US Open day two predictions & tennis betting tips: Berrettini should be too hot to handle

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Arena & Action, from 4pm Tuesday

Best bets

Matteo Berrettini to beat Ugo Humbert
2pts 4-7 general

Sebastian Baez to beat Borna Coric
1pt 2-1 bet365

Ekaterina Alexandrova to beat Leylah Fernandez
1pt 19-20 Coral, Ladbrokes

Venus Williams to beat Greet Minnen
1pt 6-5 general

US Open day two preview 

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are the headline acts on day two at Flushing Meadow as the players in the top half of the men’s draw and the bottom half of the women’s get their US Open campaigns under way.

British men Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper and Dan Evans are all in action and are warm favourites to seal their place in round two.

Ugo Humbert v Matteo Berrettini predictions

It has been a bumpy ride for Matteo Berrettini since he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2021, with injuries seeing him slip to 36th in the world rankings.

That means Ugo Humbert is the seeded player for their first-round clash in the Big Apple but Berrettini, who has shown positive signs in recent months, looks a nice price to come out on top.

The Italian defeated Lorenzo Sonego, Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev en route to the last 16 at Wimbledon in July and has made the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows in each of the last two years.

The former world number six, also a New York semi-finalist in 2019, has won his last two meetings with Humbert in straight sets and is a far classier performer.

Sebastian Baez v Borna Coric predictions

Sebastian Baez is operating at the peak of his powers and after securing successive ATP Tour titles in Kitzbuhel and Winston-Salem, the up-and-coming Argentinian rates a bet to knock out 27th seed Borna Coric.

It is possible those two title triumphs may have left their mark on the 22-year-old, but he has had three days to recover from his latest final victory over Jiri Lehecka.

The manner of that 6-4 6-3 win over the highly regarded Lehecka suggests that world number 32 Baez is capable of rising much further up the rankings and may soon be a seed in Grand Slam competitions himself.

Baez beat Coric in three sets in the semi-finals in Winston-Salem so, only four days on, it is difficult to see why he is being overlooked by the layers.

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Leylah Fernandez predictions

Bookmakers are struggling to split Ekaterina Alexandrova and Leylah Fernandez, but all the recent form points to a victory for the Russian 22nd seed.

Fernandez has failed to live up to the heights that saw her finish runner-up to Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open, and her last four Grand Slam starts have seen her fail to go beyond the second round.

Alexandrova, meanwhile, has had a super season. The Prague resident claimed her fourth WTA Tour title in Den Bosch in June and was runner-up in Cleveland last week, meaning she has lost only four of her last 18 matches.

Greet Minnen v Venus Williams predictions

Venus Williams has twice been crowned US Open champion and although the 43-year-old’s glory days are long behind her, the American could enjoy one last hurrah against Greet Minnen.

Williams has played only nine competitive matches this season but there has been enough promise to suggest she can topple the Belgian, who needed a deciding set in two of her three qualifying wins.

Williams defeated world number 16 Veronika Kudermetova before taking world number 23 Qinwen Zheng to three sets in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago, and a replication of that form would be good enough to see off Minnen.

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