Washington Open predictions and tennis betting tips: Draw favours Alex de Minaur

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the ATP Citi Open in Washington.

Where to watch

Live on Amazon Prime, from 4pm Monday

Best bet

Alex de Minaur
1pt each-way 14-1 Ladbrokes

Tournament preview

Rafael Nadal is the headline act at the Citi Open in Washington this week, with the super Spaniard returning to the court for the first time since losing his crown at Roland Garros.

The world number three has not been seen since suffering a French Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic in June, opting to skip competition at Wimbledon and the Olympics.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion is 15-8 to make a winning return, in an event where the second highest-ranked player is world number 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime.

This represents a significant drop in grade for Nadal but his well-being has to be taken on trust and this is a stepping stone for the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season which starts later this month.

Instead, an each-way interest on Australian ace Alex de Minaur, who is drawn away from Nadal in the bottom half, is advised.

The 22-year-old is already a five-time winner on the ATP Tour - four of those titles have come on a hard court - and he is competing fresh having not competed since Wimbledon.

De Minaur was forced to withdraw from the Olympics after contracting coronavirus symptoms and was reportedly devastated, so should be hungry to deliver on his comeback.

The third seed, who receives a first-round bye, has an excellent draw to work with and there should be few problems for him before a potential quarter-final clash with Jannik Sinner or Sebastian Korda.

The Sydney star reached the quarter-finals of the US Open this time last year and looks overpriced at 14-1 to get a nice confidence boost in Washington.

Auger-Aliassime could be lurking in the last four but the Canadian has a point to prove after losing in straight sets to inexperienced Aussie Max Purcell in Tokyo last time out.

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