Ricky Dimon
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Monday and Tuesday of week one are always the busiest days at Grand Slams, with first-round matches being played left, right and center. There is a smorgasbord of betting opportunities, but it also isn’t easy to find the best ones to choose when there are so many options. Tuesday’s schedule at the U.S. Open includes 4-time champion Rafael Nadal on the men’s side and former Grand Slam winners Iga Swiatek, Sloane Stephens, Sofia Kenin, Garbine Muguruza, Jelena Ostapenko, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina and Venus Williams on the women’s side.
Here are my best bets for Day 2 as the first-round action wraps up in New York.
Sofia Kenin ML over Jule Niemeier (-120)
As the above list indicates, there are a whole host of women in this tournament who have already won Grand Slam titles. Kenin is among the least notable on that list, as she came from pretty much out of nowhere to capture the 2020 Australian Open title and since then — aside from a runner-up performance at the 2020 French Open — she has almost disappeared. The good news is that you can get Kenin at a great price because of recent injuries and general disappointing form. It’s a price worth jumping on (at least in the first round), as the 23-year-old American showed signs of life with a quarterfinal result last week in Cleveland in addition to a competitive 3-set loss to Sloane Stephens in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Jule Niemeier has slumped big-time since making a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. It should also be noted that the German is 13-15 lifetime on hard courts; by comparison, she has won 104 matches on clay. Kenin should take this one comfortably even if she doesn’t play particularly well.
Laslo Djere +8 games over Andrey Rublev (-129)
I’m not about to give 8 games with Andrey Rublev when he is nowhere near his peak form. Plus he is facing a more than respectable opponent in Laslo Djere, who reached the Winston-Salem final this past weekend. The Serb does his best work on clay, but the Winston-Salem run proved that he is also no slouch on the hard stuff. Djere is 1-2 lifetime in the head-to-head series and neither of his losses was a rout. Rublev is just 7-7 in his last 14 matches dating back to the French Open. The Russian should win, but I can’t see him covering such a bloated spread.
Christopher Eubanks ML over Pedro Martinez (-141)
Pedro Martinez was hot earlier in the year (on clay, it should be noted), but he has cooled off in a hurry. The 25-year-old Spaniard has been a complete disaster on hard courts, this season especially, but really throughout his career. For Christopher Eubanks, on the other hand, these conditions are perfect. The courts are playing fast and balls are flying through the air in the heat and humidity. That is exactly how the big-serving American likes it, so it was no surprise to see him successfully come through qualifying. With 3 wins already under his belt, it should be full steam ahead for Eubanks. The head-to-head history must be noted, too. It is 1-1. Unsurprisingly, Martinez won on clay and Eubanks dominated on a hard court. It’s amazing that the Georgia Tech product isn’t a bigger favorite.
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