Although we are only just approaching the quarter-final stages of the Grand Slam, the French Open 2023 has already had a number of interesting storylines to have occurred.
French Open 2023
It is undoubtedly one of the premier competitions on the tennis circuit and one that every single player would love to be able to win on just one occasion. Its clay courts test the ability of the world’s best, although Rafael Nadal has made it look extremely easy over the years, having won a record 14 times.
The Spaniard had to withdraw from the tournament before it started – a decision that will see him fall outside the ATP Top 100 rankings. Nonetheless, that has opened opportunities for many other talented players, as well as several potential wagering options.
With sports betting on the rise around the world, including in Canada, punters are continuing to look for the best options they have available. These include betting on the biggest and grandest sporting events, and the Roland Garros French Open is certainly one of them.
This year, those that have decided to place a bet on the action have encountered storylines that they may have expected, as well as those that would have been difficult to predict as we reach the halfway stage of the competition.
Carlos Alcaraz continues to excel.
The World’s No. 1, it can sometimes be extremely easy to forget that Carlos Alcaraz is still only 20. His talent belies his age, as he continues to excel on the court, regardless of the surface being played.
Having won his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open in 2022 – and after a disappointing 3rd round exit in the 2023 Australian Open – he has since returned to his best as he looks to add the Roland Garros to his collection. He reached the quarterfinals last year and has managed that again this time around, with a clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5 seed) scheduled to take place to reach the semi-final. At this point, he has only dropped one set (against Japan’s Taro Daniel) and looks to be dominating his way to the title. The Greek star, though, will be his toughest opponent of the tournament to date.
Daniil Medvedev shocked in first round
While the World’s No. 1 is living up to the tag, the World’s No. 2 failed to do so as he was sent home from the French Open in shock fashion. Daniil Medvedev was eliminated by qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild across five sets, with the first two going, either way, following a tiebreak. He powered to a 2-1 lead but ultimately lost the final two sets to the Brazilian to end his tournament extremely prematurely.
Seeded players have struggled this year
Surprisingly, being a seeded player appears to have hurt the performance of some of tennis’s biggest stars. As we approach the quarterfinals – with a few more Fourth Round matches still to be played, many of those to have been seeded have since been eliminated.
While this is normal due to the competition’s format, many were eliminated a lot earlier than they should have been. Of the 32 seeds, eight were ousted from the tournament in the First Round, five were eliminated in the Second Round, and eight were eliminated in the Third Round.
