World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is the favorite to win his first French Open title, but last year's semifinalist is part of a growing list of French Open odds favorites with injury concerns when play officially begins Sunday, May 26.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic, World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, and 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal enter the second Grand Slam of the season without clay court titles and injury concerns of their own.
Twelve men not named Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, and Nadal have won titles on the dirt this season. Can any one of them pull off the upset?
Find out when I take a closer look at the French Open favorites, a couple of sleepers, and more in our 2024 French Open Men’s Singles preview.
French Open 2024 men's singles odds
| Player |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | +260 | +260 |
| Novak Djokovic | +300 | +300 |
| Jannik Sinner | +500 | +500 |
| Alexander Zverev | +700 | +700 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | +950 | +900 |
| Casper Ruud | +1,400 | +1,400 |
| Andrey Rublev | +2,400 | +2,800 |
| Rafael Nadal | +2,400 | +2,800 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +2,900 | +2,800 |
| Holger Rune | +4,600 | +4,00 |
Odds as of 5-23.
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French Open 2024 Men's favorites
Who's hot
Alexander Zverev (+600 at Caesars)
No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev boasts a 29-9 lifetime mark at Stade Roland Garros. He suffered a horrific ankle injury during his 2022 French Open semifinal matchup with Rafael Nadal but is looking good for another strong run after winning the Italian Open.
The Zverev serve is fueling his strong play. The Rome champ is winning 87% of his service games with an underrated service return game and a solid 39% break-point conversion rate.
He opens against 14-time champ Rafael Nadal and finds himself in the same quarter as Daniil Medvedev.
Casper Ruud (+1,000 at BetMGM)
Norwegian Casper Ruud was the runner-up to Djokovic in last year's event and is in good form heading into his eighth French Open.
Since his 2023 loss to Djokovic, Ruud has become more aggressive with his forehand on the dirt, and the results have been plenty; after a slow start to his clay court season, Ruud was the runner-up to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo, then avenged that loss to defeat the Greek No. 1 in the finals of Barcelona.
Ruud has a tricky opening-round matchup with 18-year-old Jakub Mensic and a potential quarterfinal clash with Djokovic.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (+750 at BetMGM)
Tsitsipas is playing as well as anyone. He’s reached at least the quarters of every clay court event he’s entered in 2024 with a Monte Carlo title and was the Barcelona finalist.
Elbow surgery in early 2023 tamed the vicious inside-out forehand he unleashed to reach the 2022 French Open final, but that fear-hand has returned, fueling his 42% break-point conversion rate across the past 52 weeks.
Tsitsipas has a rough, first-round clash with Bucharest Open champ Marton Fucsovics with a possible quarterfinal encounter with Medvedev or Alex de Minaur.
Who's not
Novak Djokovic (+300 at BetMGM)
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won four additional titles to close his 2023 campaign since beating Ruud in last year's finale. Since then, he hasn’t won the bigger check in what seems like forever and is 5-3 on the dirt.
Djoker looked lethargic in his 2024 Australian Open semifinal loss to Jannik Sinner, was bounced in the round of 32 at Indian Wells by an 18-year-old, and suffered an apparent concussion that likely caused his early exit in Rome.
Djokovic begins his title defense against French journeyman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and could see a rematch with Ruud as soon as the quarters.
Carlos Alcaraz (+210 at DraftKings)
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has played a handful of matches since injuring his arm while defending his Indian Wells title. As a result, the man Djokovic turned into Gumby in last year's semifinal skipped Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Rome.
When healthy, Alcaraz is one of the best in the game; he goes from defend to attack better than anyone in history, but the World No. 3 hasn’t played a competitive match in over one month.
He’ll open with a qualifier/lucky loser with a potential quarterfinal clash with Madrid champ Andrey Rublev.
French Open 2024 Men's sleepers
Players to watch
Taylor Fritz (+5,000 at BetMGM)
American Taylor “Claylor” Fritz has fared well this season on dirt. He hasn’t won a title yet this season but has produced consistent results; after an early first-round exit in Monte Carlo, Fritz was a finalist in Munich, reached the semis in Madrid and the quarters in Rome.
"Claylor" isn’t your typical clay courter; he’s punched fourth-most aces while winning a tour-best 80% of his first-service points on the red stuff with a return game boasting a 52% second-serve success rate.
Fritz has a tricky opener with Federico Coria but after that has a good draw up until a potential fourth-round clash with Ruud.
Hubert Hurkacz (+8,000 at Caesars)
No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz won Estoril and reached at least the round of 16 at Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome.
He’s firing 10 aces per match on the dirt while converting 41% of his break-point opportunities. His 'groundies' have been consistent and while he’s in Sinner’s quarter, he does have a good draw.
Hurkacz opens against a qualifier and could see Denis Shapovalov in the third round with a potential matchup against Santiago finalist Alejandro Tabilo, and maybe a banged-up Sinner in the quarters.
Long shots to avoid
Ben Shelton (+8,000 at Caesars)
No. 15 seed Ben Shelton is the reigning US Men’s Clay Court champ thanks to fast-playing courts in Houston and his 140+ mile-per-hour serve.
Shelton’s big-banger hasn’t fared well across the pond–the southpaw has won just three sets of tennis on the European clay this spring and is 2-3 since his US title.
Shelton has a tricky opener against Frenchman Hugo Gaston and in a tough quarter with Sinner, Hurkacz, and Grigor Dimitrov.
