The first round of the French Open rolls on as we hit Tuesday, and I'm eyeing two under-appreciated players who will be in action to begin the day.
Let's get into how to bet Nicolas Jarry vs Hugo Dellien and Hugo Gaston vs Alex Molcan on day 3 at Roland Garros.
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French Open Odds & Picks
Nicolas Jarry (-330) vs Hugo Dellien (+255)
5 a.m. ET
You'd be hard-pressed to find a hotter clay-courter than Jarry. After defeating a murderer's row to win the title last week in Geneva which comprised of Grigor Dimitrov, Alex Zverev, Casper Ruud and Dusan Lajovic, the Chilean No. 1 has great expectations heading into Roland Garros.
Jarry has now won two clay-court titles this year and was just a couple of wins away from another in Rio, falling to Carlos Alcaraz in three sets there. He has proven himself to be one of the hardest outs on the surface and has found the range on his massive forehand and serve, which should set him up for success here against a weak first round opponent.
The world No. 35 is 2-1 against Hugo Dellien, winning five of the seven sets they've played. Dellien enters this tournament with four losses in his last five matches, defeating only Ivan Gakhov in an ATP Challenger event. He should be no match for one of the hottest players in the world on this surface so I'll gladly lay the games here.
Pick: Jarry -1.5 Sets (-155 via DraftKings)
Hugo Gaston (+155) vs Alex Molcan (-190)
6:30 a.m. ET
I've been eagerly awaiting the day I could once again fade Alex Molcan at a Grand Slam, and finally that day is here.
To put it bluntly, I simply don't see why people think Molcan is a good tennis player. He is left-handed, which theoretically should make him tough to play, but he simply doesn't do anything that well out there. He usually doesn't beat himself, but he has lost to nearly every top-60 talent he's played in the last couple of years.
Molcan is now 9-8 in his career at Grand Slams, never progressing past the third round at any one of them and even losing to the now-retired Pablo Andujar last year at the French Open. The man continues to disappoint his believers, which makes it mind-boggling he consistently garners such support from the betting community.
He is 2-3 in his last five matches heading into the French Open and is now 11-11 on the season across all levels. On top of that, he's played just two matches in the month of May which makes him an excellent fade candidate on Tuesday.
His opponent, Hugo Gaston, famously rode the exquisite feel on his drop shot to a fourth-round appearance at Roland Garros in 2020 and nearly earned a win over the then-dominant Dominic Thiem. He has played 27 matches on clay this season, and despite going 14-13 has at least picked up enough wins to build confidence heading into this week.
In a lefty-on-lefty matchup, I don't see what kind of advantage Molcan could possibly have. He's not as good on a clay court as Gaston, who has excellent feel and a wide imagination. Playing in front of a favorable home crowd, I'd make him a -115 favorite over his counterpart here despite coming in on a two-match losing streak. He's three years younger than Molcan and has not only accomplished more on a clay court already in his career but has played many more matches in 2023.
He should be up to the task here and I expect Molcan to go down without much of a fight.
Pick: Gaston ML (+155 via DraftKings)
