points, breaking on three occasions.
Siegemund has an impressive 12-5 record on clay in 2024, having now gone 413-215 as a professional. The 36-year old veteran is known for her court craft and guile. The German's variety is outstanding, whether it be her touch shots, angles or slices. And she places the ball well, spreading the court and waiting for her opening. Siegemund's rally tolerance is fantastic and she is an irritant on the court. However, her groundstrokes do break down at times and she lacks much firepower.
Sofia Kenin lost 4-6, 6-7(4) in her opening match of Strasbourg qualifying against Chloe Paquet. Kenin won only 50% of her service points and was broken on five occasions. The American won 45% of her return points, breaking four times.
Kenin, a former Roland Garros finalist, is a solid 77-56 for her career, but just 3-5 this season. The 25-year old is quick, anticipating where her opponents are going. She absorbs pace and counterpunches well. Kenin places her shots effectively and is mentally tough, playing her best on big stages. She's a crafty player and her groundstrokes have good pop to them, cutting through the court. However, Kenin doesn't have the biggest serve and doesn't play with a ton of margin.
Kenin enjoys this matchup, having won all four sets between the two. She has the anticipation, speed, rally tolerance and mental toughness to not allow Siegemund's tricky game to fluster her.
She is comfortable tracking down Siegemund's variety and dishing back some of her own. Kenin shouldn't crack in longer rallies and has more reliable power compared to Siegemund when an opening does present itself.
And, as a former singles Grand Slam champion and finalist in Paris, Kenin has the mindset to see this through if the match gets tight.
Pick: Kenin ML (+146 via FanDuel)
Xiyu Wang (-280) vs Zhuoxuan Bai (+225)
9 a.m. ET
Xiyu Wang last competed in Rabat, making the second round. She ultimately fell 3-6, 1-6 to Peyton Stearns. Wang won just 46% of her service points, getting broken five times. The 23 year old won 35% of her return points, but only broke once.
Wang is just 2-4 in 2024 on clay, but is 61-36 as a professional on the dirt. Wang, Rabat notwithstanding, has a big, lefty first serve and heavy, powerful forehand that is particularly potent on clay, which accentuates topspin. Wang tries to be the aggressor during points, dictating play, positioning herself in offensive positions on the court and taking time away from her opponents. However, Wang's backhand can sometimes break down and she can have patches of unforced errors.
Zhuoxuan Bai reached the second round of Rabat, but lost 4-6, 2-6 to Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Bai won 39% of her service points, getting broken on three occasions. The Chinese, however, only won 29% of her return points, failing to break serve.
Bai is much more inexperienced on the surface compared to Wang. And Wang, comparatively, has done much better on the surface.
Wang has the two biggest weapons on the court in her first serve and forehand. She should boss Bai around the court, punishing anything short.
Her ad-side lefty serve and cross-court forehand go right into Bai's weaker backhand, which should lead to plenty of short balls and errors.
Bai's returning numbers against a weaker server in Cocciaretto were especially confusing, given this first-round matchup, and because Bai doesn't have quite a big-enough serve to trouble Wang in her own service games.
Finally, Wang's overall Elo is 247.3 points higher and her clay Elo is 336.6 points above Bai's.
Pick: Bai to NOT win a set (-104 via FanDuel)
