We'll continue on with the first round of the US Open on Tuesday, and upsets could be in the stars with two underdogs trending up drawing some underserved ire from oddsmakers.
Here are my expert US Open betting picks for Tsitsipas vs Kokkinakis and Spizzirri vs Michelsen.
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Expert US Open Betting Picks
Stefanos Tsitsipas (-300) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis (+235)
11 a.m. ET
The US Open has been a house of horrors for Stefanos Tsitsipas. He's twice been bounced in is first match here and has yet to reach even the fourth round at Flushing Meadows in six appearances. We can sometimes fixate on this tournament with Tsitsipas, but in general he's shown he will play significantly below his ranking in any hard court tournament.
The World No. 11 is just 11-8 on the surface this season, which pales in comparison to his 22-6 record on clay, and this has been a trend we've seen slowly develop over the last two seasons with a noticeable dip in winning percentage.
It hasn't taken a poor draw for Tsitsipas to be upset at the US Open; we saw him lose last year to Dominic Stricker in the second round and the year prior it was Daniel Galan to end his tournament after just one match. Tuesday's match will present some big-time issues.
Tsitsipas survived Thanasi Kokkinakis in a five-set thriller at the Australian Open three years ago, and the Australian has only grown since then and has delivered a bit more on his great potential.
Kokkinakis has been playing some excellent tennis during the hardcourt swing, reaching the third round of the Citi Open and coming through a stacked Montreal qualifying draw to take out Gael Monfils before losing a heartbreaker to Hubert Hurkacz. He's built up a head of steam heading into this one, while Tsitsipas has played just three matches since blowing a second-set lead against Novak Djokovic.
As you might gather, the lack of matches was due to the fact that he lost to the aging Kei Nishikori in the first round of Montreal and lasted just two matches in Cincinnati, where he was taken out by Jack Draper.
Kokkinakis is the much stronger player on the surface and is in excellent form, and he'll have Tsitsipas on upset alert here.
Pick: Kokkinakis +1.5 sets (+105 via DraftKings)
Eliot Spizzirri (+300) vs Alex Michelsen (-400)
12:15 p.m. ET
Alex Michelsen is the talk of American tennis right now, and with good reason. He's fresh off a run to the final of Winston-Salem, and with a 20-11 record across all levels on hardcourts he's done well to maximize his gains from a season ago.
That's all well and good, but he'll now have to do battle with another rising American in Elliot Spizzirri in the first round here. The Texas Longhorn is now looking to begin his professional career after playing sporadically at the lower levels last season, and he's done well to win some Challenger matches in just a few months after dominating some ITF-level events.
The 22-year old reached the final round of qualifying at the US Open a season ago, but he had a tall task ahead of him in Emilio Nava, so this will mark his debut at the Grand Slam level after he successfully made it through qualies — taking down the promising Joao Fonseca in his final match.
I'm excited to see him play here, and I think he'll use this match as a way to showcase his abilities against a still-inexperienced and developing Michelsen. Nerves should be present with much expected of Michelsen, and I think that'll loosen up Spizzirri and allow him to make in-roads in this match, particularly with how good he's looked at the lower levels.
Pick: Spizzirri +5.5 games (-110)
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