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French Open 2021: Full Draw Schedule, Odds and Reaction from Roland Garros
May 28, 2021
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all on the same side of the men's draw for the 2021 French Open.
The unusual draw was made possible by the seedings of Nadal and Federer. The Spaniard was handed the No. 3 seed, and the Swiss is eighth.
The positioning of the three legends will allow one of the younger stars of men's tennis to reach the final at Roland Garros.
On the women's side, the last two winners at Roland Garros are on the top half of the draw. 2019 winner Ashleigh Barty could be on a collision course with reigning champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.
The same could happen with Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams, who were aligned in the bottom half of the draw along with Aryna Sabalenka, Bianca Andreescu and Petra Kvitova.
The bottom half of each draw will begin play Sunday and Monday, while the first round of the top half will be played Monday and Tuesday.
The full French Open schedule can be found on RolandGarros.com.
French Open Odds
Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal (-125; bet $125 to win $100)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+450; bet $100 to win $450)
Novak Djokovic (+500)
Alexander Zverev (+1100)
Dominic Thiem (+1200)
Andrey Rublev (+4000)
Casper Ruud (+4000)
Jannik Sinner (+4000)
Women's Singles
Iga Swiatek (+275)
Ashleigh Barty (+500)
Aryna Sabalenka (+800)
Naomi Osaka (+1200)
Garbine Muguruza (+1400)
Bianca Andreescu (+2000)
Petra Kvitova (+2000)
Coco Gauff (+2500)
Serena Williams (+2500)
Typically, only two of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic land in one part of the draw because they usually are the top three seeds in a major.
Federer's long injury layoff pushed him down to No. 8, while Daniil Medvedev's recent play pushed him above Nadal to No. 2.
As NBC Sports' Nick Zaccardi noted, it is the first time the Big Three are aligned in the same half of a major tournament draw.
With the Big Three in the top half, one of Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Medvedev have a clear path to the final without facing one of the legendary major champions.
Medvedev carries the loftiest expectations into Roland Garros because he is the No. 2 seed, but he has never won a main-draw match on the Paris clay. If Medvedev gets over that hump, he could carve a path into his third Grand Slam final. He lost to Djokovic in the 2021 Australian Open final.
Thiem should be viewed as the favorite to come out of the bottom half since he appeared in back-to-back French Open finals in 2018 and 2019. At +1200, Thiem may have the best betting value to win the tournament because of his history at the event.
On the women's side, Swiatek and Barty are listed as the top two betting favorites, which means there will be value further down the board for the winner of the bottom half of the draw.
The top half of the draw looks even tougher since 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza and 2017 winner Jelena Ostapenko are on that side of the bracket.
Ostapenko will go head-to-head with No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin, who lost to Swiatek in the French final last October.
Williams is the most recent French Open winner in the bottom half of the bracket, but she faces a tough path just to get to the quarterfinals. Angelique Kerber and Kvitova are in her part of the draw.
Osaka, Andreescu and Sabalenka have easier draws in the bottom half, and that could lead to betting any of them to win the title. Osaka sits at +1200, Andreescu is +2000, and Sabalenka is the third favorite at +800.
The women's draw has a better chance of producing a long-shot winner, like Swiatek in October, but picking out which player could achieve that feat is a tough task, especially with all of the previous major winners littered through the draw.
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