2019 US Open First Round Men’s Betting Preview

The draw for the 2019 US Open came out on Thursday, so now we wait for Monday, when the first round gets underway at Flushing Meadows in New York City. There is more than $57 million in prize money waiting for claimants, including $3.9 million for the men’s and women’s singles champions. Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka return as the defending champions. On the men’s side, we wonder whether Roger Federer will suffer from a Wimbledon hangover, as he made it to the final, only to lose to Djokovic in the longest Wimbledon final ever. He lost in the third round at Cincinnati in only 62 minutes. Federer has not won a US Open since 2008 and has not been past the quarterfinals since 2015. This and other questions are the subject of our US Open betting preview for the opening round of the men’s draw.

2019 US Open First Round Men’s Betting Preview

Event Info

• When: August 26 – August 27
• Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, NY
• Surface: Hard
• TV: ESPN /ESPN2 / ESPN+
• Live Stream: ESPN+

Top seed Novak Djokovic is on a roll right now at majors, having won 33 of the last 34 singles matches he has played on tennis’ biggest stages. The hard courts tend to be the best for him, so it’s hard to argue against picking against a fairly heavy favorite. Rafael Nadal won the Masters1000 in Montreal, the only tournament he has entered since Wimbledon. His game also does well on hardcourt surfaces, although his durability on this surface through seven rounds could become an issue. His first-round opponent, John Millman, has a history of dealing upsets to two-seeds, so Nadal will need to come out ready. Roger Federer shouldn’t have another early hiccup like he did in Cincinnati, but if his side of the men’s draw plays to seeding form, he would see Nadal in the semifinals, so getting back to another final could be a tall order. Dominic Thiem was dominant on the clay and disappointing on the grass, as has been his career form. He did not play all that well at Montreal or Cincinnati, but the draw is relatively favorable. He will be hoping for slightly cooler temperatures to keep the hard surfaces slower. Daniil Medvedev won in Cincinnati and made the finals of Washington and Montreal. He looks a lot like Djokovic in his play, combining both aggressive offense with savvy defense. However, he is still looking for a deep run at a major. Will he have gas left in the tank after those three stellar warm-up tournaments? Alexander Zverev finished 2018 well — but now coach Ivan Lendl has walked away from him because of the distractions that Zverev is apparently suffering from off-court issues. His 2019 has been mostly a shambles, at least by his standards, but all it would take is one deep run to send those memories into the past. Kei Nishikori uses too much energy in the early rounds of majors, needing too many games and too many hours on the court to dispatch those beneath him in the seedings. He has made a U.S. Open final in the past, but he does not have the durability (or at least he has not shown it in some time) to make it through six or seven rounds playing at an elite level, because of the wear and tear he takes early. Stefanos Tsitsipas looks for redemption after losing in the opening round at Wimbledon. He also did not play well in the hard court warmup circuit heading into Flushing Meadows. However, he did defeat Roger Federer down under. He has a difficult opening match — but if he can get by there and make a deep run, he would certainly qualify as a dark horse. Karen Khachanov had one of the best matches of his entire career in Flushing Meadows in 2018, when he pushed Nadal to a fifth set in a terrific losing effort. He has a steady approach to the game and the maturity to get him through the ups and downs of a long match. But can he turn that into a deep run?