This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
Friday offers quarterfinal action from both the men's and women's singles on the fast-paced hard courts of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. A pair of American women with different styles will look to keep their deep runs going in winnable matches, while a couple of American men will be hoping to pull off upsets as underdogs. All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find more favorable odds on some of these matches by checking other mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel, BetMGM or Caesars.
Both the men's and women's matches at this event are best of three sets, and the hard courts in Cincinnati are usually among the fastest found at big hard court 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 Bet section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Upset Alert
John Isner (+240) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Isner can make matches against even the world's best players come down to just a few key points when his serve is on, which makes him extremely dangerous when he's feeling confident in big moments. With a 5-1 record in tiebreaks this tournament, the 37-year-old American has executed his game plan to perfection when it's mattered most. Meanwhile, Tsitsipas has had some trouble handling big servers lately, losing to Nick Kyrgios and Jack Draper in his previous two tournaments.
Honorable Mention:
Borna Coric (+175) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
Lock It In
Aryna Sabalenka (-295) vs. Shuai Zhang
Sabalenka has rediscovered her second serve, as she has double faulted only 10 times over two matches here after serving up 77 double faults in four matches (19.3 per match) over her previous two tournaments. Not having to constantly worry about coughing up a string of double faults has settled the rest of the powerful Belarusian's game as well, and the world No. 7 is tough to handle when she's rolling, especially on faster courts like the ones in Cincinnati. Zhang has pulled off a pair of notable upsets this week, taking out Naomi Osaka and Anett Kontaveit, but both of those big names have been noticeably struggling lately, which isn't the case with Sabalenka, who was playing competitive matches against top-15 opponents even when her second serve had deserted her.
Daniil Medvedev (-210) vs. Taylor Fritz
These guys actually have similar hard court records in 2022, as Medvedev's 22-6 while Fritz is 22-7, including a Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells in March for the American. Medvedev has much more big-match experience on the surface than Fritz, though, and the top-ranked Russian will have a clear edge in freshness for their first career meeting, as he hasn't dropped a set here while Fritz has had to play an extra match and was just pushed to 7-5 in the third by Medvedev's countryman Andrey Rublev on Thursday.
Honorable Mention:
Carlos Alcaraz (-320) vs. Cameron Norrie
Value Bet
Madison Keys (+120) vs. Elena Rybakina
Keys is coming off an enormous win, taking out world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday. It's strange to say considering Rybakina just won Wimbledon, but Keys' mix of power and athleticism actually gives her the higher ceiling if both players bring their A-game. The American's also the more accomplished hard court player between these two, as Keys reached her second career Australian Open semifinal earlier this year and made the final of the US Open in 2017. Rybakina has yet to get past the third round at either hard court Grand Slam, and she's only four years younger than Keys at age 23.
Honorable Mention:
Jessica Pegula (-180) vs. Caroline Garcia
