French Open 2021 Odds: Nadal Favored to Win the Event for 14th Time

It seems like it was just yesterday that the 2021 French Open began at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. However, two weeks have nearly passed since the tournament began and we’re already down to the final competitors. Alexander Zverev is taking on Stefanos Tsitsipas in one matchup, while Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic duke it out in the other. But which player has the best odds to take home the championship?

BetOnline is currently favoring Nadal at -175 odds to win the 2021 French Open. If he’s victorious, it’ll be the 14th time that he’s won the event — by far the most in the tournament’s history. In fact, since 2005, only three other tennis players have won the French Open, which goes to show how dominant Nadal has been at the event.

So far, nobody has given Nadal a challenge at this year’s event. He won his first four matchups in just three sets each. He just defeated No. 10 Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinals, who managed to take the defending champion to four sets. But even then, Nadal has shown no signs of slowing down. Obviously, things will be tougher against Djokovic in the semifinals, but if anyone can keep this sort of momentum going, it’s Nadal.

2021 French Open Odds

Odds via BetOnline as of Friday, June 11

  • Rafael Nadal (-175)
  • Novak Djokovic (+400)
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas (+450)
  • Alexander Zverev (+1000)

Djokovic Looking To Win Second French Open Title

At +400 odds, Djokovic has the second-best odds to win this year’s French Open tournament. Out of everybody remaining, he’s the only person who has won the tournament before, coming back in in 2016 when he defeated Andy Murray in four sets. He’s made it to the finals four other times, with three of those losses coming at the hands of Nadal. Now, Djokovic will get a chance to defeat his rival to exact revenge.

It’s only been a year since Djokovic last faced Nadal in the French Open Finals, so the rivalry at the event is still pretty fresh. However, Djokovic hasn’t looked as dominant as his rival this year. While he won his first three matchups in three sets, it took five to dispose of Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round and four to beat Matteo Berrettini. If Djokovic wants to continue keeping his status of the world’s top player, he needs to prove it by winning his second French Open title.

Can Tsitsipas or Zverev Win?

The good news for Tsitsipas and Zverev is that they’re playing against each other in the semifinals, so one of them is guaranteed to go to the finals. The bad news is that BetOnline doesn’t like their odds to win, listing them at +450 and +1000 respectively.

For Tsitsipas, this is the second year in a row that he’s made it to the French Open semifinals. Last year was his first time doing so as he took on Djokovic, who needed five sets to defeat him. Now, he’ll be looking to take it one step further. The truth is that Tsitsipas has a lot of momentum entering this round. He’s won both of his last matches in three sets, including a win over No. 2 Daniil Medvedev.

On the other hand, this is the longest that Zverev has lasted in the French Open. He made it to the quarterfinals in 2018 and 2019, so the 24-year-old is going to want to make an impact to remember. Unfortunately for Zverev, the path to get there might be tough. He’s 2-5 in seven career head-to-head matchups against Tsitsipas, however, he did win their last meeting back in March 2021. Still, Zverev will need his best performance of the tournament yet if he wants to advance to the finals.

Devon Platana
Devon Platana

After graduating with a Masters degree in Journalism, Devon joined USGS to improve his sports writing skills. As a lifelong sports fan, one of Devon’s favorite things to do is analyze statistics across all sports.