U.S. Open Men’s Singles Semifinal Best Picks and Predictions
U.S. Open Men’s Singles Semifinal Best Picks and Predictions
The usual suspects will be part of the U.S. Open men’s semifinal proceedings on Friday in New York City. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have all advanced to the last four. They are joined by a relative outsider in Felix Auger-Aliassime, although the Canadian has actually been to the U.S. Open semis once before (2021). Auger-Aliassime will try to keep his run going against Sinner, while Alcaraz and Djokovic will add another chapter to their illustrious rivalry.
Let’s discuss the odds and the best bets to make for the two matchups on Friday.
U.S. Open Men’s Singles Predictions
- Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Over 37.5 Games (-110) Click Here to Bet
- Jannik Sinner vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime Under 31.5 Games (-115) Click Here to Bet
PICK #1: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Over 37.5 games (-110)
Get your popcorn ready for the ninth chapter of this rivalry. Alcaraz is a massive favorite, but completely discounting Djokovic is not the way to handicap this match. The Serb is indeed 38 years old and No. 7 in the world, but the main reason for his relatively low ranking is inactivity, not poor performance. Djokovic pretty much only plays the Grand Slams these days, and even when he does go to smaller tournaments, he is not exactly motivated. At majors, though, Djokovic remains one of the best players on tour.
This is the fourth slam of the season and also his fourth semifinal appearance. His last two matches have been especially impressive, which is not surprising because Djokovic historically raises his level toward the business end of slams. He crushed Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets on Sunday and then beat world No. 4 Taylor Fritz in four sets on Tuesday.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have faced each other on four previous occasions at majors. Only once has a match ended in straight sets, and that was when Djokovic was hobbled by a knee injury in the 2024 Wimbledon final. Djokovic leads the overall head-to-head series 5-3 and has won two in a row against the Spaniard – in two tiebreakers in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold-medal match and in four sets at this year’s Australian Open. Alcaraz will likely get revenge on Friday because he is playing just that well, but there is no reason to think that it will be quick.
PICK #2: Jannik Sinner vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime Under 31.5 games (-115)
It will probably be a much different story when Sinner and Auger-Aliassime square off in the nightcap. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Auger-Aliassime leads the head-to-head series against Sinner 2-1. Both of the underdog’s wins came in 2022, when he was playing the best tennis of his career and – more importantly – Sinner was still more than a year away from becoming what is the current version of Sinner. Those results mean nothing now. What’s far more telling is their most recent meeting, which came just last month on the hard courts of Cincinnati. What happened there? Well, Sinner posted a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Those kinds of lopsided results are nothing out of the ordinary for Sinner. The 24-year-old Italian has lost only one set this fortnight, and his two most recent performances were especially dominant – 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 against a previously red-hot Alexander Bublik and 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 at the expense of world No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti. Additionally, Auger-Aliassime is coming off a four-hour and 10-minute struggle against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday. In every way, the chips are stacked against the underdog in this one. It’s hard to see him being competitive.
