Tennis Betting Advice - August 2024

US Open: Men’s picks at 50/1 and 150/1…

Tuesday 27th August 2024

I’m back at my desk – and as promised, we’re getting back down to business at the US Open

Play starts from 4pm, UK time, with live multi-court coverage on Sky Sports.

We’ve already got two women in the book…

The 1st Round began on Monday, and our early-bird 100/1+ pick, Marta Kostyuk got off to a strong start, with a straight-sets win.

Our other pre-tournament pick, Ones to Watch teenager, Mirra Andreeva (25/1 – 22/1) plays in the 1st Round later today.

  • Marta Kostyuk – original advice here
  • Mirra Andreeva – original advice here

With the draws now at hand, we can make our next moves. Starting with our first men’s selections today…

As ever, a reminder of our Ones to Watch mantra. When it comes to the Outright Winner markets for tennis tournaments:

We go after appealing outsiders, at attractive Each Way prices…

A total of 256 players started off the tournament; 128 in the Men’s Singles, and 128 in the Women’s Singles. If we backed, say 10 players across the whole two weeks in New York, then that would equate to less than 4% of the overall field…

And at the prices we go for, it really does only take one…

Here are the players & prices to add to our US Open 2024 book today:

US Open – Men’s picks

Flying the flag at big prices…

I’ve mentioned the long-running quest for a US male Grand Slam champion a few times this season. We’re doing our underdog business here by backing four American men…

You have to go back to Andy Roddick in 2003 for the last time America had a male Major champ. Roddick did it here at the US Open (and then reached the final again in 2006).

The USA reps to follow this fortnight, as lively outsider prospects:

Ben Shelton – a Ones to Watch regular, the top male name in my 2024 pre-season report. Ben got to the Semi Finals here last year. And after a 1st Round win yesterday, the 21-year-old says he’s a better player now than he was 12 months ago. Shelton has been slowly building into solid form this summer; Semi Finals at ATP 500 Washington, Quarter Finals at ATP 1000 Cincinnati. This exciting young left-hander might’ve timed his summer scheduling just right…

Tommy Paul – we’ve backed ‘the quiet man’ a few times lately, and I don’t want to jump ship now. Especially with odds in the region of 100/1 on the table. Since 2021, Tommy has improved year on year at his home ‘Slam: 1st Round, 3rd Round, and then the Last 16 last summer. He also made the Semi Finals at Indian Wells this March – and we’ve spoken before about Indian Wells form translating well into a big run in the Big Apple…

Frances Tiafoe – another American available at huge odds, 150/1 in places. And sure to give his all here at Flushing Meadows. Pure and simple, ‘Big Foe’ raises his game when he plays in the States. He arrives here on the back of reaching a first career ATP 1000 Masters Final, on hard courts in Cincinnati this month. Two of Frances’ three career titles have come in the USA. He’s made two Finals this season, both in the States. And Tiafoe’s US Open record is exceptional, considering the 26-year-old’s best career result at any of the other three Majors is just one Quarter Final from 27 attempts. In comparison, his recent record in New York reads (most recent last): Last 16, Last 16, Semi Final, Quarter Final.

After a gut-wrenching five-set Semi Final defeat to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz here in 2022, an emotional Tiafoe made this bold statement to the fervent crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court: “I am going to come back and I will win this thing one day”

Taylor Fritz – talking of taking previous Indian Wells form into the US Open, our old friend Fritz has to go down as a Ones to Watch contender here. The current American No.1, Taylor won Indian Wells for us at odds of 100/1, 80s and the like in 2022. He’s had a few tough early-round draws this summer, but came through his US Open 1st Round with a convincing 3-0 victory on Monday. North American hard courts are where it’s at for Fritz: three of his last four ATP titles have come in those conditions. He reached the US Open Quarter Finals last season, and has been knocking on the door for a big Grand Slam run for some time now…

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Ones to Watch picks:

See above for full details

US Open 2024 – Men’s

Outright Winner – Each Way (1/2 odds 1-2 places):

Note: you can sometimes get the best price combination by backing Win Only and to Reach the Final, instead of Each Way.

  • Ben Shelton @ 90/1 Win Only AND 50/1 Reach the Final with Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook. Or Each Way @ 80/1 Skybet, Betfred, 66/1 Boylesports, Unibet, BetUK, BetMGM & LiveScoreBet, 55/1 BetVictor, 50/1 Bet365, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Betway
  • Tommy Paul @ 100/1 Skybet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, Unibet, BetUK, BetMGM & LiveScoreBet, 80/1 general
  • Frances Tiafoe @ 150/1 Skybet, Paddy Power, Betfair Sportsbook, 80/1 Bet365, William Hill, 888 Sport, BetVictor, Betway
  • Taylor Fritz @ 66/1 Bet365, 888 Sport, 50/1 general

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I’ll be back in the week with more from New York. Including, most likely, another big price or two in the women’s market…

Enjoy the tennis…

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Oliver Upstone

Ones to Watch