The second round rolls on as we get past hump day of the US Open's first week, and with that there are still plenty of matches to bet on with considerable value.
I've got my eyes on an unknown lefty in a tasty spot as well as a fading name which you may have heard of before.
Let's jump into some previews.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing US Open matches.
Lorenzo Musetti (-255) vs. Gijs Brouwer (+205)
1:35 p.m. ET
What does rising young Italian Lorenzo Musetti have in store for us in the second round against Gijs Brouwer after an epic five-set win over David Goffin? Well, I think that is actually my main point — the letdown factor is a very real one.
Musetti gave it everything in his first round win over Goffin, coming from two breaks down to level the match then breaking once more to send the match to a deciding tiebreak, where he once again needed to pull himself back from a rather sizable deficit.
I expect the youngster to be feeling the physical effects of that one, and I think there is a very real chance that he overlooks his second-round opponent.
Brouwer has been a mainstay in hardcourt challengers for years despite being just 26 years of age. This year's run through the lower level of tennis may be his best yet, bringing him to 43-22 across all competitions. The lefty can really impose his big game on players, taking out a red-hot Adrian Mannarino in the first round after ripping through qualifying.
Brouwer beat Chris O'Connell last week in Chicago and narrowly lost to Ben Shelton — two players who made the main draw. He also looked thoroughly convincing in his win over Paul Jubb and is playing some of the best tennis of his career.
He's not a man to take lightly here, and I think Musetti's energy levels coupled with an error-prone backhand make him a tricky bet here.
Pick: Brouwer +5.5 Games (-115 via FanDuel)
Diego Schwartzman (-360) vs. Alexei Popyrin (+280)
1:30 p.m. ET
Alexei Popyrin is always a hard guy to get a read on, but his win over Chun-hsin Tseng was noteworthy. Tseng has played some excellent tennis this summer and the powerful Aussie was able to impose his will on that match.
Diego Schwartzman isn't all that hard to get a read on these days. He's playing some very uninspired tennis, getting crushed for two sets by Jack Sock — who's still ranked outside the top 100 — before the American eventually had to retire on account of a back injury.
The Argentine simply isn't playing very good tennis at the moment, flaming out of Montreal after a loss to Albert Ramos-Vinolas and failing to capitalize on the opportunity to get some valuable points during the North American hardcourt swing.
Schwartzman struggled to hold serve against Sock – which is no surprise – but what I was most taken aback by was his lack of a solid return against the Sock serve. He was able to break a few times, but it was due more to the fact that Sock failed to get balls back into play.
I think against another big server in Popyrin, he'll struggle.
Pick: Popyrin +5.5 Games (-110 via FanDuel)
