At this point, no result at the US Open would be considered shocking. We've seen upsets galore, leaving both draws unrecognizable.
Wednesday promises to be another great day of tennis, and I think there are two more underdogs who should be barking as we start the second round.
Let's jump into some previews.
Note: Match times are subject to change. Read here for tips on viewing US Open matches.
Pablo Carreno Busta (-345) vs. Alexander Bublik (+260)
Pablo Carreno Busta has had a solid summer, achieving the greatest feat of his career just a couple of weeks ago with a win at the Montreal Masters. With that said, this has all the makings of a troublesome match with Alexander Bublik.
The two have played some epic matches through the years, with all three going the distance. Carreno Busta won all three, including one on a final-set retirement, but the other two hardcourt victories came in a deciding set tiebreak.
Bublik has done well here at the US Open with a second-round and third-round appearance over the last three years. He has a big serve which can bail him out of tough spots. More than this, he has an imagination for the game that the simple-minded Spaniard, who plays predictable patterns, does not have.
This is why all of their matches have been incredibly close, and I think this meeting should be no different. We could see multiple tiebreaks here but I think the certain thing is that Bublik makes a lot of noise.
Pick: Bublik +5.5 games (-121 via PointsBet)
Alex de Minaur (-770) vs. Cristian Garin (+480)
If this match feels familiar to you, that's because these two met at Wimbledon this year. That's where Cristian Garin got the better of Alex de Minaur, erasing a two sets-to-love deficit to take the match in epic fashion.
Garin enjoyed a great run at Wimbledon and seems to have taken a liking to these faster surfaces. We've long heard how his game has the ability to translate across surfaces, and it seems now we're beginning to see why.
His backhand stays incredibly flat and his forehand has some real pop. Garin rushes the net and volleys well. He does just about everything you'd want on a hardcourt.
The Chilean has an excellent shot here against de Minaur, who probably had his best chance at Garin when the two met on grass. Here, where the conditions will be slightly slower, I expect Garin to feel even more at home.
Garin looked excellent in his first-round win over Jiri Lehecka and probably would have won by even more if not for the big serve of Lehecka bailing the youngster out of some tough spots. De Minaur packs a considerably weaker punch on serve and I expect that to play a big role here.
Pick: Garin +7.5 games (-110 via PointsBet)
