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French Open 2021: Schedule, TV Info, Live Stream and Odds for Top Favorites
May 24, 2021
Rafael Nadal has a chance to earn as many Roland Garros victories as Pete Sampras had major tournament wins at the 2021 French Open.
The 13-time champion on the Paris clay is once again the favorite to win the event, but he is not one of the top two seeds.
Novak Djokovic and Danill Medvedev are ranked above the Spanish southpaw for the French Open draw. Roger Federer is even further down the chart as the No. 8 seed.
The younger generation of men's tennis stars will once again take aim at the "Big Three" of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, but until that group wins on a consistent basis, the trio of 30-plus-year-olds have to be viewed as favorites at every major.
The same can't be said on the women's side, especially after Iga Swiatek blew away the competition last fall in Paris.
Swiatek is the No. 8 seed for this year's event, which welcomes back Ashleigh Barty as the No. 1 seed. Barty did not defend her 2019 French Open title after she opted out of the tournament.
The 2021 French Open will start on May 30. The women's title match will take place on June 12 and the men's final is scheduled for June 13.
2021 French Open Schedule
Dates: May 30-June 13
TV: Tennis Channel and NBC
Live Stream: Peacock, NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app
Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal (-118; bet $118 to win $100)
Novak Djokovic (+400; bet $100 to win $400)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+800)
Dominic Thiem (+900)
Alexander Zverev (+1800)
Andrey Rublev (+3300)
The older guard of men's tennis has remained dominant at majors, despite all three of them being deep into their 30s.
Dominic Thiem's 2020 U.S. Open win marked the only time Djokovic, Federer and Nadal did not win a major since 2017. That title may come with an asterisk to some since Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament.
Thiem is likely the best option to choose from the younger generation to challenge a member of the "Big Three."
The Austrian reached the French Open final in 2018 and 2019, and he has tested Nadal and Djokovic in Grand Slam finals over the last three years.
Medvedev broke through at the Australian Open with a final appearance, but he lost in straight sets to Djokovic.
The second-seeded Russian is notoriously bad on the clay. He has four first-round exits at Roland Garros in the last four years, which is why he is down at +9000 to win the French Open.
Federer is directly in front of Medvedev on the odds chart at +7000. While we know his quality at Grand Slams, the Swiss legend spent most of last season working on injury issues and is not expected to win over Nadal and Djokovic.
While it may be hard to bet on long shots in the men's field, keep an eye on Jannik Sinner if you choose to go that route.
The 19-year-old Italian advanced to the French Open quarterfinals in 2020 and is seeded 18th for this year's event.
Women's Singles
Iga Swiatek (+280)
Ashleigh Barty (+460)
Aryna Sabalenka (+650)
Garbine Muguruza (+1200)
Naomi Osaka (+1700)
Serena Williams (+2100)
Elina Svitolina (+2300)
Petra Kvitova (+2500)
As always, the women's singles field is much more wide open than the men's bracket, and that typically leads to a more entertaining two weeks of tennis.
Last fall, Swiatek emerged out of obscurity to become the seventh first-time Grand Slam winner on the women's circuit since 2018.
Swiatek faces a much different role coming into the 2021 event as the favorite and the No. 8 seed. She followed up the Roland Garros win with a fourth-round run at the Australian Open in February.
Barty has to be viewed as a strong betting play at +460 since she was the champion two years ago and enters as the No. 1 seed.
The Australian opened the European clay-court season with a tournament victory in Stuttgart. Aryna Sabalenka beat Barty in the Madrid final and Swiatek captured the Rome title.
Sabalenka has the most to prove out of the trio of top players on the odds board. She has not made it past the fourth round at a major, but the win over Barty in Madrid may be a sign that she is ready to contend in the second week of a major.
American teenager Coco Gauff is worth a look as a long-shot winner. She captured first at the recently completed tournament in Parma, Italy, and made the semifinals in Rome.
In addition to the favorites and the top rising star, you always have to consider Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams to be in the mix for major titles.
A lack of recent success in Paris is the reason why Williams and Osaka are deeper on the odds chart than usual. Williams has not won at Roland Garros since 2015, and Osaka has not advanced past the third round in her last four trips to the clay.
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