Tennis best bets and predictions for Friday, August 18th
The US Open is now a matter of weeks away, which means tennis season is really heating up. There have been a lot of big tournaments over the last couple of weeks, and VSiN is here to provide you with tennis best bets on everything that’s left before we get to Flushing Meadows. With that in mind, keep reading to get my picks for Friday, August 18th. This week, the focus is on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. I’ll look to make picks on both the men and the women, and I’ll probably be adding more to these columns each day. So, make sure you refresh for more picks — or click the link below for the Pro Picks page.
RELATED: Check out our Pro Picks page for more bets from our VSiN analysts
Marketa Vondrousova vs. Iga Swiatek
After a somewhat poor showing in Montreal, Vondrousova has come out and played some great tennis in Cincinnati. The Wimbledon champion hasn’t dropped a set to this point, despite playing solid opponents like Katerina Siniakova, Anastasia Potapova and Sloane Stephens. Now, I like Vondrousova’s chances of taking a set off an out-of-form Swiatek.
Swiatek did beat up on Danielle Collins in her first match in Cincinnati, but she struggled a bit against Qinwen Zheng and dropped the first set in that one. That came after a run in Montreal in which Swiatek lost at least one set in her final three matches. Overall, I just think Swiatek has been missing the mark a bit with her forehand. And while I do expect her to find that shot soon — it was arguably the most dangerous shot on the WTA Tour before this recent stretch — I think it’s worth playing Vondrousova +1.5 sets at plus-money odds. She’s the No. 10 player in the world and is arguably a top-five talent in the women’s game. And her tricky baseline game could get Swiatek a bit out of rhythm here.
Swiatek has also been a bit shaky with her serve lately. So, there’s a chance she could gift wrap some breaks to Vondrousova, making it somewhat easy for the Czech to get on the board.
Bet: Vondrousova +1.5 Sets (+115 – 1.5 units)
Alexei Popyrin vs. Hubert Hurkacz
Hurkacz has been playing very well throughout this tournament, but this matchup presents a bit of a different challenge for him. Popyrin is something of a servebot, much like Hurkacz is. So, this match could end up going to a tiebreaker or two. With that being the case, I love the idea of backing Popyrin to come through on the set spread.
Popyrin is a lucky loser at this event, so he is playing with house money here. And I loved the way he looked in his win over Emil Ruusuvuori, as he came away with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory in that one. Popyrin didn’t just serve well in that match, but he also did a good job of getting returns back in play. That’ll be big against Hurkacz, who might be in for something of a let-down performance here. His win over Stefanos Tsitsipas last round had to feel great, and he might overlook Popyrin in this one because of it.
This matchup is one that has gone Hurkacz’s way in the past, and I can definitely see him winning again here. But I do think he’ll have to work extremely hard for it. It’s also hard to ignore that a tournament like this feels huge to somebody like Popyrin. But Hurkacz might be starting to think about the US Open a bit.
Bet: Popyrin +1.5 Sets (+100 – 2 units)
ADDED PLAYS:
Alexei Popyrin vs. Hubert Hurkacz Over 0.5 Tiebreakers (-125 – 1.5 units)
Carlos Alcaraz Under 12.5 Games Won (-160 – 2 units) vs. Max Purcell
Coco Gauff Under 12.5 Games Won (-175 – 2 units) vs. Jasmine Paolini
Adrian Mannarino vs. Alexander Zverev Over 20.5 Games (-130)
Ons Jabeur +1.5 Sets (-140) vs. Aryna Sabalenka
Taylor Fritz +1.5 Sets (+130 – 3 units) vs. Novak Djokovic
Taylor Fritz ML (+350 – 0.5 units) vs. Novak Djokovic
