The 2025 French Open gets underway at Roland Garros on Sunday morning with wall-to-wall action starting at 5 a.m. ET.
Although the French Open projects to be very chalky with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner priced as clear favorites to meet in the finals, there will certainly be some chaos in the early rounds.
We’ve identified a couple of potential upsets on Sunday.
It looked like Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was on his way to huge things in 2025. The French wunderkind finished 2024 in great form, and then started the new year with a deep run at Brisbane, but things began to stall from that point forward.
Mpetshi Perricard has a massive game, built around one of the world’s most powerful serves, but that advantage will be muted on the clay at Roland Garros.
Without his serve being the difference-maker, Mpetshi Perricard will need to play a composed, patient game, and he’s just not that kind of player, yet.
Zizou Bergs can be a thorn in anybody’s side, and his ability to draw out points should make him a live underdog on Sunday morning.
It’s not surprising that Frances Tiafoe has endured an up-and-down first five months of 2025. The American has kind of made that his M.O. in his career. He wants to peak at the end of the year, specifically at the US Open at the end of August.
Tiafoe has been especially pedestrian on clay this year, it must be said, and he’ll be up against a dangerous opponent in Round 1.
Roman Safiullin has struggled on the main tour in 2025, posting a 3-8 record overall, but the Russian’s A-game can overpower just about anyone on tour.
If Tiafoe was in decent nick, you’d say that this would be a tall ask of Safiullin, but with the Maryland native scuffling, there’s a way that Safiullin wins this match even without his best stuff.
This matchup is closer than the odds suggest.
The Play: Safiullin +210 (BetMGM Sportsbook)
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.