Tennis Best Bets

If one player can handle being in the top half of the draw with Swiatek, it’s Rybakina. The Kazakh leads the head-to-head series 3-1, and that includes a perfect 3-0 record this season. Rybakina prevailed 6-4, 6-4 in the Australian Open fourth round and 6-2, 6-2 in the Indian Wells semis before Swiatek retired at 2-2 in the third set of their recent Rome semifinal showdown. It’s not an overstatement to say that Rybakina has the world #1’s number right now. It should also be noted that over the past three majors Rybakina has a title (2022 Wimbledon) and a runner-up performance (2023 Australian Open). She thrives on the big stage, so a second straight clay-court title on the heels of her Rome success would not be surprising in the least.

Medvedev was a productive winner for me on hard courts in February and March. I wasn’t prepared to stay on the bandwagon during the clay-court swing since this is his least favorite surface, but the 27-year-old Russian has given me no choice. He is playing incredible tennis this season and – as his Rome triumph indicates – it hardly matters what is underneath his feet. If he can win on the red clay of the Italian capital, he can also win at Roland Garros. Now that Medvedev has an ideal draw away from Djokovic and Alcaraz, that possibility becomes even more real.