Jack Draper v Alex de Minaur US Open betting picks & best odds

Draper v de Minaur best bets

US Open 2024 preview: Jack Draper v Alex de Minaur

British No.1 Jack Draper takes on Australian No.1 Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals of the US Open this Thursday (AEST) in New York, with a maiden Grand Slam semi-final on the line for the winner.

The contest could hardly be tighter, with some tennis betting sites putting the odds as close as -125 to +100 in de Minaur’s favour.

Draper comes into this clash playing the best tennis of his career.

The 22-year-old is 16-5 since May, with wins over Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Frances Tiafoe in that time.

He also claimed his first ATP title in Stuttgart and has now broken new ground by making the last eight in a major for the first time.

Draper has done so in impressive fashion, winning all four of his matches in New York in straight sets.

Not only that, he has only dropped 26 games all tournament long — an average of 6.5 per match, or just over two games per set.

De Minaur has had a slightly different path.

The Aussie suffered a hip injury at Wimbledon, where he also reached the quarter-finals, and is playing his first event back since then.

While he has admitted the issue is still niggling him, de Minaur has been moving well on court for his four wins so far at the US Open.

The No.10 seed has yet to face a seed but has dropped sets in three of his four matches.

Most recently, he was pushed hard by compatriot Jordan Thompson, winning 7-5 in the fourth set in a match that could easily have gone the distance.

Jack Draper v Alex de Minaur US Open picks

Draper should win, and that is because of what we saw in de Minaur’s last match.

That clash was on Thompson’s racquet; he simply hit too many errors at crucial moments and could not capitalise on his opportunities.

Draper, however, has been playing clean tennis over the past 10 days and looks unlikely to make quite so many mistakes.

Despite de Minaur’s tendency to hassle opponents with his constant ball-fetching, Draper’s leftie forehand and solid backhand will be enough to withstand this challenge.

That said, the pressure of the occasion is sure to affect both players, and de Minaur should be good enough to capitalise on some nervy moments from his opponent and take a set.

Draper to win 3-1 offers great value at +425 with top online bookmakers, but those looking for a safer option might prefer the +150 return in the total sets market.

Of the eight matches these two have played at the 2024 US Open, only one has gone over 39.5 games, so the under at -117.65 is another smart bet.

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