The first round of the US Open continues on as we hit Tuesday, and there should be opportunities abound to bet on some underdogs who will be out to back up some previous success at the year's final Grand Slam.
Here are my Tuesday US Open betting predictions for Virtanen vs Halys and Moutet vs Korda.
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Tuesday US Open Betting Predictions
Otto Virtanen (+100) vs Quentin Halys (-125)
12:15 p.m. ET
Otto Virtanen had himself something of a coming-out party at last year's US Open, making it through qualifying with a huge upset over Jerry Shang before taking Tomas Martin Etcheverry to a deciding tiebreak in the first round.
It was the first time we'd seen his name in a Grand Slam draw, but now it seems like that'll be a certainty moving forward. The 23-year old has been laying waste to the Challenger Tour — specifically on quicker indoor hard courts — and now he'll step onto a fast surface in the first round here as he looks to finally crack the top 100 after flirting with the breakthrough for the better part of a year.
Virtanen's qualifying draw here featured three very tough opponents that many are familiar with in Liam Broady, Paul Jubb and Lucas Pouille. He went to war in his last two and came away the stronger player in the third, showcasing that he's formed into a better player over the last year with better fitness, mental resolve and smarter shot selections from the back of the court.
Quentin Halys is certainly no slouch, but he's been a worse player on hard courts than you'd expect given his heavy reliance on the serve. Halys is just 6-5 on the surface this year, was 11-13 last season and is 0-3 in three US Open main draw matches in his career.
It'll be power versus power here, but I think Virtanen has learned how to win matches over the last year and is player with decidedly more talent in this matchup. I'll take him to win here and we'll see what he can do this week in Queens.
Pick: Virtanen ML (+100 via DraftKings)
Corentin Moutet (+320) vs Sebastian Korda (-420)
2:15 p.m. ET
It's hard take me seriously here, because I'm a noted fan of Corentin Moutet. The Frenchman had to fight for an entire season a year ago to get healthy, attempting to play through a wrist injury which limited him to playing with one hand all in the hopes of keeping his ranking up and qualifying for this year's Olympic games.
It seems the one-handed matches have only helped Moutet improve, and we've seen him win an impressive 26-of-44 matches across all levels with a fourth round appearance at the French Open to get him just outside of the world's top 50.
Now healthy, Moutet will look to follow up his fourth-round run at the 2022 US Open — something he couldn't do in his compromised state last year. He played out of his mind in that tournament, he played out of his mind in the French Open and I think many are learning that there's more than meets the eye with Moutet.
The left-hander is crafty, he's got an excellent return of serve and his imagination and fighting spirit make him a nightmare to play. That's just the kind of opponent I'd look to back against Sebastian Korda, who enjoys a more comfortable match where his stoic persona can shine as he rips winners and intimidates his competition.
Korda's been red-hot this summer with a win at the Citi Open and a semifinal appearance in Montreal, utilizing a much bigger serve to great success. Those runs didn't come without their twists and turns, however, as Korda was match point down in the second round of the Citi Open against Thanasi Kokkinakis and used two retirements to jet to the semis of Cincinnati.
I respect what he's done, and I don't know if I'd say he'll lose this match, but he will be pushed. Moutet's return and his ability to bring a lot of points to the net will get him into this one, and it'll be up to the American to find a way through.
Pick: Moutet +6.5 games (-125)
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