There were some crazy first round matches at the US Open! So many five setters in the men’s and three setters in the women’s. The match of the first round had to be the Tsitsipas and Murrary match, that went to five sets, but Tsitsipas ultimately won.
The good news is that there are still heaps of Americans left in both the men’s and women’s side of the draw, so lets hope all of them can continue their form and make it to the third round. There are more interesting matchups in the second round and let’s hope it will be just as exciting at the first!
Enjoy our free tennis picks and predictions for each round of the 2021 US Open tournament.
Round 2 Tennis Picks For The US Open: Men’s
Dominik Koepfer vs Daniil Medvedev (2)
German tennis player Dominik Koepfer is coming off a mammoth five set match in his opening round, whereas Daniil Medvedev breezed through in straight sets in round one, only dropping eight games in total. The Russian is one of the current favorites to take out the championship in New York.
The German’s form as of late has been inconsistent at best, he has a win-loss record so far this year of 18-19, and in his last six games, he has lost four of them. Koepfer looked down and out in the first round, when he was two sets to one down, but managed to mount a comeback. It is safe to say that Medvedev will certainly have fresher legs going into this clash.
Clinical.
Playing in front of the New York fans once again, Daniil Medvedev turned in an impressive performance. pic.twitter.com/dIs5Fthwdk
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2021
Medvedev put on a clinical performance in the first round and really stamped his authority in a round where Tsitsipas (3) was taken to five sets, and the great Djokovic (1) was even taken to four sets! The pair have played each other once before, and that clash happened to also be at the US Open, where the Russian defeated Koepfer in the fourth round in 2019.
No surprises that Medvedev comes into this clash as the firm favorite. Not only is he the second seed, but his performance in the first round certainly would have shortened he price for this matchup even more. The is the serve as well as Medvedev’s defensive skills that will help him get a straight sets victory over Koepfer in the second round.
Tennis Pick: Total Sets – Daniil Medvedev 3-0 (-330)
Frances Tiafoe vs Guido Pella
Two unseeded players come together in the second round, but the way the American, Frances Tiafoe, played in the first round we had to include him in our tennis picks for the second round! Tiafoe beat fellow American in the first round, in four sets, and Pella was good enough to knock out the 32nd seed in the first round, also in four sets.
Tiafoe is such a character and we love to watch him play on the court. He has performed pretty well in front of his home crowd in the past, making it to the fourth round last year at the US Open. The American’s style of play is very aggressive, so expect a lot of winners to come of the Tiafoe racquet in this matchup. His win-loss record on hard courts in 2021 so far is 15-11.
Pella overcame a tough opponent in the first round to successfully book his spot in the second round. This isn’t he best performance at the US Open so far however, after making it to the third round in 2018. Tiafoe has to be wary of Pella’s serve, as in his first round, he hit 28 aces, with only five double faults! This will be the first time the two go up against each other, so the head-to-head is currently sitting at 0-0.
Pella hasn’t really played that much this season and his record on hard court leaves something to be desired. But he does have the skills and experience to take down a player like Tiafoe. Tiafoe will work quickly to get the crowd on his side, and out of the two players he is the one with the better form. We aren’t really sure which way this one will go, but we think it will be a close one!
Tennis Pick: Total Sets – Over 3.5 (-174)
Lorenzo Musetti vs Reilly Opelka (22)
The highest seeded American left in the men’s side of the draw, Reilly Opelka, takes on unseeded Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, in the second round. Musetti defeated American, Nava, in the first round in four sets, and he takes on yet another American in the second round! Opelka dispatched his first round opponent in straight sets to advance to the second round.
Musetti is currently ranked 60th in the world and has a pretty decent win-loss record for 2021 so far, at 31-21, with his record on a hard court sitting at 9-6. This win in the first round was much needed as it snapped a six match losing streak. He is not known for his big serve or aggressive style of play either, but as was shown in this first round, he wins a lot of points on his first serve.
The wins are rolling in for the 🇺🇸 men today
Ernesto Escobedo and Reilly Opelka both advance to Round 2 of the @usopen pic.twitter.com/IAAmZZPqZN
— USTA (@usta) August 31, 2021
Opelka is currently ranked 24th in the world, but his win-loss record this year does leave something to be desired, sitting at 17-16, with his record on a hard court sitting at 11-9. He has gone win, loss, win, loss, win, in his past five games and really need to look to find some consistency. It was a great performance in the first round and he was definitely using the home crowd to help get him over the line. He blasted a mammoth 33 aces for just six double faults!
The American will just had to serve as well as he has in the first round and we think he will successfully book his place in the next round. Opelka’s power will mean that points are kept short and it will be enough for him to get the win over Musetti.
Tennis Pick: Match Winner – Reilly Opelka (-280)
Round 2 Tennis Picks For The US Open: Women’s
Olgo Danilović vs Naomi Osaka (3)
Qualifier Olgo Danilović will be up for the fight of her life when she takes on the number three seed in Naomi Osaka in the second round. Danilović dispatched American, Parks, in the first round in straight sets, Osaka also won in straight sets in the first round, dropping just five games.
The Serb was broken just once in her first round match, and she has played like her life depends on it, only dropping one set all throughout her qualifying matches. Danilović is in some fine form at the moment, after reaching the quarter finals in both Budapest and Palermo. But this is certainly a big step up in the level of opponent at the other end of the court.
Osaka was not broken in her first round match, as she breezed into the next round. She is one of the favorites to take out the championship, and even with Barty ranked ahead of her, we think Osaka is the top tennis pick to win the US Open. There doesn’t look to be many chinks in her amour and she dished out 34 winners in the first round, for just 23 unforced errors.
Unfortunately for Danilović, we think this is going to be another easy victory for Osaka, as she looks to defend her title and make it into the third round. Both players have an offensive style of play, but we think it will be the serve that sets Osaka apart, as hers is much stronger. Osaka to win in straight sets.
Tennis Pick: Set Betting – Naomi Osaka 2-0 (-440)
Sloane Stephens vs Cori Gauff (21)
An all American matchup to feast your eyes on, at prime time Wednesday night! Both women are coming off epic three setters and this is the second time that Sloane Stephens will be facing an American in the US Open. One thing is for sure, there will be an American in the third round!
Stephens has struggled a bit with consistency as of late, she has won only two matches on hard courts in the three events that she entered leading up to the US Open. But at the end of the day, she is a fighter, and and fight she did to make it into the second round. Even though the pair have known each other for almost 10 years, they have actually never met in a competitive match before, so the head-to-head sits at 0-0.
Teenage dreams are being realized in NYC.
🇨🇴 Maria Camila Osorio Serrano
🇨🇦 Leylah Fernandez
🇺🇸 Coco Gauff
🇬🇧 Emma Raducanu
🇩🇰 Clara TausonAll are into Round 2️⃣ of the #USOpen
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 31, 2021
If you want to see resilience, just look at Gauff’s first round match, she was down a set and a break, but managed to dig deep and eventually got the win. It doesn’t matter how deep the hole Gauff finds herself in, she knows how to get herself out. But if she wants to make a statement against Stephens she will need to cut down on the unforced errors.
Stephens, despite being unseeded, is a former US Open champion, and cannot be discredited purely on the basis that Gauff is seeded 21st. Stephens has the experience and knowledge on how to win on these courts, but Gauff has the form, and if she can limit the amount of unforced errors she is in with a good shot to make the third round. But we think the best bet is the overs for this one.
Tennis Pick: Total Sets – Over 2.5 (+126)
Karolina Plíšková (4) vs Amanda Anisimova
The 4th seeded Karolina Plíšková will take on one of the many American women still left in the draw, which includes unseeded Amanda Anisimova. This is the second time Plíšková will face off against an American at the US Open, and she won her first round encounter in straight sets. Anisimova also managed to get the job done in the first round in straight sets, but will face a much tougher opponent in the second round.
Plíšková is having a great season so far in 2021, and her win-loss record currently stands at 31-16, with her hard court record for 2021 at 17-9. Despite being ranked as high as number one in the world, Plíšková is still yet to win a Grand Slam. The pair have played each other three times before, with Plíšková winning on all three occasions and all meetings between the pair were won in straight sets.
Anisimova has not played as many games as Plíšková this year, and her win-loss record so far is sitting at 15-13, with her hard court record for 2021 at 9-5. She had a good run in Montreal in August, making it all the way to the third round, where she was defeated by none other than Plíšková! The American then made it to the second round at Chicago, but retired from that game mid way through the third set.
If the recent record is anything to go off, we think this is going to be an easy victory for Plíšková. She is the better player out of the two, and their rankings show that. Anisimova has shown that she is able to fight hard in matches, but we think this is just going to be a bridge too far for the American. Back Plíšková to win the match.
Tennis Pick: Match Winner – Karolina Plíšková (-240)
If you are interested in more news for the US Open then make sure you visit our tennis hub page, we’ve got all the details you need!
*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
