The opening week of the US Open concludes in the singles draws on Saturday with what looks like another excellent schedule around the main courts at Flushing Meadows in New York, as the two last 16 line-ups get completed.
Friday was one of the best and most dramatic days a Grand Slam has ever seen not to mention high quality and the schedule would appear to offer up the chance of plenty more of the same throughout Saturday.
Arthur Ashe Stadium
The opening match on the main court on Saturday sees the former Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova looking to make it through to the second week once again when she takes on the tough as teak Greek player Maria Sakkari in a great looking way to open up the day. When they are done Novak Djokovic will look to move to within four wins or a place in history. He faces Kei Nishikori for a place in the last 16 to close out the day session.
The night session begins with the women once again on Saturday and it is the world number one Ash Barty who headlines the first match. She will face one of the few American women left in the competition in the form of Shelby Rogers. When they are done the Olympic champion Alexander Zverev is back on the main court. He rounds off a good looking day with a clash against the popular American player Jack Sock who is enjoying something of a second coming.
Louis Armstrong Stadium
It is the women who start us off over on the Louis Armstrong Stadium where the 2019 winner Bianca Andreescu looks to make the second week once again when she faces the lowly ranked Greet Minnen. The women’s Olympic champion Belinda Bencic is second onto this court when she embarks on what looks like a real tussle with the home star Jessie Pegula. The one men’s match in the day session sees the entertaining Gael Monfils taking on the classy Italian ace Jannik Sinner in a great looking match.
The night session starts on Saturday evening with another men’s match as Denis Shapovalov looks to join his Canadian compatriot Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second week of the tournament when he takes on the dangerous Lloyd Harris. The last match on this court sees two Russian women doing battle when Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova takes on her fellow countrywoman Varvara Gracheva for a spot in the last 16.
Grandstand
The big hitting Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini begins the action over on the Grandstand court on Saturday. He meets the winner in Winston-Salem last week in Ilya Ivashka before the former French Open champion Iga Swiatek takes on the Cleveland champion from a week ago in Anett Kontaveit. The last women’s match on this court sees the other Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova taking on Ajla Tomjlanovic before the hard hitting American player Reilly Opelka closes the show when he takes on Nikoloz Basilashvili.
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Court 17
The remaining three singles matches are all being played over on Court 17 and while the bigger names might be elsewhere around the grounds, we should get three competitive battles. The first of those sees the veteran Andreas Seppi taking on Oscar Otte before the sole remaining British woman takes to the court when Emma Raducanu faces Sara Sorribes Tormo. The one men’s match on this court sees the Australian Open semi-finalist Aslan Karatsev meeting Jenson Brooksby.
Men’s Betting
There are two bets I like in the men’s draw on Saturday. The first of those comes over on the Louis Armstrong Stadium where I expect a big crowd and these fast conditions to be everything Gael Monfils is looking for to put on a show when he goes up against Jannik Sinner. Sinner did very well to win in Washington at the beginning of this American hard court swing but he’s gone a bit quiet since then and I fancy conditions here might be a little too quick for him, especially against an athlete like Monfils who is likely to make the Italian play the extra ball. Sinner will be one of the leading lights in the game but he probably has another 6-12 months improvement in him before we get there. Monfils might be heading towards the twilight of his career but he can still thrive in these conditions and I think he gets the job done here.
The other bet I like is for Jenson Brooksby to beat Aslan Karatsev. Brooksby has already done me a turn this week when he got the better of Taylor Fritz in the previous round and I fancy he’ll come out on top here too. Brooksby showed in that match against Fritz two huge things which will serve him well. He showed stamina and actually outlasted Fritz and he showed a tennis IQ beyond his years. Those two things entwined with what should be a big and raucous home crowd on a late Saturday afternoon by this stage gives him plenty of edges. Karatsev announced himself in style at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year but he arrived here with just three wins in his last 11 matches and has struggled to overcome lesser opposition in his first two matches here. I sense he’s there for the taking and I think the intelligent Brooksby will find the answer to taking him.
Women’s Betting
There are two I like in the women’s draw as well with the first of those being over 21.5 games in the first match on Arthur Ashe between Petra Kvitova and Maria Sakkari in a match I suspect will be a real battle. The last three matches between the two have been completed and all went to a third set with the match lasting more than two hours on each occasion. The match before that was in a third set when Kvitova was forced to retire so these two are battle hardened when they step on court against each other. Conditions here suit Kvitova but you have to peel Sakkari off the courts if you are going to beat her so I can’t see this one being finished in less than 21.5 games.
The other bet I like is for Emma Raducanu to continue her fairy tale summer when she takes on Sara Sorribes Tormo for a place in the fourth round. Sorribes Tormo has plenty of guts and her stamina is unquestioned but you can only defend for so long in these conditions unless you are special like an Angelique Kerber. Raducanu is a dangerous challenger in this tournament because it is all new to her and whenever she exits this tournament she will be much higher ranked than she has ever been before. She has also lost just one of her last 10 matches and while you can pick holes in who she has beaten in that run, you can’t pick holes in the performances. Of those nine wins she’s only dropped one set so she’s hitting the ball well. Sorribes Tormo did well to see off Karolina Muchova in the opening round but the Czech visibly faltered as the match went on. If Raducanu keeps her intensity I think her better variety wins this.
Tips
Back G.Monfils to beat J.Sinner for a 3/10 stake at 2.40 with BetVictor
Back E.Raducanu to beat S.Sorribes Tormo for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with BetVictor
Back them here:
Back J.Brooksby to beat A.Karatsev for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
Back P.Kvitova vs M.Sakkari – Over 21.5 games for a 3/10 stake at 1.75 with Coral
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