This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
US Open first-round action continues Tuesday from the hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. A former top-10 player on the men's side will look to the American crowd for support as he tries to pull a big upset against a little opponent, while multiple former women's Grand Slam winners could have trouble getting out of the first round, including the defending US Open champion. All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find more favorable odds on some of these matches by checking mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM Sportsbook, Caesars Sportsbook, or any of the other best sports betting sites.
The men play best-of-five set matches at Grand Slams, while women's matches are best of three just like the remainder of the WTA Tour schedule. A mix of players' previous hard court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets. The aforementioned underdogs are highlighted in the Upset Alert section, the Lock It In section covers players who can safely be considered overwhelming favorites, while the Value Bet section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Upset Alert
Jack Sock (+160) vs. Diego Schwartzman
Sock has a big game and won't be overwhelmed by the moment, as the 29-year-old American has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the world and is a four-time Grand Slam champion in doubles (three men's, one mixed). If his serve and forehand are rolling, Sock can trouble anyone, and he'll get a lot more free points on serve than Schwartzman, who's generously listed at 5-foot-7. Every match is a grind for the 16th-ranked Argentine, who has lost at least one set in each of his last seven matches, posting a 3-4 record and winning only six of 17 sets over that span.
Yulia Putintseva (+240) vs. Amanda Anisimova
Anisimova had some troubling results in August. Karolina Pliskova routed her 6-1, 6-1 at the Canadian Open, and after Anisimova bounced back with a quality win over Daria Kasatkina in Cincinnati, the 20-year-old American pulled out with an ankle injury. The drawmakers didn't afford the 24th-seeded Anisimova the chance to play her way into the tournament with a comfortable matchup, as Putintseva's a tough hard-court opponent. Putintseva beat Paula Badosa and Alison Riske-Amritraj in Toronto and barely missed being seeded here as the 38th-ranked player on the WTA Tour.
Honorable Mention:
Peter Gojowczyk (+330) vs. Holger Rune
Lock It In
Brandon Nakashima (-370) vs. Pavel Kotov
Nakashima has logged the best Grand Slam result of his young career in each of the last two majors, reaching the third round at Roland Garros and then immediately one-upping that by making the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. The 21-year-old American would love to keep that trend going at his home slam, and Nakashima has beefed up his serve substantially in 2022 to go with his rock-solid backhand. He has a favorable draw in the opening round against Kotov, who is ranked outside the top 100 and is just 1-5 in ATP Tour main draw matches in his career.
Karolina Pliskova (-210) vs. Magda Linette
Linette's not the easiest first-round opponent -- she beat Ons Jabeur in the first round of the French Open -- but Pliskova hasn't had much trouble against her historically. The 2016 US Open finalist is 6-1 against Linette in their careers, and each of their last three matches were won by Pliskova with the exact same 6-2, 6-1 score. Pliskova's also played some of her best tennis of the season recently, reaching the Canadian Open semifinals in mid-August.
Honorable Mention:
Daniel Evans (-300) vs. Jiri Vesely
Value Bet
Alize Cornet (+130) vs. Emma Raducanu
This is no longer Cornet's final season, as the 32-year-old veteran said she plans to keep playing until her home slam at next year's French Open, but this is still expected to be her last US Open appearance. Cornet won't go down without a fight, as she has racked up no shortage of big wins in her career. Most recently, Cornet was the only player to defeat Caroline Garcia in Garcia's last 15 matches. Cornet used her ability to redirect pace in that key win, and Raducanu should give her plenty of chances to do the same in a stylistically comfortable matchup for Cornet. Raducanu will have all the pressure on her as the defending champ here, but she hasn't handled it all that well in 2022, failing to get past the second round of a Grand Slam.
Jule Niemeier (+115) vs. Sofia Kenin
It's a bit surprising that Niemeier's a slight underdog in this match. The 23-year-old German just had her Grand Slam breakthrough at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarterfinals. Kenin had an even bigger breakthrough when she won the 2020 Australian Open, but the 23-year-old American has slipped to No. 265 in the rankings while winning only two of her last 12 matches. While Kenin has been more competitive over the past month, this is still Niemeier's match to lose based on their results in 2022.
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Honorable Mention:
Danielle Collins (+155) vs. Naomi Osaka
