Carlos Alcaraz just reminded everyone at the Australian Open that he’s the best player on the planet right now, dismantling Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to become the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam. That victory came after the Serbian sensation somehow outlasted defending champion Jannik Sinner in a five-set epic at the ripe old age of 38, rolling back the years as a 5/1 underdog to remind everybody exactly why he’s the GOAT.
But perhaps the scariest fact surrounding the imperious form of Alcaraz is that clay remains the Spanish prodigy’s best surface, despite the fact that he has just wrapped up each of the last two hard-court slams. The 23-year-old heads to Roland Garros this June as the reigning back-to-back champion, famously rallying from two sets down to outlast Sinner in a 325-minute marathon that ended in a fifth-set tiebreak last year. Now, he heads back to the City of Love with two more Slams added to his already overflowing trophy cabinet, and he does so as the overwhelming favorite with online betting sites to complete the three-peat.
When Alcaraz begins the defence of his French Open crown this summer, he will be followed all the way by upstart betting outlet Ozoon sportsbook, a site expected to make a major stir in the world of betting. The rest of the industry currently makes the Spaniard the even money favorite to complete the threepeat, and Ozoon are expected to follow suit with the same lofty billing once their unrivaled odds offering is rolled out.
But while champions like Alcaraz grab headlines, Roland Garros consistently delivers stunning upsets year after year. So, which are the biggest shockers from each of the last three installments of the tournament? Let’s take a look.
2025: Ruud’s Injury-Plagued Collapse Against Borges
Casper Ruud reached back-to-back French Open finals in 2022 and 2023, but unfortunately, he came up against two of the greats in the form of their life. The first time around, it was the King of Clay himself, Rafael Nadal, dishing out the straight-sets beatdown as Ruud won just six games en route to the runners-up prize. A year later, Djokovic’s turn: straight sets once again as Nole cemented his status as the greatest of all time.
In 2024, the Norwegian made it to the semifinals, and with no Rafa or Nole in sight, the trophy looked like it could finally be his. Instead, he was unceremoniously dispatched by Alexander Zverev, who himself would go on to lose in the showpiece to Alcaraz. Fast forward to 2025, and Ruud was on form: He’d just captured his first Masters 1000 title in Madrid and breezed through his first-round match in Paris, beating qualifier Albert Ramos Viñolas in lopsided fashion.
Then his knee betrayed him. Ruud later revealed he’d been managing pain since Monte-Carlo in April and even had a scan during his Madrid title run. But playing through discomfort in practice is different from five-set warfare at a Grand Slam, and when Portuguese underdog Nuno Borges started finding his range in the second set, Ruud couldn’t adjust. He took a medical timeout, but the damage was done—Borges won 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, becoming the first Portuguese man to reach the third round in tournament history.
2024: Rublev’s Meltdown Against Unheralded Arnaldi
Andrey Rublev was in disbelief in 2024 as he was systematically dismantled by unknown Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the third round. The Russian couldn’t believe what was transpiring, smashing his racket into the ground and kicking the court for good measure. The sixth seed had reached the quarterfinals at three of four slams in 2023, including Paris, and he’d made the Australian Open quarters just months earlier. This was a guy in form getting absolutely demolished 7-6(8), 6-2, 6-4, by an opponent he should’ve handled.
Arnaldi was striking 47 winners and matching Rublev’s power shot for shot. But what really killed Rublev was his own head. He registered 15 double faults, and his forehand—usually such a weapon—kept misfiring as frustration mounted. There was a disputed line call in the second set where he argued with the umpire, and from there, his body language screamed defeat. Rublev’s notorious for mental fragility, and this was a textbook example: a talented player watching his Grand Slam dreams die because he couldn’t control his emotions on the biggest stage.
2023: Medvedev’s First-Round Disaster
Let’s be clear about how absurd this was: Daniil Medvedev, the second seed and one of the best players in the world, getting bounced in the first round by a Brazilian qualifier ranked 172nd. First Round. Thiago Seyboth Wild had never even been beyond the first round of qualifying at Roland Garros before, let alone reaching the tournament itself. He had to battle through multiple matches just to reach the main draw, then immediately took down one of the biggest names in tennis on Court Philippe-Chatrier in a four-hour, 15-minute marathon, 7-6(5), 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The Brazilian clubbed 69 winners, repeatedly undoing Medvedev with his forehand while the second seed registered 15 costly double faults. Medvedev’s body language told the story—he didn’t want to be there. The Russian has never loved clay, and watching him trudge around the baseline while Seyboth Wild swung freely suggested someone who’d mentally checked out. His second serve won just 46% of points, and when Seyboth Wild broke him three times in the fifth set, Medvedev barely fought back.
