US Open Third-Round Picks

It’s on to the middle rounds of the U.S. Open, with spots in the second week of the season’s final Grand Slam up for grabs on Friday and Saturday. There have already been a whole host of upsets, but at the same time most of the top title contenders remain. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula have all won their first two matches. What‘s in store for the third round? Here are three of the US Open best bets to make for the third round at Flushing Meadows. 

US Open Third-Round Predictions 

PICK #1: Cameron Norrie +2.5 sets over Novak Djokovic (+104) Click Here to Bet

PICK #2: Jasmine Paolini ML over Marketa Vondrousova (-115) Click Here to Bet

PICK #3: Alexandra Eala -1.5 games over Cristina Bucsa (-125) Click Here to Bet

PICK #1: Cameron Norrie +2.5 Sets over Novak Djokovic (+104) 

Throughout his illustrious career, Djokovic has showcased a habit of underwhelming in the early rounds of Grand Slams before picking up the pace later in the event when the competition gets tougher. This time around, however, it just feels different. The Serb is 38 years old and he really was not good at all in his first two matches this week. In fact, he has looked a bit off both physically and mentally. Djokovic somehow managed to avoid dropping a set against Learner Tien in round one, but he did lose one to American qualifier Zachary Svajda on Wednesday. Asking a much more experienced and all-around tougher opponent in Norrie to take just one set on Friday should not be too much. The British lefty has won a set off Djokovic in two of their last five meetings, including at Wimbledon in 2022 – when the former world No. 1 was playing much better than he is right now. 

PICK #2: Jasmine Paolini ML over Marketa Vondrousova (-115) 

Paolini is so back. Although the Italian never really went anywhere, she did endure a brief slump relative to her lofty standards that were set by back-to-back Grand Slam final appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon last season. Now she is looking like the Paolini of 2024, as her summer is headlined by a runner-up effort in Cincinnati – where she beat Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova and Coco Gauff before losing to Iga Swiatek in the final. Paolini also reached the fourth round of the French Open in singles and captured the doubles title with Sara Errani. The world No. 8 looked very good again on Wednesday, when she disposed of Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-3. Vondrousova presents a difficult test, but outdoor hard courts probably have to be considered the Czech’s worst surface. 

PICK #3: Emma Raducanu +3.5 Games over Elena Rybakina (-125)

Raducanu may be turning back the clock to 2021, when she came from completely out of nowhere to win the U.S. Open as a qualifier. The four ensuing years have been up and down, certainly with more downs than ups. This season, however, the 22-year-old has advanced to the quarterfinals in Miami and the fourth round in Rome. Her Grand Slam losses have come only to Swiatek (Australian Open, French Open) and Sabalenka (Wimbledon). Raducanu played amazing tennis against Sabalenka both at the All-England Club and again in Cincinnati, where she fell to the world No. 1 in a third-set tiebreaker. The Brit has been dominant through two rounds in New York, dropping a total of just six games in four sets. Although Rybakina is playing well, she still doesn’t look quite like the same player who won Wimbledon in 2022. It would not be a big surprise if Raducanu even wins this match outright.