Roland Garros is officially less than five weeks away. And yet, there’s plenty of clay court tennis to be had between now and then, with none more pressing than the Masters 1000 event this week. For the next 10 days, all eyes will be on Madrid as 96 of the world’s best tennis players take to the Spanish clay in an attempt to lift one of the sport’s biggest crowns outside of the Grand Slams.
With no Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner, home favorite Carlos Alcaraz is an overwhelming favorite to win in Madrid. The big question is, can anyone stop him? Will Stefanos Tsitsipas gain revenge for what happened in Barcelona or Casper Ruud simply gain some form? We look at these questions and more as we break down the latest betting odds from bookmaker William Hill.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 25th, 9:00 A.M. (GMT)
When it comes to tennis odds, it’s very unusual for one player to hold an enormous lead in the odds. Men’s tennis is simply too competitive and the winners so interchangeable from week to week. That’s why this week’s odds from bookmaker William Hill are so astounding—Carlos Alcaraz holds an enormous lead over the rest of the field in Madrid.
With odds of 1.80, Alcaraz is so far ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas that the Greek can’t even see him. Tsitsipas is at 10.00, just ahead of Daniil Medvedev who sits at 11.00. Behind him, Holger Rune and Alexander Zverev are even on 17.00 before Casper Ruud rounds out the chasing pack at 21.00.
While it may seem as though Alcaraz’s name is already etched onto the trophy a second time at the Madrid Masters as far as the bookies are concerned, we say not so fast. Here’s the thing: Every time Alcaraz wins a tournament in 2023, he fails to back up. He wins Buenos Aires then loses to Cam Norrie in Rio the next week; wins Indian Wells then loses to Jannik Sinner in Miami; wins Barcelona then loses to… Fill in the blank. You get the idea—we see Alcaraz failing to defend his title and flaming out here in Madrid despite how hot he may seem right now.
Assuming Alcaraz does bow out of Madrid at some stage, who does that leave in the running for the title? There are plenty of candidates and all of them are very lucrative bets. Holger Rune, for example, came within a whisker of winning a Masters 1000 earlier this month and steps onto the Madrid soil fresh off a title defense in Munich. The Dane is easily playing at a top five level in 2023 and with most of the top five absent from this tournament, odds of 17.00 seem like a fantastic wager.
Or will this be the moment that Casper Ruud rekindles his form from 2022? This time last year, Ruud was the golden boy of clay. After making two Grand Slam finals and winning three titles in 2022, the Norwegian is a sorry 11-6 for the year. His class is still there somewhere, however, and with an easy draw ahead of him, things could open up for the 24-year-old in Madrid. At 21.00, this is an excellent bet to take as well.
