It’s been an interesting first week at Flushing Meadows, and with all the big names still hanging around the next few days should be even better.
Both top seeds– Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic– are in action today, and some people are giving young Madison Keys a chance against Serena, though “some people” does not include me (Keys is 5.0 at BETDAQ). Djokovic should have no trouble against Roberto Bautista-Agut, a man he’s beaten in straight sets in both their previous matches.
The rest of the action shouldn’t be so easy to predict, though. I’m expecting some long, competitive matches today and a couple of mild upsets, so I’ve decided to come out firing (for me, betting three tennis matches in one day is indeed “firing”). Here’s what I’ve come up with:
Benoit Paire (3.8) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (1.33)
Okay, when I spoke of “mild upsets” I wasn’t speaking of this match. Paire has been playing some great tennis lately and he genuinely surprised me by taking out Kei Nishikori in the first round, but he’s a bad bet today against Tsonga, a tireless machine who’s a really tough out on hard courts. These men have met twice before– both matches on hard courts– and Tsonga prevailed in straight sets each time. I don’t see any reason to expect a different outcome today, considering that Jo-Willy has played beautiful tennis thus far in this tournament, winning all three of his matches without dropping a set (almost said “breaking a sweat” instead of “dropping a set”; would’ve been just as appropriate). Recommendation: Tsonga at 1.33
Fabio Fognini (2.34) vs. Feliciano Lopez (1.73)
Both of these guys have to be feeling the good vibes after their 3rd-round upset victories, as Lopez dispatched Milos Raonic and Fognini pulled out a dramatic 5-setter against Rafa Nadal. Surprisingly, Fognini and Lopez have never met before, so bettors have less to go on than usual in handicapping this match. We do know that Lopez has had more past U.S. Open success, advancing this far on two previous occasions (it will be Fogini’s first appearance in the 4th Round), though the most recent of those occasions was a full five years ago. Fognini’s style is that of a counter-puncher– his best surface is clay– but I was really impressed by how he seemed to throw caution to the wind against Nadal, repeatedly going for winners and applying the pressure. He had a definite air of confidence about him and it struck me that, at age 28, we are witnessing Fabio Fognini in full bloom. Lopez, meanwhile, is a few years past his prime (age 33) and had real trouble with fellow fossil Mardy Fish in the 2nd Round. I’m going with the well-priced Italian. Recommendation: Fognini at 2.34
Kristina Mladenovic (2.48) vs. Ekaterina Makarova (1.63)
Just a quick look at Kristina Mladenovic’s recent results reveals that she had lost four of six matches heading into this U.S. Open. If you’ve been following things a bit more closely, though, you know that young Mladenovic is really coming on and you probably weren’t the least bit surprised by her 1st-round upset victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova. The 22-year old Makarova is improving all the time; she lost to Sara Errani in the Rogers Cup in early August, but turned around and beat her two weeks later at the Connecticut Open. She scored wins over Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep earlier this summer and nearly beat Halep again at the Western & Southern Open a couple of weeks ago, losing a tight 3-setter. Bottom line: she’s a player on the rise and she’s been positively dominant over the last week, dispatching all three of her opponents in straight sets. She’s lost to Makarova twice before but was able to take a set off her both times, and Makarova struggled a bit in her last couple of tournaments, losing to unseeded and unheralded players like Polona Hercog and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. I really like Mladenovic’s chances today. Recommendation: Mladenovic at 2.48
NEW !!!
You can now follow BETDAQ updates on Google+
For further details – CLICK HERE
£20 FREE BET
