The 2021 French Open is here and SportsTips.com are previewing the best six games of each round at Roland Garros. Read below to check out our picks for the three best men’s and women’s games for Round 3 of the 2021 French Open!
Enjoy our free daily picks and predictions for each round of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros.
Picks For Round 3 Of The 2021 French Open: Men’s
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Ricardas Berankis
The No. 1 seed for the 2021 French Open has gotten his campaign for a second title at Roland Garros off to a near perfect start. Novak Djokovic has cruised to a pair of three set victories in the opening two rounds as he prepares for a third round clash with world No. 93 Ricardas Berankis. Berankis has dropped sets in each of his first two matches at the 2021 French Open, upsetting Ugo Humbert and James Duckworth.
An outstanding performance from @DjokerNole 👏
He sweeps past Cuevas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and moves into the third round.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0MxYHEz8G2
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 3, 2021
Djokovic owns a 3-0 lead over Berankis in their career head to head, as the Serbian has won each of the three matches in straight sets, including a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory at Roland Garros in 2020. With just a 17-30 record at Grand Slam events, a 2-13 record against top 10 ranked opponents and a 10-25 record on clay, we feel as if Djokovic will be too strong for Berankis when the two meet in the third round. The 2016 French Open champion has hardly broken a sweat so far this tournament and we like him for another straight sets victory against Berankis, who has struggled on clay throughout his career.
Tennis Pick: Exact Score – Djokovic 3-0 (-490)
Dominik Koepfer vs Roger Federer (8)
Participating in his first Grand Slam tournament since the 2020 Australian Open and just his second French Open since 2015, Roger Federer has advanced to his 13th consecutive third round appearance at Roland Garros. The 20 time Grand Slam champion will face world No. 59 Dominik Koepfer in Round 3. With two wins so far in this tournament, Koepfer has improved to an above .500, 11-10 career record on clay. However, the German is just 1-4 in his career against top 10 ranked opponents.
Although Federer did drop a set in his second round clash, the match was against former world No. 3 Marin Cilic, who has a 128-80 clay court record in his own right. Koepfer is not afraid to go for his shots, which means he is always at risk of being error-prone and giving away free points. This bodes well for a player with Federer’s experience and skill set, and we like the Swiss maestro to advance to the fourth round with a straight sets victory.
TennisPick: Exact Score – Federer 3-0 (+140)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) vs John Isner (31)
As a result of Taylor Fritz’s second round elimination, John Isner is now the highest seeded American that remains on the men’s side of the draw at the 2021 French Open. Although three of his six sets have been decided in tiebreaks, Isner is yet to drop a set at the French Open, building on his impressive clay court season in 2021, which has seen him defeat the likes of Andrey Rublev and Roberto Bautista Agut in the lead-up to Roland Garros. Isner will take on world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. Tsitsipas continued his strong start to his French Open campaign with an impressive 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Pedro Martinez in the second round, which also advances him to the third round having not dropped a set.
Tsitsipas advances!
Stefanos Tsitsipas crushes Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with Isner in 3rd round pic.twitter.com/5wmSiUD0xc
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) June 2, 2021
Tsitsipas owns a 3-2 lead over Isner in their career head to head, winning the last three matches between the two players. Seeing as Tsistsipas has captured titles in Monte Carlo and Lyon in recent weeks, and clay is his most successful surface (.736 winning percentage), we can’t go past the young Greek to improve on his winning record over Isner when the two meet in the third round. However, Isner also possesses a powerful service game and composure in crunch moments, and we like him to at least force this match to four sets.
Tennis Pick: Sets Handicap – John Isner +2.5 Sets (-165)
Picks For Round 3 Of The 2021 French Open: Women’s
Coco Gauff (24) vs Jennifer Brady (13)
Coco Gauff and Jennifer Brady will be one of many All-American head to head matches on the women’s side of the draw in the third round at the French Open. Guaff cruised to another straight sets victory in the second round, defeating Qiang Wang 6-3, 7-6. While Brady dropped her first set of the tournament against Fiona Ferro, before ultimately winning the match and advancing to a clash with Gauff thanks to a 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 victory.
Although Brady holds a 1-0 record over Guaff in their career head to head, Gauff holds a superior record in 2021 and a vastly superior record on clay. Gauff is 25-9 this season, including a 14-3 record on clay, while Brady is 14-7 in 2021, with a 5-2 on clay. Brady may have the superior ranking, however we like Gauff to win the Round 3 matchup between the two Americans, as she is in great form this year and the proven performer on the surface.
Tennis Pick: Head To Head – Gauff (-182)
Sofia Kenin (4) vs Jessica Pegula (28)
Another pair of American’s will face off in the third round at Roland Garros when the fourth seeded Sofia Kenin takes on the 28th seeded Jessica Pegula. This Round 3 matchup will be the fourth career meeting between Kenin and Pegula, with each of their first three matches going to three sets. Kenin won the most recent of their head to head matches in February of 2021, however Pegula won the two prior to that. Both players dropped a set in their round one matches before winning their round two encounters in straight sets.
All-🇺🇸 matchups for DAYS @rolandgarros in Round 3:@serenawilliams 🆚 Danielle Collins@CocoGauff 🆚 @jennifurbrady95 @JLPegula 🆚 @SofiaKenin #TeamUSATennis pic.twitter.com/Qj21NOqc1i
— USTA (@usta) June 3, 2021
Kenin will be favored in the match as she has the superior rankings and is a proven performer at Roland Garros, however injury has derailed most of her 2021 season. Contrastingly, Pegula has continued her breakout form in 2021 at the French Open, as she has now won eight of her 11 clay court matches (including victories against Naomi Osaka and Sorana Cirstea) after making a debut Grand Slam quarterfinals appearance at the most recent Australian Open. As things haven’t been running to script for Kenin in 2021, we are going to take Jessica Pegula to force this one to three sets and potentially even upset the fourth seeded Kenin.
Tennis Pick: Total Sets – Over 2.5 (+112)
Serena Williams (7) vs Danielle Collins
A third All-American clash will round out our free French Open picks on the women’s side of the draw, as Serena Williams and Danielle Collins meet in the third round at Roland Garros. Williams has been tested in both of her matches so far in Paris, needing a tiebreak to win her opening set of the tournament before dropping the second set in her second-round match against Mihaela Buzarnescu. However, Williams’ class and experience prevailed as she advanced to the third round at Roland Garros and got one step closer to a historic 24th major title. Williams, who turns 40 later this year, will face Danielle Collins in Round 3.
Collins has had a much smoother passage into the third round at Roland Garros, winning her second round clash against Anhelina Kalinina 6-0, 6-2. Williams won the only previous match against Collins at the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne earlier this year, claiming the victory with a third set 10-6 tiebreak. Although she hasn’t looked at her brutish best so far this tournament, Williams has still shown that she can dominate play when necessary. Collins is very error-prone and susceptible to dips in concentration herself and we believe that will be her undoing against the 23 time Grand Slam champion. We’ll take Serena.
Tennis Pick: Head To Head – Williams (-156)
If you are interested in more news on the French Open and more then make sure you visit our tennis hub page, we’ve got all the details you need!
*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
