We are close to concluding the third round of the US Open, and as we get later into the tournament, we're beginning to get some mouth-watering matchups. I have a play on the match of the day, as well as on a rising star in the men's game.
Let's get into how to bet Michael Mmoh vs Jack Draper and Stan Wawrinka vs Jannik Sinner on Saturday. Here are my US Open picks today.
Match times are subject to change. Read here for advice on viewing US Open matches.
US Open Picks Today
Michael Mmoh (+235) vs. Jack Draper (-300)
11 a.m. ET
I'm just going to put this one simply: Michael Mmoh is nowhere near as good at tennis as Jack Draper.
The American has benefited from a good draw, running into an out-of-form Karen Khachanov in the first round and then retiring John Isner. Mmoh is just 20-14 on the year with very few quality wins; even his victory over Alex Zverev at the Australian Open was mainly due to the fact that Zverev was only 50% physically.
Draper is an absolute menace on the court. If you've yet to watch him, you're really missing out. The 21-year-old has one of the most complete skillsets of any young player, crushing his two-hander and serving his opponents off the court. He simply won't give away the errors that Khachanov and Isner did.
Mmoh, who's making his first third-round appearance at the US Open, lacks weapons and relies on rally tolerance. This is the perfect opponent for Draper, who should be able to run plays on the court and dictate the entire match.
With the outcome of every point on Draper's racquet, I think this one will go rather quickly. I expect a dominant showing.
Pick: Draper -5.5 Games (+105 via DraftKings)
Stan Wawrinka (+475) vs. Jannik Sinner (-700)
1:30 p.m. ET (estimated)
I'm not here to discredit Jannik Sinner. The Italian has looked the part of a tournament favorite with two tidy wins over Yannick Hanfmann and Lorenzo Sonego. However, given the Italian's history at Grand Slams and the level of Stan Wawrinka, I think this match will be anything but straightforward.
Wawrinka's at his best against players who crush the ball from the back of the court and look to be aggressive … like Sinner. The Swiss struggled a bit in the second round against Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who dug his heels in and hit neutral rally balls in an attempt lull Wawrinka to sleep, but against a much bigger hitter, I think he will thrive.
Wawrinka's backhand has looked crisp through two rounds, and with some good history against Sinner, I think he'll at least take a set. He's done so in three of their five meetings, and in two of them — including one four years ago at the US Open — he won.
Sinner has come a long way since losing to Wawrinka in his US Open main-draw debut, but he's still had questionable performances in every Grand Slam. Just this year, he dropped the first two sets to Marton Fucsovics in the third round of the Australian Open before suffering a disappointing defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.
The Italian then departed the French Open in the second round when he was upset by Daniel Altmaier. At Wimbledon, Sinner dropped sets in wins over Roman Safiullin and Quentin Halys.
The bottom line is that Sinner has a habit of dropping sets in best-of-five matches, particularly against big hitters. I think Wawrinka will make some noise early before succumbing to the talented Sinner.
Pick: Wawrinka +2.5 Sets (-135 via DraftKings)
