This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
The first round of the Miami Open women's singles main draw begins Tuesday, with men's first-round play to follow Wednesday. The top 32 seeds in both the men's and women's draw have byes into the second round, but there are plenty of familiar names among the unseeded opponents scheduled to play on the hard courts of Miami on Tuesday. A true toss-up between US Open champions under 23 years old is undoubtedly the match of the day Tuesday, while a couple of Americans will be looking to pull off upsets. 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, Caesars Sportsbook, or any of the other best sports betting sites. We offer exclusive sign-up bonuses for some of those sportsbooks, as well as specific bonuses for users located in Massachusetts, where online sports betting recently went live.
All matches at the Miami Open are best of three sets, which is the case for all ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 level tournaments. 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 Bets section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Miami Open Picks: Upset Alert
Alycia Parks (+245) vs. Elise Mertens
Over the past few years, Mertens has been a set-and-forget lock to advance through the first couple rounds of any tournament, but she has been far more susceptible to surprising losses so far in 2023. The 39th-ranked Belgian has two losses to players outside the top 60 among her 10-7 record this year, including a 6-3, 6-1 loss to Xinyu Wang in Indian Wells. Parks' booming serve gives the 22-year-old American some impressive upside, which she showcased with a title run in Lyon last month. While Parks has struggled since, she has the tools needed to trouble the slumping Mertens.
Madison Brengle (+260) vs. Amanda Anisimova
Anisimova has gone through some lulls in confidence over the course of her young career, and the 21-year-old American can't be too thrilled with the state of her game after going 1-4 in her previous five matches. The 32-year-old Brengle's an experienced player who won't beat herself, so Anisimova will have to earn this one. Anisimova's the far bigger hitter off the ground and will control points against her 86th-ranked opponent, but if errors continue to litter the world No. 35's stat sheet, she could face an early exit in this all-American matchup.
Honorable Mention
Kaia Kanepi (+165) vs. Camila Giorgi
Miami Open Odds: Lock It In
Irina-Camelia Begu (-360) vs. Alexandra Eala
Eala has yet to find much success on the WTA Tour, though the 17-year-old from the Philippines already has over 100 professional matches under her belt from grinding ITF tournaments. The 34th-ranked Begu will be Eala's first top-50 opponent, and Eala has won only seven games in three previous matches against top-100 opponents, all in the past year. At this stage of their respective careers, Begu should cruise past her 219th-ranked opponent.
Marketa Vondrousova (-650) vs. Tatjana Maria
Vondrousova has played better than her pedestrian 7-5 record in 2023 suggests, as she's dealt with some difficult draws as she builds her ranking back up after a six-month injury layoff. The former French Open finalist is 10-5 in 2023, with six of those wins coming against top-50 opponents, including wins over Ons Jabeur at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells. Maria's 38-spot edge in the rankings at No. 65 is misleading, and the 35-year-old German is least effective on hard courts, where she gets minimal mileage out of her slices and drop shots.
Honorable Mention
Marta Kostyuk (-200) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Miami Open Predictions: Value Bets
Ashlyn Krueger (-180) vs. Erika Andreeva
The 155th-ranked Krueger qualified into consecutive WTA main draws at the ATX Open and Indian Wells, so the 18-year-old American is starting to find her footing on tour. She's won five consecutive matches against opponents ranked outside the top 100, as well as eight of her last nine against such competition. Those recent results include a 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over the 128th-ranked Andreeva in ATX Open qualifying within the past month. Andreeva is 1-5 in her last six matches against top-200 opponents.
Emma Raducanu (-110) vs. Bianca Andreescu
Both of these players won the US Open as teenagers but have fallen on harder times since then, due in large part to injuries. Raducanu's still only 20 and Andreescu often seems much older than 22. The similarities don't end there, as both are coming off losses to Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells. Andreescu put up more of a fight against the world No. 1, winning nine games to Raducanu's four. Andreescu won only one match before facing Swiatek, though, while Raducanu toughed out three wins in her first action since the Australian Open. The Canadian is just 1-4 in her last five matches and isn't playing anywhere near the level that helped her reach the final here in 2021, let alone her winning form from the 2019 US Open. We haven't seen much of Raducanu in 2023, but the Brit has looked pretty good when she's able to take the court and appears to be in better form at the moment. That little bit of daylight between them is all it takes to make Raducanu the stronger choice in a match that's viewed as a true 50/50 pick'em based on the odds.
Honorable Mention
Anna Blinkova (-165) vs. Jule Niemeier
