Tennis best bets and predictions for Wednesday, August 2nd
The US Open is just about a month away, which means tennis season is really heating up. There will be a lot of big tournaments over the next couple of weeks, so VSiN is here to provide you with tennis best bets as often as possible. With that in mind, keep reading to get my picks for Wednesday, August 2nd. This week, the focus is on the Mubadala Citi DC Open, but I might also sprinkle in some plays for the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo (Los Cabos) and the Generali Open (Austria).
RELATED: Check out our Pro Picks page for more bets from our VSiN analysts
Albert Ramos Vinolas vs. Pedro Cachin – Austria
Cachin just beat Ramos Vinolas last week, but I still like the price on the Spaniard here. Generally, I am a big fan of backing the lefty whenever he is a plus-money option on clay, as he is one of the best dirt ballers of the last decade. And I think he’ll find a different way to attack Cachin after having let that last match slip away.
Ramos Vinolas looked great in a 6-1, 7-5 win over Juan Pablo Varillas last round, so he has already kind of shaken off back-to-back losses. And even with those two defeats, Ramos Vinolas is 6-3 in his last nine clay-court matches. This hasn’t been the best clay-court season for the Spaniard, but he has figured things out a bit in this recent clay swing.
One of the things that can swing this match is Ramos Vinolas taking advantage of Cachin’s second serves. He did not do a good job of that in the last meeting, but that’s pretty uncharacteristic of him. Ramos Vinolas can also do a better job of placing his own second serve. He lost 31% of his second serve points last match, which is an outrageously low number. That’s due to flip around a bit in this meeting. Both of those things could make a big difference in Ramos Vinolas avenging that loss.
Bet: Ramos Vinolas ML (+120)
Yosuke Watanuki vs. Felix Auger Aliassime – Washington
I liked Watanuki’s chances of getting by Yibing Wu on Monday, and he ultimately did so because Wu was forced to retire. It was a pretty scary situation on the court, with Wu fainting because of the heat. That’s the second time in two months that the young player has had some issues, so hopefully he’ll end up being alright. But prior to the retirement, Watanuki really didn’t look ready to compete. And I think Auger Aliassime should be able to beat him pretty easily.
Auger Aliassime has had a miserable 2023 season, but he’s back on hard courts. This is his best surface, by far. The Canadian is 119-73 in ATP-level matches on hard courts, and he’s 42-18 on the surface over the last 52 weeks. Overall, I just don’t think Watanuki will have the weapons to give him much trouble in this spot. Auger Aliassime is the better server between these two, and his forehand is a huge weapon. That’s why I’m playing him to win in straight sets.
Bet: Auger Aliassime -1.5 Sets (-140)
Dominic Thiem vs. Zhizhen Zhang – Austria
Thiem is in a bad way right now and it really feels like he might never be a top-10 player again. But I still like his chances in this meeting with Zhang today. Zhang is not a player that has proven he can do damage on clay, while this is definitely the Austrian’s surface. Speaking of Austria, Thiem will have the full support of the home crowd in this match.
It was also nice to see Thiem beat Facundo Bagnis in straight sets last match. He did need two tiebreakers to get the job done there, but at least he didn’t need to go to a decider. He handled his business and will now hope his serve holds up in this meeting with Zhang. I ultimately think Thiem will get into more of Zhang’s surface games than the other way around. And that should make the difference here.
Bet: Thiem ML (-125)
Andy Murray vs. Brandon Nakashima – Washington
Murray didn’t end up making the deep Wimbledon run that people were hoping for, as he fell just short of beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in an exciting five-set match in the second round. But Murray’s level was extremely high all throughout grass season, and i wouldn’t be surprised if he has a nice hard-court season. And I believe that starts with a victory over Nakashima here.
I’m a big fan of Nakashima’s all-around game, but I’m not sure what he does at a higher level than Murray right now. I believe the Brit is better from both sides of the baseline, and I trust him more as a server. That’s hard to ignore when you’re looking at Murray getting plus-money odds. The only thing Nakashima really has going in his favor is that he has played a few hard-court matches in the last couple of weeks. But Nakashima hasn’t looked very good in doing so.
Bet: Murray ML (+115)
ADDED PLAYS:
Alexander Bublik ML (-155) vs. Gael Monfils – Washington
Zachary Svajda Over 7.5 Games Won (-135 – 2 units) vs. Taylor Fritz – Washington
Borna Gojo ML (-135 – 2 units) vs. Ilya Ivashka – Los Cabos
John Isner Over 12.5 Games Won (+100) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas – Los Cabos
