M Cilic v A De Minaur
Bet: Total Match Games – Over (34.5) @ 5/6
This will be the first meeting of these players and we are expecting a rousing contest. All the initial signs point to Cilic winning this one comfortably but having watched young De Minaur dismantle the home favourite Tiafoe late on Thursday night we are expecting a close encounter.
De Minaur served the ball superbly well and looks to be in complete control of his powerful forehand at the moment. We think he can disrupt Cilic enough to steal a set off him, and on that premise the Total Match Games Over (34.5) at 5/6 looks a lovely bet. De Minaur (+2.5) on the Set Handicap also looks tasty.
N Kyrgios v R Federer
Bet: 1st Set Correct Score Any Player – Either Player 7-6 @ 13/10
Our reasoning for this tip is very simple; these two have met on four previous occasions and of the twelve sets they’ve played, a whopping TEN (yes ten!) went to a tiebreaker. That is a ludicrous stat and clearly worth backing at 13/10.
Aded to the fact that Nick Kyrgios is the perfect man to get to a first set tiebreaker with, as he possesses an enormous serve and then literally does f*ck all when his opponents are serving, and you’re in dreamland.
D Cibulkova v A Kerber
Bet: D Cibulkova to win the match @ 12/5
Cibulkova typically ups her game in the bigger tournaments and we think she could sneak past the highly favoured Kerber in this one. Kerber leads their hard court head-to-head 5-4 but the worrying thing here is Kerber’s near collapse in the last round against Johanna Larsson.
She was cruising to an apparent victory at 6-2 and 4-1 up in the second set when things went belly up for her. She proceeded to lose six of the next seven games on her way to losing the second set and barely struggled through the deciding set 6-4. It is apparent to everyone that her form has dipped massively since winning Wimbledon in July and we reckon the value is on ‘The Selfie Queen’ Cibulkova at 12/5 here.
The treble pays 13/1
*All prices correct at time of posting
We’re flush on US Open odds over at Paddypower.com