2021 French Open odds, draw: Nadal, Djokovic, Federer same half of men's draw first time ever at Grand Slam event

The 2021 French Open begins Sunday on the clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris, and history was made on the men's side of the draw Thursday when the Big 3 of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were all placed in the same half, meaning only one of them could reach the final. Nadal, who has won this tournament a record 13 times, is the -120 favorite on the tennis odds at William Hill Sportsbook.

This is the first time in a Grand Slam event those three Hall of Famers have ever all landed in the same half of the draw. They have won 17 of the last 20 Grand Slam titles between them and used to be the three top-ranked players in the world so it wasn't possible, but while Djokovic is No. 1 in the world currently and Nadal second, Federer is eighth.

While Federer has won a co-record 20 Grand Slam titles (with Nadal), his lone French title was in 2009, he hasn't reached a final since 2011 and only played here once in the past five years – clay is Federer's weakest surface by far. The Swiss star is a +4000 moneyline longer shot to win at age 39 and has barely played over the past 15 months.

Djokovic, a +400 second favorite, has 18 Grand Slam titles and his lone at the French was in 2016. He lost to Nadal in straight sets in the 2020 final – the tournament was moved to late September/early October due to COVID. Djokovic and Federer would meet in a potential quarterfinal, while Nadal would face No. 7 Andrey Rublev in the quarters if chalk held.

A Nadal victory would break a tie with Federer for most Grand Slam titles, and the Spaniard is an unthinkable 100-2 in his match career at Roland Garros. The two times he didn't win the title: 2016 (lost in third round) and 2009 (lost in fourth round).

On the opposite side of the men's draw, a chalk quarterfinals would be No. 2 Daniil Medvedev vs. No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 4 Dominic Thiem vs. No. 6 Alexander Zverev. None of them have won the French. Tsitsipas has the shortest odds of the quartet at +450. The Greek was a 2020 semifinalist and has yet to reach the final of any Slam.

On the women's side, Iga Swiatek is the +275 favorite despite being ranked No. 9 in the world and No. 1 Ashleigh Barty is +400. They are in the same side of the draw and would meet in a semifinal. Barty was the 2019 champion, while Swiatek beat American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in the 2020 final.

American Serena Williams is +2000 to win her fourth French Open title and tie Margaret Court for the record of 24 Slam titles. Serena hasn't won the French since 2015. The top seed in Williams' quarter is No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka (+600 to win), who beat Williams in the fourth round of this year's Australian Open.

The winner of that quarter could meet world No. 2 Naomi Osaka (+1400) in the semis. Osaka is the defending Australian Open and U.S. Open champion but hasn't been beyond the third round in Paris and didn't play in 2020 due to injury. 

Looking for the best picks against the spread, sharp action on the total and props you can take to the window? Join Jonathan Coachman on the Early Edge as he speaks with SportsLine's top handicappers to preview every day's biggest games. We promise to keep it short, sweet and to put some green in your pocket. Early Edge is under 10 minutes and in your feed every single day by 11 AM ET. Download right here or wherever you get your podcasts.