Western & Southern Open ATP Men’s Singles Semifinals Odds & Pick: Gasquet vs Goffin & Medvedev vs Djokovic

• The Men’s Semifinals at the Western & Southern Open will be played Saturday, August 17
• This is a major prep for the U.S. Open, which begins on August 26
• What bets come recommended?

As tuneups for the U.S. Open go, the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati is a big one. This year the men’s side lost Rafael Nadal to fatigue before the event began, and Roger Federer was knocked out in his second match. That makes Novak Djokovic a large favorite, but also creates some interesting opportunities.

Djokovic was the heavy favorite before the tournament began and that hasn’t changed. However, veteran Richard Gasquet has been impressive, and David Goffin has had a little luck on his side reaching the semis. Youngster Daniil Medvedev has perhaps been the best player at the tournament thus far.

Lets peak at the odds for semifinal Saturday.

Richard Gasquet vs David Goffin Western & Southern Open Semifinal Odds

*All odds taken 08/16/19

We Didn’t See this Coming

Gasquet or Goffin making the semis would have been an upset, but both is downright shocking. Each has received some help in the draw to reach this point.

Gasquet was aided by Marin Cilic going out in his first match, taking out the most dangerous player in his portion of the bracket. That said, Gasquet still needed to beat Andy Murray, Federico Delbonis, Diego Schwartzman, and most impressively Roberto Bautista Agut to reach this point. He has lost just one set at this stage in the tournament. Beating the 11th seed Bautista Agut, who is having his best season on tour, is particularly strong.

Goffin has been even more lucky. Kei Nishikori, the top player in his quarter of the draw, lost his first match. After Goffin beat mostly unheralded Taylor Fritz, Guido Pella, and Adrian Mannarino, he earned a walkover victory in the quarters over Yoshihito Nishioka.

Gasquet and Goffin have split two career matches, both on hard courts.

Daniil Medvedev vs Novak Djokovic Western & Southern Open Semifinal Odds

Don’t Underestimate Medvedev

We all know Djokovic’s resume. The top ranked player in the world is more and more in the discussion for greatest of all time. He has won 16 majors, including four of the last five.

Djokovic was challenged in the quarters by Lucas Pouille but after a tiebreak win in the first set took care of business easily in set number two. After an opening round bye he had little difficulty with Sam Querrey and knocked off Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-4.

Medvedev, a 23-year-old Russian, has not dropped a set. He has only played two tough sets, 7-5 to finish off Kyle Edmund in the first round, and 7-6 over Benoit Paire to begin the second round. He dropped eight total games in wins over Jan-Lennard Struff and Andrey Rublev to reach the semis.

Djokovic is 3-1 against Medvedev, including 2-0 on hard courts. Medvedev won their most recent battle, a three-setter on clay in Monaco this year.

Best Bets for 2019 Western & Southern Open Semifinals

While Goffin is well rested, Gasquet has the more impressive victory in this tournament. In an evenly matched contest, Gasquet on the moneyline is the play.

In the feature match, Medvedev can win but betting against Djokovic has not been a profitable tactic. Let’s take the games with the youngster, and if you want to make a small moneyline wager on the upset, crazier things have happened and the price is right.