This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
After a first round filled with shocking upsets and intriguing storylines, the US Open moves onto second-round play Wednesday. The hard courts of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York will be the setting for plenty of exciting action Wednesday, including the next verse in Serena Williams' swan song, a clash between two American men with high hopes in this tournament and an up-and-coming women's player looking to build on a first-round upset win. All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can occasionally find more favorable odds 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
Tim Van Rijthoven (+500) vs. Casper Ruud
Van Rijthoven showed during the grass court season that he can be a dangerous man when he's playing with house money. The big-serving Dutchman redlined his game to perfection, beating Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev en route to the title at s-Hertogenbosch. He then added three wins at Wimbledon before falling in four sets to Novak Djokovic. Van Rijthoven will have nothing to lose against the seventh-ranked Casper Ruud, whose ranking is derived primarily from success on courts substantially slower than the ones at Flushing Meadows. After coming back from two sets down and saving seven matches points in the first round against Zhizhen Zhang, Van Rijthoven will be swinging freely as he looks to add to his collection of big wins in 2022.
Serena Williams (+185) vs. Anett Kontaveit
Kontaveit's quite vulnerable for a No. 2 seed, as she's just 4-8 in her last 12 matches at Grand Slams or WTA 1000 events. Her opponent here needs no introduction, and you don't have to guess which of these players will have the crowd support. While it's not saying much, Williams' movement looked as good as it has in 2022 throughout her 6-3, 6-3 first-round win over Danka Kovinic, and Serena's nine aces in that match showed that her serve's still a major weapon. Williams has willed her way to victory many times, and she'll leave it all on the court in the last tournament of her storied career.
Honorable Mention:
Elizabeth Mandlik (+450) vs. Ons Jabeur
Lock It In
Andy Murray (-500) vs. Emilio Nava
After an impressive straight sets win over 24th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo in the opening round, Murray gets a much more comfortable match in Round 2 against 203rd-ranked Emilio Nava. This could be an overwhelming moment for the 20-year-old American, who came into this tournament with a career record of 0-5 on the ATP tour. Nava was able to grind out a five-set first-round win over John Millman for his first main draw victory at this level, but he may not be ready to hang with an all-time great, even if Murray has dropped off a level or two from his prime.
J.J. Wolf (-330) vs. Alejandro Tabilo
Wolf is coming off an exquisite first-round performance against Roberto Bautista Agut, as he beat the 16th-seeded Spaniard in straight sets while saving all four break points he faced. If the 23-year-old American replicates that level in the second round, he'll cruise to victory against the clay-court specialist Tabilo, who is just 7-12 on other surfaces in his career. Even if Wolf comes back down to earth a bit, his aggressive game style and the crowd support should carry him across the finish line and into his second US Open third round in as many main draw appearances.
Honorable Mention:
Caroline Garcia (-340) vs. Anna Kalinskaya
Value Bet
Daria Snigur (+160) vs. Rebecca Marino
Snigur's unorthodox yet effective style helped the 20-year-old Ukrainian pull a shocking 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 first-round upset over one of the title favorites in Simona Halep. That win came on the heels of three victories in qualifying, so the 2019 junior Wimbledon champion shouldn't be short on confidence heading into this second-round clash with the 106th-ranked veteran Marino. While Marino has piled up plenty of match wins in low-level tournaments this year, she's generally outclassed at the bigger events and had lost eight of her last nine Grand Slam main draw matches before taking out No. 103 Magdalena Frech in the first round here.
Sebastian Korda (-125) vs. Tommy Paul
Neither of these promising Americans played their best tennis in the opening round but each found a way to get through, as Paul outlasted Bernabe Zapata Miralles 7-5 in the fifth while Korda ultimately won in four after Facundo Bagnis served for a two-set lead against him. Paul's ranked 18 spots higher at No. 34, but the 22-year-old Korda's three years younger and should have a small edge in freshness. The tale of the tape's pretty even until we get to the head-to-head, where Korda has a commanding 3-0 edge. All three matches came last year (two on hard courts), and Paul has managed to win just one set in those three meetings combined.
Honorable Mention:
Beatriz Haddad Maia (-110) vs. Bianca Andreescu
For bettors of tennis in Kansas, make sure you take advantage of the best Kansas betting promotions since sports betting in Kansas launches on September 1, 2022.
