At this time last year, Novak Djokovic was still at the top of his game in the Men's game of tennis. He had the second best odds to win this tournament and was very much a threat to win any title that he wanted to. Having said that, at this very tournament last year, Novak had to withdraw from one of his matchups due to a torn medial meniscus which saw him sidelined for quite some time. Yes, he's still got the third best odds to win the 2025 version of the French Open. But, the odds are considerably worse than last year and he's going to need to dig in and battle in every single set in this years tournament. 

On the Women's side of the tournament, Iga Swiatek is the defending champion and for good reason. She's been known to be the "queen of clay" as she has a career record of 95–14 on the clay courts (87%.) Having said all of that, she's been struggling dearly so far per her standards in 2025 on both hard courts as well as the clay courts. It has not looked like the same Iga that we saw last year at this time of the year. Don't get me wrong, you can never count out the defending champion. But, things aren't looking so good for the Pole at the moment and this tournament is going to give her lots of challenges throughout. 

Who's up next? Mirra Andreeva is the name to watch out for in this years tournament. She's already won multiple WTA 1000 events in 2025 at the age of just 17 years old. Andreeva currently is tied with Coco Gauff for the third best odds to win the whole thing and very much could do so considering the form. I expect her to go very far in this tournament and if she gets going like we all know that she can, she could definitely lift up a Grand Slam trophy for the first time in her young career.

Hubert Hurkacz vs. Joao Fonseca (M) .. Although this matchup isn't between players ranked in the top 25, this should be a fantastic watch as it's a player from Poland who's got the #30 seed in this tournament up against one of the best young upcoming stars in the game of Men's Tennis. Hurkacz is currently the underdog despite having the seeded number by his name. Expect an all out war in this matchup. (Best Bet - Over 38.5 Games (-135))

Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (M) .. The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas is known for being very solid on the clay courts which has him favored by a fairly decent amount in this massive opening round matchup. Having said that, I wouldn't count out Etcheverry out so fast. He is coming off a very solid showing in Hamburg and has the intangibles to take this matchup further than people are expecting him to. I'm not calling for the outright win, but don't be shocked if this one exceeds three sets. (Best Bet - Tomas Martin Etcheverry To Win A Set - Yes (-185))

Naomi Osaka vs. Paula Badosa (W) .. As she's still not ranked in Women's Tennis, Naomi Osaka always seems to be in one of the most difficult opening round matchups out of anybody. Playing against her in the first round is not something that the ranked player will be looking forward to, that's for sure. Paula Badosa is the #10 seed in the 2025 French Open but still is the slight underdog in this matchup. This should be another Osaka classic and I wouldn't be surprised if it went the distance. But, be careful Badosa, even if you win the first set. (Best Bet - Naomi Osaka to Win (-135))

Men's: 

Carlos Alcaraz +100
Jannik Sinner +225
Novak Djokovic +1200
Alexander Zverev +1800
Lorenzo Musetti +2500
Casper Ruud +2800
Jack Draper +4000
Holger Rune +4000
Arthur Fils +6000
Stefanos Tsitsipas +6500

Women's: 

Aryna Sabalenka +240
Iga Swiatek +300
Coco Gauff +500 
Mirra Andreeva +500
Jasmine Paolini +1400
Qinwen Zheng +1800
Elena Rybakina +2800
Jalena Ostapenko +3000
Elina Svitolina +3000
Madison Keys +3000

Last year at Roland Garros, Burns predicted both Carlos Alcaraz (at +260) & Iga Swiatek (at -165) to win and both were successful. This year, he expects to do the exact same thing.

After beating Jannik Sinner in his home country just a week ago, it's very difficult for me to look anywhere else other than Carlos Alcaraz once again this year. He's the favorite to win this year's tournament once again but I believe that it's for good reason. The rest of the field is extremely talented. But, two men stand alone on a different level. Sinner & Alcaraz.

Yes, she's still the current "queen of clay" in my books. But, given Iga Swiatek's form, I find it hard to believe that she's going to be able to flip the switch in time for this year's French Open. There's just way too much talent in the Woman's game right now to have any mishaps and it's been that kind of year for Iga. I like three players this year. Andreeva (the young rising phenom.) Paolini (made the final last year.) Zheng (just beat the world #1 Sabalenka.) I expect one of those Women to win this tournament.

Burns' Best Bets: Carlos Alcaraz (+100) to Win it all & Mirra Andreeva to Win the 3rd Quarter (-115)