US Open predictions & tennis betting tips: Aslan could be on the move out of NYC

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for day six of the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Where to watch

Amazon Prime, from 4pm Saturday

Best bets

Jenson Brooksby to beat Aslan Karatsev
1pt 11-10 bet365

Sara Sorribes Tormo to beat Emma Raducanu
1pt 5-6 BoyleSports

Under 8.5 first-set games in Ashleigh Barty v Shelby Rogers
1pt 6-5 bet365

Preview

Novak Djokovic is highly likely to keep his calendar Grand Slam bid intact when he meets Kei Nishikori on Saturday with a place in the last 16 of the US Open at stake in New York City.

Nishikori posed problems for Djokovic in his earlier career, but after suffering injury issues in recent seasons the Japanese player's level has dropped and the Serbian top seed is 1-20 to progress and 2-5 to do so in straight sets.

In the women's draw, Belinda Bencic, Iga Swiatek and Petra Kvitova could all face tough battles against lower-ranked opponents.

Aslan Karatsev v Jenson Brooksby

Aslan Karatsev fought back from two sets down to thwart Jordan Thompson in the second round of the US Open, but the 21st seed looks to be toiling a little and things may get tougher for the Kazakh in the last 32 in New York City.

Karatsev was superb when reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open in February then winning the title in Dubai a month later. But while he has justified his late-career boom, the big man may be over the top after his long, breakout campaign.

In round three Karatsev plays Jenson Brooksby, who has already more than justified his Flushing Meadows wild-card entry with wins over last week's Winston-Salem finalist Mikael Ymer and Alex de Minaur's conqueror Taylor Fritz.

It's difficult to tell just how good Brooksby might beome, but he lacks nothing in the way of effort, toil and physical stature and that's a good sign for the Californian, who fought back from a set down to deny Fritz.

Brooksby also reached the final in Newport on grass in July, so he is clearly striking while the iron is hot and it may pay punters to follow him right now.

Sara Sorribes Tormo v Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu has been nothing short of fantastic this season, especially with her recent efforts in the United States, and the British teenager is deservedly on the verge of cracking the top 100 in the rankings having been in the 350s earlier in the campaign.

After sweeping aside lucky-loser Stefanie Voegele and Shuai Zhang in the main draw, qualifier Raducanu's reward is a date with Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Sporting fairy-tales have a tendency to be prolonged and Raducanu is that good that her dream run in New York City is no certainty to end against the Spaniard.

However, after serving a tough apprenticeship, Sorribes Tormo is finally reaping the rewards of many years' toil on the WTA Tour and she is playing so well that she may just have the necessary experience and possibly the court nous to deny Raducanu.

It is difficult to pick holes in Sorribes Tormo's form after her triumphs against 22nd seed Karolina Muchova and then seasoned stalwart Su-Wei Hsieh, who was in good nick and can be difficult to beat.

Raducanu could produce yet more magic, but at the odds available the value may lie with her older opponent.

Ashleigh Barty v Shelby Rogers

Ashleigh Barty has been flying out of the blocks in the first two rounds of the US Open while Shelby Rogers, who the world number one and top seed meets in the third round, trapped slowly in her opening set against Sorana Cirstea before finishing fast to edge it.

With that in mind, it could be worth backing the first set of this last-32 rumble to yield under 8.5 games.

Barty has won both opening sets of her two matches 6-1 – against Vera Zvonareva and Clara Tauson. And while Rogers lies between that pair in terms of experience and could be more prepared as to what might come her way at the start of her third-round outing, the South Carolina native is one of the more laid-back operators on the WTA Tour.

Rogers may have to try to do to Barty what she did to Sorana Cirstea in her latest singles start, namely fight back from 3-0 and 4-1 in arrears. But whether that will be as easy against the Wimbledon champion is open to question.

Under 9.5 games is a 2-5 shot, so taking a chance on under 8.5 is more appealing.

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