US Open Second Round Betting Guide: Thursday 8/31/23

The final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, is underway this week.

We should see plenty of fun matches and storylines emerge over the next couple of weeks, and what better way to get in on the action than by making some wagers on the tennis odds at FanDuel Sportsbook?

Let's see which second-round matches could have the most betting value on Thursday.

Andy Murray vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Andy Murray ML (+100)

It's no secret that Andy Murray is no longer the player who was once considered part of the "Big Four" alongside Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, but even at this stage in his career, he rarely goes down without a fight in Grand Slams.

Murray's now 4-2 in his Grand Slam matches this year, and he's 2-1 in the ones that have gone the distance. All three of his five-setters exceeded four hours and 40 minutes, and two of them came in back-to-back matches at the Australian Open.

And that's why World No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov could be in trouble.

While Dimitrov has enjoyed a solid 2023 campaign, he enters this match in shaky form. He dropped two straight matches in straight sets ahead of the US Open and then was nearly taken out in the first round by Alex Molcan, a player ranked outside the top 100.

Not only did Dimitrov have to come back from two sets down, but Molcan even had match point twice. The battle would ultimately last four hours and 38 minutes.

Grigor certainly deserves credit for finding a way to pull off the comeback, but digging this kind of hole against a lesser opponent isn't a great sign, and now he'll have to face a much fresher Murray.

From what we've seen from Dimitrov lately, it's hard to see him besting Murray in straight sets, and a longer match ought to favor the latter, who's no stranger to five-set marathons both this year and over his career.

Although the two haven't faced each other since 2016, the mental aspect of Murray having an 8-3 head-to-head record over Dimitrov can't hurt, too.

Lorenzo Sonego vs. Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner 3-0 Sets (+120)

I'm feeling a little gun-shy about listing another straight sets wager after Stefanos Tsitsipas not only failed to win in straight sets but straight-up lost to 128th-ranked Dominick Stricker.

But Jannik Sinner has the fourth-best odds to win the title and might be one of the only true legitimate threats to co-favorites Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. This should be a routine win for him over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

Sinner is a stellar 25-6 (80.6%) on hard courts this season, which includes two titles on the surface, most recently hoisting the trophy at Canada earlier this month. He certainly looked to be in top form in the first round, too, easily advancing past Yannick Hanfmann (6-3, 6-1, 6-1).

Sonego is ranked inside the top 40, but he has a losing record on hard courts both this season (9-11) and over the course of his career (48-60). He's also 0-2 versus Sinner, and both matches were played earlier this year.

Per Tennis Abstract, Sinner wins this match a whopping 88.8% of the time, and that falls in line with him being a -630 favorite. Being able to get a straight-sets win at plus odds feels like good value here.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author’s advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.