Tennis expert Andy Schooler previews Saturday’s third-round action at the French Open, with two bets in his staking plan.
Tennis betting tips: French Open matches
1pt Jacob Fearnley to beat Cameron Norrie at 11/10 (Betfair)
1pt Marketa Vondrousova to beat Jessica Pegula at 13/8 (Sky Bet, Betfair, Boylesports)
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Cameron Norrie v Jacob Fearnley
We sided with Fearnley in the last round when he progressed via Ugo Humbert’s retirement.
However, the Briton was already well in control of that match when Humbert began to struggle and it was another impressive display from a rising star of the ATP Tour.
He’s risen to 55th in the rankings following a solid start to his first full campaign on the main tour and that’s considerably higher than Norrie – his compatriot sits 81st.
Fearnley is yet to drop a set at Roland Garros, beating former champion Stan Wawrinka in round one, and adding to recent victories over Tomas Machac and Dusan Lajovic on surface to which he’s taken to like a duck to water.
Norrie has, admittedly, rediscovered his form in recent weeks, going from qualifying to the semi-finals in Geneva, and then beating seed Daniil Medvedev in the first round here.
He’ll aim to make his experience pay but as long as Fearnley isn’t overawed by facing his fellow Scot, then I think his form is capable of trumping Norrie’s.
Notably, Fearnley has an excellent record against left-handers – he’s 13-2 at all levels with one of the defeats coming when he quit after two games.
He has a strong return game and it’s worth pointing out that his return-games-won percentage rises from an overall 28% to 42% against lefties.
I’m not convinced he should be the underdog in this one.
Marketa Vondrousova v Jessica Pegula
Vondrousova, a former finalist at Roland Garros, hasn’t played a great deal since making the quarter-finals here 12 months ago.
She’s had a miserable time with injuries but spoke after her second-round win over seed Magdalena Frech that she was “very happy” with her physical condition.
The Czech’s game is all about manoeuvring opponents around the court and disrupting their rhythm. She loves mixing things up in terms of the pace of the ball, while she’s bound to throw in the drop shots to get Pegula coming forward, something she’s not the most comfortable with despite her doubles prowess.
Marketa's magical moment 🏆
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon)
Marketa Vondrousova becomes the third Czech woman to win the ladies' singles title, defeating Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4
The American prefers the hardcourts and I do wonder how she’ll cope against a player much more at home on this surface.
Yes, she’s won two matches here so far in straight sets but the quality of opponent rises significantly now.
Prior to arriving in Paris, she’d gone 3-4 on the European clay. Not good.
Pegula lost the pair’s only previous meeting – at Wimbledon in 2023 when Vondrousova went on to be crowned champion – and basically admitted the Czech was the more comfortable on this surface when saying on Thursday: “She obviously knows how to play good tennis here at Roland Garros. I think that's going to be the trickiest part for me."
Maybe it’s too early in Vondrousova’s comeback but I’m prepared to pay to find out, given she’s on offer at 13/8.
Posted at 2005 BST on 30/05/25
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