Carlos Alcaraz vs Roman Safiallun Expert Tips and Best Bets | August 30

The final Grand Slam of the year is upon us, with the US Open set to kick off at Flushing Meadows this Sunday. Betting sites have Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as the runaway favourites on the men’s side while for the women, world number one Aryna Sabalenka looks tough to beat, but there are plenty of chances on both sides of the draw. There are a host of games on day one of the event one for us to sink our teeth into, so let’s get started with our best bets for the first day of the US Open.

World number two Carlos Alcaraz enters the US Open without much in the way of a warm-up behind him, having spent the past few months on the sidelines through injury. But though some rust is expected as a result, that injury layoff has also seen his odds for this opening match balloon to a little longer than what they would have been otherwise. Alcaraz has been able to spend some time on the court courtesy of a quarter-final run alongside Serena Williams in the mixed doubles, but regardless, the guy has won three of the last four Grand Slams he’s played in (including this one last year), and made the final in the other. His opponent in Roman Safiallun is an okay player who has enjoyed some decent results this season, but he’s just barely ranked inside the top 100. There is an enormous class differential in this one, and even if Alcaraz is fairly significantly off his game he should still win in straight sets.

Mirra Andreeva has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2026, winning her inaugural Grand Slam after threatening to do so for the last couple of years courtesy of a straight sets win in the final at Roland Garros. She was unable to back that up at Wimbledon where she was knocked out in the second round, but she can get her US Open campaign off to a solid start against a vastly less experienced opponent. Janice Tjen only played in her first Grand Slam at this event last year, and while she’s enjoyed a couple of wins in the four majors she’s played, has never made it past the second round. Andreeva should have the tools to win this one comfortably and get her tournament off to a strong start.

A bit of a left-field one to finish, but sometimes that’s where the best value lies. Carol Young Suh Lee is a young player without all that much experience at the top level – in fact the 24-year-old has never made the main draw of a Grand Slam until this one. That might not inspire a great deal of confidence, but essentially this is a bet on the value being offered. Katie Boulter has a lot more experience in major tournaments, but she hasn’t made it past the second round of one in her last eleven attempts. Neither of these players will likely go all that far in this event, but this is an opening round matchup which either of them could easily win, making Young Suh Lee a good value selection at comfortably better than even money odds with the betting apps.