The 2022 French Open rolls on and SportsTips.com are previewing both of the men’s semifinal matches. Read below to check out our tennis picks for the games over the semifinal round!
We are now into the semifinal at the French Open and boy these two games are going to be epic. Nadal proved his foot injury is no problem in the previous round, defeating the world #1 Djokovic in four sets. Nadal’s opponent in the semis, Zverev, overcame young Spaniard, Alcaraz, also in four sets. Čilić continues to wind back the clock, and he caused another upset in the quarters, beating Rublev in a thrilling five set match. Ruud will face off against Čilić and he defeated unseeded Rune in four sets.
Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round of the 2022 French Open tournament.
Rafael Nadal (5) vs Alexander Zverev (3)
Many people probably would have been crossing their fingers for an all-Spanish matchup here in the semis, but this game is certainly nothing to turn your nose up at! Nadal, who will be playing on his 36th birthday, cruised through the first three rounds unscathed, but then faced Auger-Aliassime in the Round of 16, a match that went to five sets, and most recently Djokovic, who he managed to get through in four sets. In his last match, Zverev successfully navigated through teen sensation, Alcaraz, in four sets.
Jeffery Thomas
A valuable lesson was learned in the quarterfinals on the men’s side of the draw and that is to never under any circumstances doubt Mr. Rafael Nadal. He came into his matchup with #1 seed Novak Djokovic a heavy underdog and it seemed not a lot of people were giving him a chance. Despite that, he went out and took down Djoker in 4 sets in a match that lasted over 4 hours. A lot of the reasoning for picking against Nadal was his health and time spent on the court in his previous match against Felix Auger-Aliassime but that was just wrong to do. Instead we should have solely focused on the fact he beat FAA who is a really good player, top 10 in fact.
Alexander Zverev was also a heavy underdog in his quarterfinals match against Carlos Alcaraz and he too prevailed in 4 sets. It’s his second straight run to the semifinals after losing in 2021 to Stefanos Tsitsipas at this stage in the tournament. Zverev’s win over Alcaraz was due in large part to a great serving day but also inexperience from the young Spainiard. Carlos gifted Sascha with error after error and I’m sure that made things a lot easier on the German who didn’t play the cleanest match himself. The problem with that is that against Rafa you can’t expect any mistakes and you’ll have to go and earn most if not all of your points. I just don’t see that happening and one thing I’m never going to do is pick against the 13-time French Open Champion. Give me Rafa to win this one comfortably.
Jeffery’s French Open Pick: Game Spread – Nadal -5.5 (-125)
Marko Nadin
Rafael Nadal has defeated his greatest rival Novak Djokovic and now is on his way to a 14th title at the French Open. In the semifinals, Nadal will go against Alexander Zverev who he leads 6-3 in their head-to-heads so far. Before defeating Djokovic, Nadal went past Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets and Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet and Botic Van De Zandschulp. Nadal is currently fifth in the ATP rankings and has a 28-3 record for the season including 8-2 on clay. He already won the Australian Open and the tournament in Acapulco in 2022.
Alexander Zverev faced a match point in the second round of the French Open against Sebastian Baez but here he is in the semifinals of the tournaments where he was stopped last year losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Zverev defeated the sensational Carlos Alcaraz 3-1 in the quarterfinals, saving a set point in the tie-break of the fourth set. On his way to the semifinals, Zverev also defeated Sebastian Offner, Brandon Nakashima and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. The 25-year-old German is currently third in the ATP standings which is his career-best. He is 29-9 for the season and 15-4 on clay.
Marko’s French Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-0 (+170)
Jack Hartman
In the battle of two tennis legends it was Rafa Nadal who emerged victorious over his old rival Novak Djokovic. It was a match that lived up to its grand billing. Nadal, who is chasing an unprecedented 14th Roland Garros title, headed into this tournament with serious questions to answer over both his form and fitness. In that match he put all of those questions to bed. Rolling back the years, Nadal showed why he is the king of clay. His forehand was vicious, his mind clear and his movement elite. In a match that ebbed and flowed, it was Nadal that held his nerve.
Zverev headed into his quarterfinal against Alcaraz as the clear underdog despite being the higher ranked player. Zverev had an aggressive plan and attacked the Alcaraz forehand. Putting the young Spaniard under pressure at every occasion, Zverev used all of his experience to his advantage. Leading by two sets to one, Zverev held his nerve in the fourth set tiebreak to pull off the upset. The win means that it’s yet another semifinal for the German who is looking to end his painful wait for his first Grand Slam. This match could be an epic, but Nadal looks determined to win yet another French Open title. Nadal leads the head to head series 6-3 and should win this first semifinal.
Jack’s French Open Pick: Set Betting – Nadal 3-1 (+260)
Casper Ruud (8) vs Marin Čilić (20)
Casper Ruud continues to have the Grand Slam of his life here at the French Open, and his quest to make the finals will only take one more victory, and that victory needs to come over Marin Čilić. Ruud has only played one three set match so far this tournament, so he must be feeling it in his legs by now. The dream run continues for Čilić, who has knocked out Medvedev (second seed) and Rublev (seventh seed) in the last two games. It was a close call in the quarters, as it needed a fifth set tiebreak to decide the match.
Jeffery Thomas
Marin Cilic is back in the semifinals of a Grand Slam at the ripe age of 33 and he knows he won’t have too many more of these opportunities. His opponent is Casper Ruud who owns a 2-0 record over Cilic, but neither of those matchups had the same stakes that this Friday match will have. The winner will move on to the final, somewhere that Ruud had never even come close to before this tournament. The furthest he had gone at a Grand Slam was the fourth round of the 2021 Australian Open, so this is uncharted territory for the Norwegian.
He has a cool demeanor though and the game to match it so I don’t think this moment will get to him. I also like the matchup for Ruud, who likes to be defensive from the baseline. He will be able to keep balls in play and just wait out those notorious Cilic errors that will eventually come. Marin Cilic has had his fair share of success but the time for new blood is now and I expect us to see Casper Ruud making his first final at a major.
Jeffery’s French Open Pick: Moneyline – Ruud (-245)
Marko Nadin
No one could have predicted that Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic would have made it this far in the tournament but no one can say that they did not deserve it. Casper Ruud has proven that he is becoming a Grand Slam contender after playing on a challenger level just two years ago. The Norwegian is currently 8th in the ATP rankings and has a 29-9 record for the year including 20-5 on clay. Ruud is coming off a 3-1 quarterfinal win over Holger Rune. Previously he defeated Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Sonego, Emil Ruusuvuori and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Ruud has won both previous matches against Cilic, 2-1 last year in Toronto and 2-0 in Rome in 2020.
Marin Cilic is back in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time for some years. The Croat is currently 23rd in the rankings with his career-best being at no. 3. Cilic is 18-11 for the season and 9-4 on clay. He survived a fifth set tie break in the semifinals against Andrey Rublev and previously defeated Daniil Medvedev, Gilles Simon, Marton Ficsovics and Atila Ballacz. Cilic is playing in a good form but he spent more than 4 hours on the court in the quarterfinal match which will definitely take its toll. Ruud is 10 years younger and will win this one to advance to his first Grand Slam final.
Marko’s French Open Pick: Moneyline – Ruud (-245)
Jack Hartman
Marin Cilic has reached his another Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in some years. Many may have believed that Cilic’s days of reaching the latter stages of Grand Slams were in the past, but the Croat has rolled the clock back in his wonderful run to this year’s semifinals. Cilic needed to use every ounce of his experience and ability to hold off Andrey Rublev. At 33, Cilic will severely hope his body will recover in time for the semifinal against Ruud. Despite going into the match as the underdog, Cilic will be more than confident of reaching his third career Grand Slam final.
Casper Ruud continues to make history and becomes the first Norwegian in decades to reach the semi finals of a Grand Slam. Ruud has enjoyed a fruitful year on Tour and his run to the semifinals is a clear sign that he is going to be a top ten player for a long time. Ruud has had to battle to make it this far and has dropped at least one set in all but one of his matches in the tournament. At times in his quarterfinal against Denmark’s Holger Rune, Ruud looked tight and seemed to lose focus and concentration. He can ill-afford to do this against Cilic. This is a tough match to call, but I will side with Ruud to come out on top and make his first ever Grand Slam final.
Jack’s French Open Pick: Set Betting – Ruud 3-1 (+280)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
