The men’s singles and women’s doubles semifinals at the 2023 French Open will be played on Friday, June 9 with Novak Djokovic facing Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev taking on Casper Ruud in their respective matches. Get the latest French Open predictions and tips for the day’s action.
The predictions and tips for today’s matches can be found below.
French Open 2023 Predictions & Tips for Friday, June 9
Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic Preview & Predictions
In what will be their second meeting, Carlos Alcaraz will hope to get past Novak Djokovic yet again as he hunts for his second Grand Slam title.
Djokovic, who has had some fitness concerns right throughout this clay court season, and not been at his best has still managed to make the semifinal for the loss of just one set. Alcaraz, on the other hand, dropped a set early in the competition to Taro Daniel but has been clinical since then.
The two had faced off at the Madrid Masters last season, and it turned out to be a ripper of a contest. The best-of-three match went into the third set where Alcaraz managed to squeak through.
Here, Alcaraz comes in with a huge amount of confidence having won the Barcelona Open and the Madrid Masters, but had fallen in the third round in Rome. Djokovic, on the other hand, has won no titles since grabbing the Australian Open.
Which is what makes this a fascinating battle but one that has Alcaraz going in as a favourite – not often has that happened in Djokovic’s career in matches against players outside of the Big Three.
We think Alcaraz could edge this too but more, read our Djokovic v Alcaraz in-depth prediction below.
Alexander Zverev v Casper Ruud Preview & Predictions
The second men’s singles semifinal will have two men who might not have been people’s first choice semifinalists at the start of the tournament.
Alexander Zverev has been struggling to string together a few wins given he only returned to competitive tennis at the start of the season after being out of action for six months. His opponent on the other hand, Casper Ruud, had been struggling with form and barely won a thing all year.
Which is why this could have all the makings of a gritty encounter but also one which might be hard to predict.
Where Zverev holds the edge is his ability to convert difficult situations into something in his favour, and more so on clay. The only challenge for Zverev here is that his opponent has managed to climb up to the number four rank – and was number two last year – thanks to his performances on the red dirt.
That leaves us with an intriguing clash and we could be looking at a four-setter at the very least.
Gauff/Pegula v Townsend/Fernandez Tips Here
While this has all the makings of a delicious contest, it’s no surprise that the Australian Open semifinalists, Pegula and Gauff will start off heavy favourites. Especially given they have won two WTA titles already this season and made the final at two others on clay.
Backing a straight-set win for the American pair.
Tip: Pegula/Gauff to win: 8/15
Melichar-Martinez/Perez v Wang/Hsieh Tips Here
This could turn out to be a lot closer encounter than the other one and we could see a third set in this. Bookmakers have pegged Melichar-Martinez/Perez as 8/11 favourites but if you want to go with an educated punt, Wang/Hsieh might not be a bad bet.
Tip: Three sets in the match: 6/5