This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
First-round play continues Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open. A few players coming off strong Canadian Performances will look to keep the good times rolling at this next-hard ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event, while a pair of ex-top 10 players who have been knocked off their lofty perches by injuries could face early exits against dangerous underdogs, one of whom is a local product looking to thrill the crowd with an upset.
All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find more favorable odds on some of these matches by checking mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, or any of the other best sports betting sites. We offer exclusive sign-up bonuses for some of those sportsbooks in states where sports betting has gone live.
All men's and women's singles matches at the Cincinnati Open are best of three sets. A mix of players' previous hard court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets. The aforementioned underdogs are highlighted in the Upset Alert section, the Lock It In section covers players who can safely be viewed as overwhelming favorites, while the Value Bets section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Cincinnati Open Tennis Picks: Upset Alert
Peyton Stearns (+215) vs. Paula Badosa
Stearns is coming off a strong quarterfinal showing in Toronto, where she used her big forehand and some injury luck to knock off Madison Keys and Victoria Azarenka before falling 6-4, 7-5 to eventual Canadian Open champion Jessica Pegula. Badosa was hot coming into Canada, having just won the Citi Open, but the Spaniard promptly cooled off with a second-round exit at the Canadian Open. Stearns' forehand will be the biggest weapon on the court in this one, and the 22-year-old Cincinnati native will have the crowd in her corner in her hometown, while Badosa has had her share of unexpected losses en route to a 22-14 record in 2024. Stearns is ranked 46th, which is only nine spots back of Badosa.
Dayana Yastremska (+235) vs. Karolina Muchova
Muchova still hasn't found the form that helped her climb into the top 10 last year as she works her way back from a wrist injury that sidelined her from after the 2023 U.S. Open to late June of this year. Since coming back, Muchova has gone 6-3, with only one of the wins coming against a top-80 opponent. Yastremska is ranked one spot above Muchova at 34th and reached the semifinals of this year's Australian Open. These fast hard courts should help the big-hitting Ukrainian end points quickly, and if Yastremska is on, she has more than enough game to beat the current version of Muchova.
Honorable Mention
Magdalena Frech (+160) vs. Marie Bouzkova
Cincinnati Open Tennis Odds: Lock It In
Nuno Borges (-300) vs. Adrian Mannarino
Borges is playing the best tennis of his career while Mannarino looks like he's on his last legs. The Portuguese 27-year-old currently boasts a career-best ranking of 39. Borges won his first career title on clay last month and notched a top-15 win over Ugo Humbert on hard court at the Canadian Open last week. Mannarino has looked completely cooked for months, as the 36-year-old Frenchman is 1-15 in his last 16 matches, with the lone win coming against 125th-ranked Stefano Napolitano on grass. Mannarino is still ranked 33rd, but he no longer seems capable of producing the level of tennis that helped him accrue those ranking points in the latter part of 2023 and first couple months of 2024.
Taylor Townsend (-215) vs. Caroline Dolehide
Townsend is coming off a nice run at the Canadian Open, where she reached the quarterfinals as a lucky loser. The 53rd-ranked American then familiarized herself with the court conditions in Cincinnati by winning a pair of qualifying matches in straight sets. Both of these Americans are better at doubles than singles, but Townsend's singles performance last week is better than anything the 47th-ranked Dolehide has put together this year. Dolehide is 13-20 overall in 2024 and 6-10 in her last 16 matches.
Honorable Mention
Sebastian Korda (-525) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
Cincinnati Open Tennis Predictions: Value Bets
Amanda Anisimova (-110) vs. Victoria Azarenka
In this battle between big baseline ball strikers, Anisimova has the clear edge in recent performance despite being ranked 30 spots below Azarenka at No. 49. Anisimova is coming off a run to the final of the Canadian Open, where she defeated four top-20 players. Meanwhile, Azarenka retired in her Round of 16 match in Toronto while down a set and a break to Stearns. Even if Azarenka's back to full health less than a week later, she'll have a tough time getting on the front foot in rallies against a player who also likes to take the ball early and is currently in a better rhythm.
Alexei Popyrin (-140) vs. Gael Monfils
Popyrin's coming off the tournament of his life, as the 25-year-old Australian captured his first Masters 1000 title and just the third title of his career at the Canadian Open on Monday. Five of his six wins in Montreal came against top-20 competition. While Popyrin isn't used to the quick adjustments necessary to go from one venue to another on such short notice because he usually doesn't go deep enough in big tournaments, that's certainly a good problem to have. If Popyrin can maintain anything near his form from the Canadian Open, the in-prime Aussie should get by the well-past-his-prime Monfils, who turns 38 in a few weeks. The Frenchman has lost three consecutive matches, dropping his season record to 18-17.
Honorable Mention
Matteo Arnaldi (-140) vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry
