French Open Odds, Picks & Previews: 2 Best Bets for Tuesday’s Qualifying Matches
Nicolas Tucat/Getty. Pictured: Roman Safiullin reacts at the Open 13.
- The French Open is starting to take center stage, and Tuesday features two qualifying matches with betting value.
- Roman Safiullin vs. Duje Ajdukovic at 4 a.m. ET and Liam Broady vs. Renzo Olivo at 7:55 a.m. ET are the two matches Avery Zimmerman has his eye on.
- Check out his full betting breakdown for each match below.
The second Grand Slam event of the year has arrived with the clay of Roland Garros taking center stage at the French Open, and qualifying matches are taking place as always before the main draw.
There are over 30 qualifying matches to choose from on the men's side of the action, offering a number of spots to evaluate and consider.
Slam qualifying draws are one of the most exciting times for the sport and for tennis bettors, so be sure to try and take advantage of the opportunities.
Read on for my three best bets for Tuesday's qualifying slate.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing tennis matches.
Roman Safiullin (-145) vs. Duje Ajdukovic (+120)
4 a.m. ET
Duje Ajdukovic is far more familiar with clay than his Russian counterpart, but that shouldn't scare you off from Safiullin.
The world No. 147 is 3-0 on the season on clay, winning all of his matches at the Serbia Open in Belgrade against tour-level competition. While he had to withdraw from his next match due to injury, this is a tournament that Safiullin is comfortable with.
He won four matches at Roland Garros last year, getting by a quality player in Carlos Taberner and challenging Alexander Zverev to two tiebreaks. If there was a place for Safiullin to regain some quick confidence, it's this one, even if the stakes are high.
Ajdukovic is 13-8 on the dirt this year across the Challenger and ITF Tours, but he hasn't reached a single final across the tournaments, and Safiullin represents one of the toughest opponents he'll face all year.
Safiullin won 78% of his service games and 26% of his return games on clay last year — percentages that place him in the top 40 of the ATP Tour.
The reality is that a healthy Safiullin is on a different level compared to Ajdukovic, and at this price, it's worth taking the chance that he's ready to go.
Pick: Roman Safiullin ML (-145 via DraftKings | Play to -155)
Liam Broady (-180) vs. Renzo Olivo (+138)
7:55 a.m. ET
Renzo Olivo is a clay-court specialist, and a quality performance at Roland Garros would serve as the backbone of his season each and every year. Fortunately for the Argentinian, he's had solid success in Paris over the years, winning at least one match in each of his five prior appearances.
The conditions are as ideal as they come for Olivo, who doesn't possess a power game or a strong serve. Rather, he thrives in extended rallies on the ground and by forcing errors out of his opponents. The slow, gritty clay of Roland Garros serves this well, as big hitters find it tougher to find free points.
Liam Broady doesn't strongly fall into that category, but the Brit doesn't prefer to be on the clay by any means. His Elo rating of 1418 is over 200 points worse than his Elo on hard courts, and he's won only one match on clay this year.
Broady matched Olivo's second-round qualifying performance at Roland Garros last year, but there isn't much reason to believe he deserves this price.
Olivo has a career-long 50% win rate against lefties, better than his winning percentage against righties. He's 16-10 on clay this season, though he's found a lot of his success in high-altitude conditions.
This is a great number for Olivo, and I would take anything above +105.
Pick: Renzo Olivo ML (+138 via BetRivers)
How would you rate this article?
Follow Us On Social
