Suddenly, just about everyone in the men’s singles event at the French Open has a chance. That’s right – Jannik Sinner is out. The top-ranked Italian struggled physically during a 5-set loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday. With Carlos Alcaraz having withdrawn before the tournament started, someone other than those 2 will win a Grand Slam title for the first time since Novak Djokovic at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Speaking of Djokovic, he has a huge showdown against Joao Fonseca on his hands for Friday. On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina are taking the court.
Here are my best bets for the Day 6 schedule.
Andrey Rublev vs Nuno Borges Over 36.5 games (-160)
Rublev vs Borges is a better matchup than the 4-0 head-to-head lead in Rublev’s favor would indicate. After the Russian won 3 hard-court encounters all in straight sets, their first clay-court matchup last month in Monte-Carlo was a 3-setter. Borges may be a sizable underdog once again, but he is playing well enough to keep it close. In fact, the world #51 crushed both Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Miomir Kecmanovic in the first 2 rounds at Roland Garros. Rublev has already battled through a pair of 4-set matches, including an opening date with Ignacio Buse that lasted 43 games.
Thiago Agustin Tirante vs Pablo Carreno Busta Over 36.5 games (-125)
It’s hard to make a case for either 3-namer to win this match with ease. Tirante is the favorite, but this is the first time he has ever reached the third round of a Grand Slam. Needless to say, this marks one of the biggest matches of TAT’ss career. The pressure will be serious. Carreno Busta has far more experience as a 2-time French Open quarterfinalist and 2-time U.S. Open semifinalist, plus he destroyed Jiri Lehecka in straight sets earlier this fortnight. PCB isn’t going down easily — and neither is Tirante.
Yulia Starodubtseva ML over Xiyu Wang (-139)
Starodubtseva scored a titanic upset (now the second-biggest upset of the tournament) on Wednesday, taking down Elena Rybakina. Thus continues a solid spring for the Ukrainian, who finished runner-up in Charleston and reached the semifinals of a lower-level event in Paris. Wang, who got a retirement from Hailey Baptiste in round 2 of the FO, has been winning plenty of matches — but none against tough competition. There is a reason why she is ranked #148. Look for Starodubtseva to build on her big win over Rybakina.
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