Top seed Jannik Sinner had some issues in his first match at the US Open, and we predict he will struggle a little once more as he faces the always-tricky Alex Michelsen of the USA on Thursday in New York. This is our US Open pick of the day simply because the American is in brilliant form, and has the weapons to do some damage.
The bet is simply Michelsen keeping this one close, which has already happened recently at the Cincinnati Open where Sinner had to work quite hard to get past the 19-year-old.
So there is history here, and we think history is going to repeat itself.
US Open Day Two Best Bets
Michelsen is playing some of the best tennis he has ever played. He came to New York after making the Winston-Salem final and is stringing together some consistently high-level performances.
One week before Winston-Salem, Michelsen was in Cincinnati and played Sinner, who bested him 6-4, 7-5. It was a decent battle and a close match.
We’re betting that it happens again, as Michelsen is set to cover the 29.5 mark on games. We think he’ll be able to push that total above that, possibly even win a set.
Sinner is the better player and will win, but as his first match showed, he is prone to dropping a few sets here and there.
- Sinner vs Michelsen total games over 29.5 @ 2.00 | +100
- Michelsen +7.5 handicap @ 2.20 | +120
- Sinner to beat Michelsen 3-1 @ 3.50 | +250
The odds make this bet nie and juicy, and we think a very motivated youngster getting a chance to play on Arthur Ashe in front of a home crowd will certainly manage to keep it close.
Sinner vs Michelsen Preview
Sinner vs Michelsen is a very interesting matchup on paper. On the one hand, we have an aggressive baseliner in Jannik Sinner, who, at his best, is practically unplayable.
There is nothing you can do off the ground to really trouble him. In saying that, he does tend to over-hit, even at this stage of his career. On some days, he’s better than the rest, but even so, he generally makes a good number of unforced errors.
His first match here showed that he might be a bit distracted by everything that’s going on with his doping saga, which is a chance for Michelsen.
As mentioned, Michelsen has played excellent tennis in recent weeks and has already kept their previous match very close. Part of that is his solid serve, which should thrive in New York. His ability to defend also plays into this. The American has been able to dig out quite a few tricky points with his running shots, which might trouble Sinner slightly.
The match being played during the day is also an added bonus for Michelsen, who will thrive in the somewhat quicker conditions. Things tend to slow down at night, which would benefit Sinner more as he is the better pure hitter.
The prediction here is simple: We’re betting on Michelsen winning at least one set. There is a pretty decent chance that he will, but even if he doesn’t, he’ll still have a chance to cover the over.
A simple 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 match will do, and considering that the two sets they played so far ended with scores of 6-4 and 7-5, there is a strong chance that we will see that coming through.
The odds are juicy and certainly better than most betting markets you can get on a Sinner match, making it great value.
