With Jannik Sinner out of the picture, any of the remaining competitors can claim they have a legitimate chance of winning the French Open.
That includes American Frances Tiafoe, who is set to take on 22-year-old Jaime Faria in a third-round match on Saturday morning.
Tiafoe, who made it to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year, is a -188 favorite to win the contest.
French Open pick: Tiafoe vs. Faria
After a disappointing 2025 campaign, Tiafoe has shown flashes of his best form in 2026. There have been lapses, but for the most part, he looks a lot closer to the player who went to a pair of semifinals at the US Open between 2022 and 2024.
An aggressive, relentless competitor, Tiafoe at his best is built for best-of-5 tennis. He seems to rise in punishing conditions, but even that has its limits.
Tiafoe enters this match just 48 hours removed from a five-hour thriller against Hubert Hurkacz in the stifling heat.
Faria, meanwhile, has made quick work of his first two opponents, dispatching Denis Shapovalov and Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets. The Portuguese looks at home on the dirt in Paris, and now is riding a five-match winning streak after getting through the qualifying rounds to get into the main draw.
And it’s not just his form and potential fatigue from Tiafoe that make the Portuguese a dangerous underdog on Saturday. He’s also got some stylistic tendencies that could give the No. 19 seed some fits.
Faria is comfortable on the baseline and able to absorb pressure, but he’s got the power to counter-punch and take advantage of opportunities when Tiafoe gets too aggressive, which is something that can get the favorite in trouble.
Like everybody else in this field, Tiafoe could be feeling the pressure knowing that this could be his best chance at ever winning a Grand Slam.
All of this could add up to a difficult day at the office for Tiafoe.
The Play: Faria moneyline (+155, FanDuel)
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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.
