8/1 Olympic Tennis Parlays
Credit: dailysabah.com
Alcaraz ML/Djokovic ML (-200)
Like a bunch of my previous tennis wagers, some have been of heavier odds (-150 or worse) and we have gotten burned (past two tennis bets we have had heart breaking losses). I am hoping this isn’t another repeat of that.
Anyways, backing the two best players remaining on the mens side in Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic to win their matches and advance to the semi finals.
Starting with Carlos, where do I even begin. If you have read some of my previous write ups you now know that I am a huge Alcaraz fan and personally think he is the best player in the world regardless of what the rankings say.
Alcaraz has won his first three matches all the two sets. Winning 6-3, 6-1 in round one, 6-4, 6-2 in round two and 6-1, 7-6 in round three. No one has really given him any trouble besides the last set in his match against Griekspoor.
We all know what he has done this season leading up to this quarter finals match, winning the French Open and Wimbledon in back to back majors. He has also dominated at this venue, 18-3 career in the French Open and 21-3 career at Roland Garros, including this years Olympic numbers. Alcaraz will now face Tommy Paul who has also cruised through his first three matches winning all of them in two sets as well.
I think this will set up to be a better match than people think given the odds but I have faith Alcaraz will pull it out in the end. Carlos leads the career head to head at 3-2 and beat him in their most recent match at Wimbledon 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. After dropping the first set in London Alcaraz was able to right the ship and really control the rest of the match and advance rather easily.
With Tommy Paul a career 5-6 at Roland Garros and 131-72 (64.5%) on clay I don’t see him being able to hang with Alcaraz on this surface and especially with the current form that he is in.
Next, onto Novak who looks like a completely different player than the one we saw in the Wimbledon finals just a few weeks ago. Winning all three match ups in two sets and really dominating in 2 of those 3 matches. Djokovic won round one 6-0, 6-1, round two 6-1, 6-4 against Nadal and round three 7-5, 6-3 (the most competitive of the three).
After watching him get blown out in the Wimbledon finals I wasn't sure what to expect from him in the Olympics but he has surprised me for sure and I am excited because I love watching him play at the top of his game. I don’t even need to start with his career stats on clay, winning the French Open three times and making it to the finals seven times. If it wasn’t for Nadal these numbers would be higher, but good for Noah he eliminated Nadal a few days ago.
Djokovic is a career 96-16 (86%) on this court and I just can’t see him dropping a match to Tsitsipas. He had his chance to beat Novak in 2021 in the French Open finals when he was up two sets to zero but eventually choked it away and lost in five. This should be a good match given Tsitsipas is top 10 in the world, has an excellent record at Roland Garros (26-8) but don’t forget who he is going up against.
Djokovic is a career 11-2 against Tsitsipas and has won the L10 matches between the two including four on clay. Novak is also 5-0 all time against Tsitsipas on clay. The greek man is a good player but he’s shown time and time again he doesn’t have what it takes to dethrone the goat. Novak moves onto the semis in two sets. GL.
Zverev ML/Alcaraz ML (-159)
Slightly better odds here than our Djokovic bet but still nothing to be overly excited about. Would have rather had this under -120 but it is what it is, I love it none the less.
Already talked about why I like Carlos so going to keep this short and sweet and break down the Zverev portion of this parlay.
As I have discussed a few days ago in one of my prior articles I love Zverev on clay and think he is one of the best in the world on this surface. Coming off a runner up finish in the 2024 French Open, three straight semi finals appearances from 2021 to 2023 and a career 34-9 at Roland Garros he has shown he can compete on clay.
Winning all three matchups thus far in three sets and by an average of 3 games per set he hasn’t had any real stress leading up to this point. He now faces the 22 year old Italian in Musetti who is no slouch himself, also winning all three matches in two sets.
With just one match between the two in the past (Zverev won the first set before Musetti retired) there is minimal data to compare these two. I just simply have to trust my gut and the players recent performance on this surface, and that is what I am going to do.
I like Zverev to keep his momentum going in Paris and at this venue to come out of here with a three set victory and move onto the semi finals.
Djokovic ML/Zverev ML (-119)
I already discussed my reasoning for backing Novak and Zverev above, please check them out for the basis behind this last wager.
Something I am a little concerned about is that fact that we are backing three favorites to win tomorrow morning, I mean what could possibly go wrong. In all seriousness though, these guys have proven they should be in this position and should all have enough talent to make it to the next round.
Good luck.
