Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime practices on Court Philippe-Chatrier ahead of the 2022 French Open. He meets Filip Krajinovic in the third round of the men’s singles on May 27. (Photo: Stephanie Myles/OpenCourt.ca)
- The three French Open favorites – Djokovic, Alcaraz and Nadal – are all in third-round action May 27
- Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime will try to get to the round of 16 in Paris for the first time in his career
- Read on as we break down the action, propose an intriguing parlay, and make some predictions
It is expected that the men’s singles champion at the 2022 French Open will come out of the top half of the draw.
And all of the favorites are in action Friday, May 27.
French Open Men’s Second-Round Odds
| Matchups | Odds |
|---|---|
| [18] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) vs [15] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) | -155/+128 |
| [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Aljaz Bedene (SLO) | -10000/+2200 |
| [26] Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED) vs [5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) | +900/-1430 |
| [9] Félix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) vs Filip Krajinovic (SRB) | -360/+280 |
| [23] John Isner (USA) vs [Q] Bernabe Zapata Miralles (ESP) | -195/+160 |
| [10] Cameron Norrie (GBR) vs [21] Karen Khachanov (RUS) | -225/+180 |
| [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs Brandon Nakashima (USA) | -1250/+800 |
| [27] Sebastian Korda (USA) vs [6] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) | +480/-670 |
Odds as of May 26 at Barstool Sportsbook
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two of the three pre-tournament favorites, are still at the stage of the tournament where you don’t expect them to lose a set.
But if you combine them with another slightly riskier proposition, the parlay value increases. We’ve picked Nadal and Djokovic to win in straight sets, along with Alexander Zverev, who struggled to a five-set win in his last match, beating American Brandon Nakashima in four sets.
Because Zverev almost always has a lull. That combination would pay out at +659.
Carlos Alcaraz’s situation against a fellow talented young gun in Sebastian Korda is a little too dependent on how he recovers from his Houdini-esque escape against Albert Ramos Viñolas on Wednesday. He’s a strong favorite, but it’s complicated.
Zverev vs Nakashima Prediction
Zverev barely escaped his second-round match against Sebastian Baez. He needed 3h36, and five sets to overcome a two-sets-to-none deficit.
He can be like that. And in this French Open, both he and Stefanos Tsitsipas are not being efficient in their early rounds to save some energy for the second week – to say the least.
You’d expect him to rally against an American still finding his feet on the European clay. But Brandon Nakashima was impressive in a straight-sets victory win over Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands, winning their second-round match in straight sets.
Sascha #Zverev on #Baez: “I told him that he’ll feel terrible after losing a match like this: it happened to me too in the US Open final in 2020. But it’s from here that you learn to be stronger: he’s an unbelievable player and a fantastic guy, I wish him nothing but the best” pic.twitter.com/8K8a6T4GIL
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) May 25, 2022
Still, Zverev is the better player and the more experienced competitor – which shows in the odds heavily favoring him.
And in their only meeting, on Nakashima’s home turf at the US Open in 2020, Zverev won in four sets.
We would expect the same result on Friday.
Pick: Zverev in Four Sets (+285)
Dimitrov vs Schwartzman Prediction
At 31 and 29, it’s a bit surprising that Grigor Dimitrov and Schwartzman have met just four times.
But despite Dimitrov’s 3-1 career record against the Argentine, he’s a rather modest favorite at -155.
The two met just a few weeks ago, in the second round of Madrid. And Dimitrov gave up just three games in a surprising rout that he will draw upon in this rather more significant meeting.
The Argentine’s only win was in their first meeting in 2016 in Istanbul, which ended with a very unchararacteristic Dimitrov meltdown at the end in which he penalty-pointed his way to defeat after destroying a number of racquets.
Pick: Dimitrov in four sets (+380)
Félix Auger-Aliassime vs Filip Krajinovic Prediction
Félix Auger-Aliassime had never even won a main-draw match at the French Open until this year.
His opponents in the first two rounds were South American qualifiers who were battle-tested on the Roland Garros Courts. But they simply were not good enough – even if Auger-Aliassime dropped the first two sets in his first-round match before ultimately prevailing.
The Canadian’s third-round clash with Serbian veteran Filip Krajinovic is a different proposition.
The two have met five times previously – unusual for Auger-Aliassime, who is only 21 and hasn’t been around that long.
They met in the first round in back-to-back years on the red clay in Rome – the conditions probably the most similar to Roland Garros among all the leadup tournaments.
Krajinovic took their 2020 encounter in two close sets; Auger-Aliassime turned the table in a tough three-setter in 2021.
The plus is that Auger-Aliassime is very familiar with Krajinovic’s game; the minus is that the reverse is also true. Expect a long, close battle – as has been the case in all of their previous meetings.
Pick: Over 3.5 Sets (-150)
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Stephanie gets the straight dope from the tennis insiders. On court, she has represented her country internationally. A BA in journalism led to years on the MLB beat and a decade covering tennis globally. She’s written for Postmedia, the Guardian, the New York Times and also publishes OpenCourt.ca.