Elena Rybakina vs Jelena Ostapenko Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Ostapenko the value bet in marquee third round showdown

Ostapenko famously won the 2017 French Open as an unseeded player shortly after her 20th birthday, while Rybakina secured her maiden major title at Wimbledon in 2022. Both players won clay titles in the lead-up to Roland Garros, meaning this could easily be one of the matches of the day.

I'm loving Ostapenko's value here. The Latvian is a genuine top 10 and maybe even top 5 player at her best and you just know there's a little bit of added motivation with Iga Swiatek potentially waiting in the R16. Ostapenko has an incredible 6-0 record over the four-time major champion and would relish a chance to defeat her again on this stage. Rybakina is obviously no pushover, but in a match that I think is close to 50-50 on current form, Ostapenko's value is too good to ignore here.

Rybakina leads 3-2, winning all three of their meetings in 2023, which was the last time they squared off.

Rybakina comes into this encounter with a 25-9 record on the season.

It's not been a poor year by any means, but Rybakina has dropped out of the top 10 at a current ranking of No. 11, while she continues to deal with the off-court controversy surrounding her former coach Stefano Vukov.

Nevertheless, Rybakina is playing solid tennis and her confidence is probably the highest it's been all season after she won the WTA title in Strasbourg last week, defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Liudmila Samsonova along the way.

A two-time quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, Rybakina needed three sets in her opening round win over Julia Riera before a straight sets triumph over 17-year-old wildcard Iva Jovic.

Ostapenko heads into this clash with a 15-11 record on the season and at No. 21 in the world.

Consistency has obviously never been Ostapenko's strong suit and she went a period of losing in the opening round in 10 of her 13 tournaments between the Paris Olympics and Miami.

However, Ostapenko has found some of her best tennis for the clay swing, surging to an eighth career title in Stuttgart, toppling Iga Swiatek and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka along the way - once again demonstrating she's capable of beating anyone on her day.

It took eventual champion Jasmine Paolini to knock her out of Rome - and after linking up with former French major champion Marion Bartoli, Ostapenko has registered a pair of three-set victories to return to the Roland Garros third round over Polina Kudermetova and Caroline Dolehide.