US Open Men’s Singles Round of 16 Odds & Picks – Day 8 September 6
- No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic once again a huge favorite as he looks for the US Open quarterfinals
- Wild card Jenson Brooksby and qualifier Oscar Otte continue their unexpected runs
- Read on as we breakdown the last four round of 16 matchups and offer our best picks
The top half of the US Open men’s singles draw will begin its quest for a major title in earnest Monday, Sept. 6th with round of 16 matches.
Novak Djokovic remains the heavy favorite to win it all.
First he needs to get past a wild card – literally and figuratively – in 20-year-old American Jenson Brooksby.
US Open Men’s Singles Day 8 Odds – Sept 6
| Monday Matchups | Odds |
|---|---|
| [Q] Oscar Otte (GER) vs [6] Matteo Berrettini (ITA) | +550/-800 |
| [22] Reilly Opelka (USA) vs Lloyd Harris (RSA) | -125/+105 |
| [4] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [13] Jannik Sinner (ITA) | -600/+425 |
| [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [WC] Jenson Brooksby (USA) | -8000/+1600 |
Odds as of Sept 5 at DraftKings
Reilly Opelka vs Lloyd Harris Prediction
Reilly Opelka and Lloyd Harris already are in their first career Grand slam fourth rounds.
The winner, obviously, will be in his first career quarterfinal, and that’s a huge milestone.
You would expect tiebreaks aplenty in this best-of-five set match with huge implications, given their most recent history.
Reilly Opelka of the USA
Three matches played at US Open 2021 and has yet to lose a set.
85 aces. 9 of 11 break points saved
Only played 23 points longer than 8 shotsDanger man#getty pic.twitter.com/OKSTK6pCD4
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) September 5, 2021
On Friday, Harris stood steady while higher-ranked opponent Denis Shapovalov basically defeated himself 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in their third-round match.
Reilly Opelka vs Lloyd Harris Match History
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Masters Canada (R16) | Outdoor Hard | 4-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4) | Opelka |
| 2017 | Shenzhen (Q1) | Outdoor Hard | 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 | Harris |
For Opelka, the US Open run is a continuation of his breakout effort in Toronto, where he reached the final after squeaking past Harris in the third round.
He will most definitely have the edge in this one, with the crowd firmly on his side.
The moment of Lloyd Harris' tennis career.
The 🇿🇦 reaches Round 4 in a Grand Slam for the first time. pic.twitter.com/P8cBORVvV2
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2021
Betting over 12.5 games in any of the first three sets (i.e. a tiebreak) is at +130 and is bound to come through at least once, if not twice. Opelka to win either the first or second set in a tiebreak is at +265.
Any prop involving tiebreaks is a good call.
Best Bet: Opelka in four sets (+350)
Novak Djokovic vs Jenson Brooksby Prediction
If Jenson Brooksby thought five sets against No. 21 seed Aslan Karatsev was painful, wait until Novak Djokovic runs him around like a yo-yo.
The only possible scenario in this one is that the pro-American crowd that loves itself an underdog will get under his skin.
He’s already had some cranky moments about that in this tournament when he faced 18-year-old qualifier Holger Rune in the first round.
Fans were cheering for Djokovic's opponent during his 1st-round. After, he said he thought they were booing him, turns out they were chanting "Rune!"
Amazing the guy going for a Grand Slam, who could soon have the GOAT crown with 21 majors, still hasn't won the crowd.#USOpen
— Omar A.R. (@omarcanuck) September 1, 2021
Another challenge will be never having faced Brooksby, whose game is somewhat unorthodox and includes a two-handed drop shot. Djokovic is so experienced, it might take him a few games to figure it out, so maybe Brooksby squeaks out the first set.
Best Bet: First set to Brooksby; Djokovic to win (+370)
Alexander Zverev vs Jannik Sinner Prediction
Alexander Zverev wasn’t in a great place at last year’s French Open, unusually scheduled for the chilly, rainy fall instead of the spring because of the pandemic.
That played a big part in his dismissal, in four sets, by then 19-year-old Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.
There has been lot of off-court drama, and yet these days, his tennis is on fire.
Alexander Zverev vs Jannik Sinner Match History
| Year | Tournament | Surface | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Cologne (SF) | Indoor Hard | 7-6 (3) 6-3 | Zverev |
| 2020 | French Open (R16) | Outdoor Clay | 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 | Sinner |
Zverev could do nothing when American Jack Sock played a surreal first set Saturday night – 17 winners, two unforced errors. But almost immediately, Sock came up lame with a quad injury, and eventually retired in the fourth set.
Other than that, the German has been peerless.
For Sinner, a five-set win over Gaël Monfils showed strength because he pulled it out, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4. It also showed vulnerability because he let a 4-2 lead in the third set and a 4-0 lead in the fourth set slip away.
He has a lot more tennis in his legs than Zverev does and the German is playing like he has every intention of fighting for the title.
Still, it might take awhile.
Best Bet: over 35.5 games (+105)
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Stephanie gets the straight dope from the tennis insiders. On court, she has represented her country internationally. A BA in journalism led to years on the MLB beat and a decade covering tennis globally. She's written for Postmedia, the Guardian, the New York Times and also publishes OpenCourt.ca.
