Emerging star Carlos Alcaraz is one of the main contenders for the 2022 French Open, which starts Sunday in Paris, and if he wins his first Grand Slam, he will definitely have earned it. The 19-year-old has won in Miami, Barcelona and Madrid this season, and he is on a crash course with superstardom. He is on the tough side of a lopsided draw and will have to get through defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, a 13-time winner at Roland Garros, among others. Djokovic is trying to match Nadal's record 21 Grand Slam titles, a number the Spaniard achieved at the Australian Open in January. But the French Open has seen a lot of young winners, including Nadal just after his 19th birthday in 2005, and Michael Chang, Mats Wilander and Bjorn Borg when they were younger than Alcaraz is now.
The 2022 French Open wraps up June 5 in Paris, and Djokovic is the +200 favorite to raise the trophy in Caesars Sportsbook's latest 2022 French Open odds. Alcaraz is next on the tennis odds board +225, while Nadal and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas are both priced at +400. No other player is shorter than +2200 in the French Open 2022 odds. Before locking in any 2022 French Open picks for the men's champion, you need to see who SportsLine's Sean Calvert is backing.
Calvert is the elite tennis handicapper who called Stan Wawrinka winning the 2014 Australian Open at 60-1 -- the last Australian title won by someone other than Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. In 2019, Calvert took down a huge score on Dominic Thiem winning Indian Wells at 80-1, among many other stunning calls.
Now, Calvert has scrutinized the latest French Open 2022 field and released his coveted best bets to win it all. He's sharing all his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Top 2022 French Open predictions
One of Calvert's surprising 2022 French Open picks: He is strongly fading Nadal, even though he won the latest Grand Slam tournament and has won in Paris 13 times. The 35-year-old was barely able to finish his most recent tournament after aggravating the foot injury that cut his season short last year. Calvert says he wouldn't be surprised if this is Nadal's last run at Roland Garros, given the Spaniard's candidness about his frustration with his injuries and inability to practice like he needs to.
Nadal cruised 6-1 in the first set in his Round of 16 match against Denis Shapovalov in Rome. Then he was injured and lost the next two sets. Oddsmakers have shown tremendous respect for Nadal's dominance on the clay in Paris since his first win in 2005. "But surely this price is far too short, given how he limped out of Rome," Calvert says.
Nadal's competitive fire is legendary, but even if his foot feels OK, it could get tweaked at any time, so the expert is staying away.
How to make 2022 French Open picks
Instead, Calvert is backing an underdog who would return well over 20-1. This player is in the weaker half of the draw, and things set up very well for him to get to the final. He's sharing who it is, and all of his picks, here.
So who wins the French Open 2022? And which big long shot could take the crown? Visit SportsLine now to see Sean Calvert's bets for the 2022 French Open, all from the renowned tennis expert who called Wawrinka winning the Australian Open at 60-1.
2022 French Open odds (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Novak Djokovic +200
Carlos Alcaraz +225
Rafael Nadal +400
Stefanos Tsitsipas +400
Alexander Zverez +2200
Casper Ruud +2200
Jannik Sinner +2200
Andrey Rublev +4000
Daniil Medvedev +4000
Miomir Kecmanovic +6500
Felix Auger-Aliaassime +6500
Alex De Minaur +8000
