French Open Day 2 Picks & Predictions For Djokovic vs Kovacevic & More

With almost 50 matches scheduled for Day 2 of the French Open, spanning the men’s and women’s singles tournament, you can expect plenty of absorbing first-round contests. 

Matches featuring No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz, 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, American hopeful Frances Tiafoe and French favorite Caroline Garcia, among several others.

As ever, we will be bringing you daily predictions and from Roland Garros here at Bookies.com. So without further ado, let’s take a deep dive into Monday's tennis-betting card and spot the best French Open Day 2 predictions, complete with  from top-rated . 

French Open Day 2 Best Bets

Felix Auger Aliassime vs. Fabio Fognini

Italy’s Fabio Fognini’s best days might be in the rearview mirror, but the 35-year-old veteran is still a tough out on clay especially in a best-of-five sets scenario. Fognini faces a difficult opener (on paper) against tenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. 

With the Canadian struggling on form and dealing with niggling injuries, however, he may well fancy his chances for the upset. 

Then there is the surface element. Auger-Aliassime isn’t what one would call a clay specialist. He lost both of his opening matches in Madrid and Rome. Last week, after winning his first match on clay in Lyon, he withdrew with a shoulder injury. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, he is still the favorite as we look at the latest tennis odds. 

French Open Best Bet: Fognini

Novak Djokovic vs. Aleksander Kovacevic

American Aleksander Kovacevic (No. 114 in the ATP rankings) draws a first round match against 22 Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic – a match that is scheduled on Monday in the iconic Philippe Chatrier.  Talk about drawing the proverbial short straw.

Arguably, this is the biggest match of Kovacevic’s career, on the grandest stage against a legend of the game.  In other words: it’s a mismatch. Kovacevic is tipped at +2800 to win over Djokovic. An upset few would be so bold to back here, surely 

As it stands, the tennis betting markets tip Djokovic as the prohibitive -15000 favorite! That’s about 99.9% win probability for the Serbian which is clearly a bet that offers zero value in terms of return versus stake ratio. Much better value is found in periphery markets, such as set betting where Djokovic is priced at -450 to take the match in three sets.

French Open Best Bet: Djokovic in three

Carlos Alcaraz vs Flavio Cobolli

All eyes will be on World No. 1 and betting favorite Carlos Alcaraz as he opens his bid for the French Open title on Monday against qualifier Flavio Cobolli (No. 159 in the ATP rankings and 5’8” tall). 

Granted, Alcaraz was recently upset by an unheralded player that ranks outside of the top 100 in Rome. But it’s hard to imagine a repeat this week. If anything, that experience should serve as a timely lesson, inspiring Alcaraz to be more ruthless.

French Open Best Bet: Alcaraz in three

Frances Tiafoe vs Filip Krajinovic

Sportsbooks skew this first-round match in favor of Frances Tiafoe, likely due to the American’s higher ranking and recent run of positive form on clay. Tiafoe reached the third round of Madrid and Rome and brings a 21-8 win-loss tally to Paris. 

Nevertheless, surface advantage tips it slightly towards the Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic. Lifetime, Tiafoe trails Krajinovic 1-2 with both losses coming on clay. Krajinovic won their most recent meeting in Rome last year, 7-6(7), 7-6(4). 

French Open Best Bet: Over 35.5

Brandon Nakashima vs Denis Shapovalov

Neither American Brandon Nakashima nor Canadian Denis Shapovalov is a gazelle on clay. Plus, both come into Paris sporting losing records on the season.  With all this being equal so, this is a great opportunity for one or the other to advance into the second round of the French Open. 

The oddsmakers give Nakashima the slight edge with odds of -125 to Shapovalov’s +105  – a market outlook that is loosely underscored by the American’s 1-0 head-to-head edge. That said, in reality, this is a total tossup for tennis picks.  

French Open Best Bet: Over 39.5

Caroline Garcia vs Xiyu Wang

France’s Caroline Garcia is the country’s best hope for a homegrown champion. She opens her bid against China’s Xiyu Wang, the 5’11 lefty that could prove to be a tough out. 

Indeed, the market appears to suggest as much. Garcia is merely the -250 favorite to win while Wang is priced at +190. Seeing as this is the first meeting between them and the pressure will be entirely on Garcia, it wouldn’t be surprising if Wang gave the home favorite a run for her money.

French Open Best Bet: Garcia

Jelena Ostapenko vs Tereza Martincova

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko will take on dangerous floater Tereza Martincova in the first round. Ostapenko is considered to be among the title contenders while Martincova is a longshot. That said, the Czech has taken the measure of Ostapenko before, beating her in three sets in Birmingham (grass) two years ago.

Both players are inconsistent, unpredictable and streaky. Those qualities lend themselves to a potentially absorbing contest that could go either way. 

French Open Best Bet: Martincova