2025 Roland Garros best bets for Sunday, June 1st
The second major of the 2025 tennis season is here. The top players in the world are in Paris, France for the 2025 French Open for another week, and the action in Roland Garros should be awesome to monitor. I’ll continue posting daily best bets throughout the tournament, so VSiN is the place to be if you like betting on tennis. If you aren’t already a subscriber, I’d suggest looking into becoming a VSiN Pro soon. I constantly provide analysis on all of the biggest events, and this is the best time of the year for this sport.
I’d also strongly suggest checking the Pro Picks page throughout the day. That’s where Gill Alexander is posting his French Open best bets. Gill does a tremendous job handicapping tennis on A Numbers Game, which is a staple of our live VSiN programming. Also, while I try to write up as many of my plays as possible, I do occasionally add things to that page throughout the day. That’s also where I post plays for smaller ATP and WTA events, and my Challenger-level plays live exclusively on that page.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get into some French Open picks for Day 8 on Sunday, June 1st.
2025 Record: 721-700-1 (+24.83 units)
Alexei Popyrin vs. Tommy Paul
Daniel Altmaier vs. Frances Tiafoe
Paul is currently playing with an injured abdomen, and he has even referenced needing MRIs throughout the course of this event. That didn’t stop the American from earning a grueling five-set win over Karen Khachanov in the third round, and it might not prevent him from beating Popyrin in the fourth. Paul and his team have done a great job of managing the injury, particularly in the early stages of matches. However, it’s unfair to expect Paul to beat Popyrin in straight sets, so I’m playing the Australian to take one to get a better price on Tiafoe to beat Altmaier. Popyrin has a very big serve, and he’s a better baseliner than he is given credit for. If Paul is hurting, the Australian should be able to take advantage. I’m especially interested in seeing how Paul serves. His average service speed was way slower in the fifth set of the match against Khachanov, and it didn’t look like the American was going to be able to go much longer. If that’s not much better on Sunday, Paul won’t be winning in straightforward fashion. Popyrin hasn’t dropped a set in this tournament. He’s a gamer.
As for the other match, I want some action on Tiafoe. I’m just not willing to lay any games or sets. Tiafoe is the type of player that can throw away a set quickly, but I don’t see him losing this match. Tiafoe is 2-0 against Altmaier in his career, and one of those wins was an outdoor clay-court match in Rome in 2023. Those conditions were a lot like the ones in Paris. And Tiafoe has been more dangerous than ever at this year’s French Open. I think some of that has to do with the balls that are being used. Tiafoe has been able to play some power tennis, even in conditions that are supposed to be slower. And if that doesn’t change on Sunday, he’s going to rattle Altmaier. I know Altmaier is a good clay-court player, but he has a one-handed backhand and plays from far beyond the baseline. Those are things that Tiafoe should be able to take advantage of, whether that’s with rushing the Altmaier backhand, coming to the net to put points away or going to his unorthodox dropshot.
PARLAY: Popyrin To Win A Set & Tiafoe ML (-118)
Elina Svitolina vs. Jasmine Paolini
Paolini, last year’s Roland Garros runner-up and this year’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia champion, has been dominant on clay with a 21-4 record over the past 52 weeks. However, Svitolina enters this match in exceptional form, posting a 15-2 clay record since the European clay-court swing began. One of those losses came at the hands of Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid, and I’d argue that the Belarusian is at her most dangerous on altitude clay. So, that was hardly a bad loss for Svitolina, and I expect the Ukrainian to improve to 16-2 on the dirt.
Statistically, Svitolina holds a significant edge: her 75.1% hold rate and 42.5% break rate heading into Roland Garros was much better than Paolini’s 67.6% and 43.7%. Both are strong returners, but Svitolina’s serve is more dependable, and her improved play with the ball on her racquet has fueled her best season since 2017. On the baseline, Svitolina’s consistency could exploit Paolini’s weaker backhand, a strategy that worked for her at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Additionally, Svitolina may enjoy crowd support thanks to her marriage to French favorite Gael Monfils, potentially giving her an extra lift in Paris.
Bet: Svitolina ML (+100 – 1.5 units)
Additional Thoughts – Holger Rune vs. Lorenzo Musetti
I have a big play on Musetti to win Quarter 3 at +180, and I do think he’ll win — and cover — against Rune. While Musetti is known as a bit of a showman, he’s underrated when it comes to his tactical approach. When his opponents have weaknesses, the Italian is capable of exploiting them. Well, Rune has some real question marks on the forehand wing, and Musetti is going to test the Dane relentlessly there. Rune has also been on court for nine hours in his three matches in Paris. That’s about an hour and a half longer than Musetti has played. Well, that can’t be discounted considering Rune’s fitness struggles in 2025, and it’s especially noteworthy given how physical Musetti’s matches tend to be.
Having said all of that, Musetti is two wins away from winning the quarter, and he’d be a huge favorite against either Tiafoe or Altmaier in the quarterfinals. So, if you’re looking for a place to hedge, this is probably the round. While I love the Italian to win this match against Rune, the Dane is more likely to beat him than the other two.
I will note that I’m not personally looking to hedge. I have had a great tournament thus far, so I can stomach losing the 2.5 units I risked. But I know there are people out there that look to play things a little safer.
