To the hard-courts of Flushing Meadows we go for the beginning of the US Open.
Our Australian champion Ash Barty looks to cap off her Wimbledon win with victory in New York.
Henri Laaksonen vs. John Millman
August 31st 1:05am
John Millman flies for the flag for Australia when he faces Henri Laaksonen in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Millman comes into the US Open having been defeated by Gael Monfils at the Canadian Open only a handful of days ago.
The 32-year-old gave the French veteran a good run for his money, while Laaksonen reached the US Open through the qualifiers with victory over Blaz Rola ensuring he would head to the first round.
Both Millman and Laaksonen have never met each other in a competitive match, which always makes lining the form up a little bit more difficult.
We will take into account the ranking points here with Millman well ahead being the 43rd ATP ranked player in the world, while Laaksonen ranks 130th.
What you see is what you get with Millman.
He will grind away along the baseline and prove a tough nut to crack on serve.
Suggested Bets:
John Millman head to head at $1.47
John Millman 3-0 at $2.50
Pedro Martinez vs. James Duckworth
August 31st 2:00am
Another of our Australian men takes to the courts when James Duckworth meets Pedro Martinez in Round 1 of the US Open.
Duckworth has had a very solid lead-up to this grand slam by progressing to the Round of 16 at the Canadian Open only to be knocked out by Daniil Medvedev.
The 29-year-old Aussie toppled star prospect Jannik Sinner during the event in a display that highlighted his ability to make it beyond the first few days of the tournament.
Martinez, meanwhile, comes into the Round 1 clash with no real hardcourt form to speak of.
All his lead-up fixtures have been on clay following his third round exit at Wimbledon earlier this year.
He did make it to third round of the Australian Open this year, but he clearly has a liking to the slower style of courts.
In essence, this should be a winning start to the US Open for Duckworth.
Suggested Bet:
Total games over 36.5 at $1.81
James Duckworth head to head at $1.40
Camila Giorgi vs. Simona Halep
August 31st 1:05am
A tough test for Simona Halep arises upon her return to the grand slam scene when she faces Camila Giorgi in the first round of the US Open.
Halep missed the French Open and Wimbledon due to a calf injury which has seen her slip in the WTA rankings.
The 29-year-old Romanian is still fancied as a 12th seed in this tournament and well in the betting to win the tournament.
For how long Giorgi and Halep have been on the tour, this is only the second time they meet each other.
Halep holds the advantage having won 6-4, 7-5 on the hardcourt of Miami back in 2015, but there have to be some question marks on her fitness coming into this game.
With the doubt surrounding Halep combined with Giorgi’s solid form, which saw her reach the final of the Canadian Open, we will side the Italian veteran.
Suggested Bet:
Camila Giorgi head to head at $2.02
Marie Bouzkova vs. Naomi Osaka
August 31st 9:00am
After taking time to deal with her mental wellbeing, Naomi Osaka makes her much awaited return to grand slam tennis when she faces Marie Bouzkova.
The Japanese third seed comes into the tournament with the crown of the 2020 US Open to defend, but she will have to get through a tricky first round encounter.
Bouzkova has faced Osaka before and was well beaten in straight sets at the 2020 Australian by her Japanese counterpart.
But Osaka was in a clear frame of mind and it hard to get a gauge on how well she is travelling given her early exit from the Cincinnati Masters.
Osaka is obviously the better player when you look at the body of work, but she might take a few games to get into her groove.
Tipping Osaka to get up but Bouzkova can pinch a set.
Suggested Bet:
Total games over 18.5 at $1.90
Naomi Osaka 2-1 at $3.79
