French Open betting: Back this underdog in the third round at Roland Garros

The third round of the French Open wraps up Saturday with perhaps another upset in the works. World No. 7 Andrey Rublev fell in third round Friday to Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who pulled off an epic five-set victory after being down the first two sets. It’s been wild at Roland Garros with still so much opportunity left for chaos.

Here’s one wager to make for Saturday's action.

Borna Coric (+115) vs. Tomás Martín Etcheverry

Croatian Borna Coric has four losses on clay this season, two of which came against Carlos Alcaraz (arguably the best player on tour) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (one of the best clay court players at the moment). Those are fair losses. Tomás Martín Etcheverry is an Argentine with a strong baseline game who pushed American Frances Tiafoe in the Houston clay court final earlier this year.

Coric wins this match by doing what he does best: utilize a strong return game. His counterpunch ability will come into play against the 6-foot-5 Etcheverry, but it’s Coric’s ability to extend rallies that will matter most.

The only history we have between these two players was a straight set loss for Coric in a 2022 Challenger event. However, Coric was early into his return after a yearlong layoff from injury. Both players have strong wins on clay this season, with Coric defeating a big server in Hubert Hurkacz and a strong clay court player in Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, while Etcheverry pushed Djokovic to a tiebreak in Rome.

What Coric really has going for him is his ability to sustain grueling matches. Plus, he enters this match with rhythm having played two tiebreaks in the opening round and a five-set match in the second. Etcheverry could be well rested but also out of rhythm after having a walkover in the opening round.

Bet on Coric to pull the small upset over Etcheverry and advance to the fourth round of Roland Garros. The safe bet: Coric +2 games, getting “value” after the opening line opened at a pick ’em. I’m taking the moneyline as I trust Coric more in high-pressure situations and to have better conditioning.