The season’s fourth and final Grand Slam, the US Open, returns this week and in the men’s tournament it is the world’s top two Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic who once again dominate the outright betting.
Novak Djokovic to win men’s US Open @ 6/5
Djokovic was taken down by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final last month but the Serbian rarely stays down for long and can react by winning the US Open.
The 36-year-old has won both the Australian Open and French Open this season and came a win away from making it three Grand Slam titles on the spin in London.
The Serbian was pushed to his limits in the Wimbledon final, though, eventually losing a five-set epic against his Spanish counterpart.
Not a lot separates the players and they unsurprisingly head the betting for this year’s hard-court major in New York.
Alcaraz is defending champion at the US Open but last year did not have to compete with Djokovic, who missed the Grand Slam, and he could be in for a tougher time of it this time around.
Djokovic showed he meant business when beating Alcaraz in the final of the Cincinnati Masters as part of his preparation earlier this month and he has since taken a couple of days off to ensure he’s fresh for New York.
Although his last title there came back in 2018, Djokovic has won the US Open on three occasions in his career and he will be hungry for more as he looks to draw level with Margaret Court on a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
And working in his favour this year is a softer draw than Alcaraz with Djokovic set to avoid Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev in his half of the draw, so back the veteran Serbian to win the US Open at 6/5.
Jannik Sinner to win men’s US Open @ 14/1
The market suggests it is a straight toss-up between Djokovic and Alcaraz for US Open glory this year but those after a bigger price could do worse than back Sinner at 14/1.
Italian Sinner, 22, has come a long way this year, winning 41 of his 53 matches on the ATP tour and picking up two titles along the way.
One of those came on the hard courts at the ATP Toronto earlier in the month as he saw off the likes of Matteo Berrettini, Tommy Paul and Alex De Minaur on his way to the title.
Sinner also looked in good shape at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals only to lose to Djokovic, who he avoids in his half of the draw this time around.
It is a big ask of Sinner to go the distance but the lack of expectation behind the Italian could work in his favour and he is a decent double-figure selection.
