This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
The WTA Queen had to earn the crown in Paris on Saturday, as Karolina Muchova rallied back from a 2-6 first set to take Iga Swiatek the distance for the first time in this tournament. In the end, however, The Polish player's consistency and return prowess proved too much, as she broke her Czech counterpart at 4-5 in the deciding set to capture her second consecutive title at Roland Garros. The only Major on clay wraps up with the Men's Championship on Sunday in a match that will pit a former champion against a player he has gotten the better of in past meetings. Will history repeat itself, or can the in-form Norwegian turn the tide? All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but prospective bettors should feel free to search for the best lines available for these matches by checking mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, or any of the other best sports betting sites.
As a reminder, the men play best-of-five-set matches at Grand Slams, while women's matches are best of three just like the remainder of the WTA Tour schedule. As we've now reached the final round, match analysis will be based almost exclusively on performance in previous rounds of this tournament, with nods to head-to-head records between competitors where appropriate.
French Open Odds: Djokovic vs. Ruud
Novak Djokovic (-475) vs. Casper Ruud (+360)
Those that were anticipating a Carlos Alcaraz victory on Saturday are likely thinking the worst is over for Djokovic, as the Serbian has dominated Ruud over the course of his career (4-0 overall, 2-0 on clay). While the former French Open champion played an incredible first set to establish the tone of his semi-final meeting with Alcaraz, we can't forget the dip we saw in the second frame, as Djokovic won just 58 percent of his first-serve points and had an 8:14 ratio of winners to unforced errors en route to a 4-6 score line. We'll never know how he would have looked in a competitive setting beyond this point, as Alcaraz's leg cramps thereafter made the final two sets something of a formality.
Meanwhile, even those of us who picked Ruud to beat Alexander Zverev couldn't have imagined the clinic that ensued, as the World No. 4 lost just seven total games while notching a bagel in the final leg of his straight-set victory. The interesting thing to note here is that the Norwegian player likely had an easier time in his three sets than Djokovic did in two competitive ones, as evidenced by the fact that he hit just 19 unforced errors while blasting 25 winners. The overall stats for the two men in this tournament are incredibly close across the board, but Ruud has been a metronome throughout his time in Paris, playing smart, consistent tennis, while absorbing pace and making shots when necessary. While I would still call Djokovic the better player in a vacuum, I think this is the best chance Ruud has ever had to beat the former World. No. 1, as his dips in form should be more frequent and more drastic due to what seems to be a lack of match fitness. If he is able to limit his mistakes and make the most of his opportunities, Ruud might just be able to pull off a stunning upset.
French Open Prediction: Ruud def. Djokovic 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
