Tennis best bets and predictions for Sunday, August 13th
The US Open is now a matter of weeks away, which means tennis season is really heating up. There will be a lot of big tournaments over the next couple of weeks, so VSiN is here to provide you with tennis best bets as often as possible. With that in mind, keep reading to get my picks for Sunday, August 13th. This week, the focus is on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. I’ll look to make picks on both the men and the women, and I’ll probably be adding more to these columns each day. So, make sure you refresh for more picks — or click the link below for the Pro Picks page. I’ll also have plays for today’s matches in Canada.
RELATED: Check out our Pro Picks page for more bets from our VSiN analysts
Alex De Minaur vs. Jannik Sinner – Toronto
De Minaur has played some remarkable tennis over the last two weeks, and he saved his best for his semi-final match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday. De Minaur made quick work of the Spaniard in that one, and I now like his chances of putting up a fight against Sinner. There’s no denying that the Italian is the better player between these two, but there’s a lot of pressure on Sinner to win his first Masters 1000 title. And the fact he’s going in as a heavy favorite only adds to that. It’s also worth mentioning that these two are doubles partners, so De Minaur should have a good idea of how to attack Sinner in this one. Overall, I like De Minaur’s ability to defend the court against a guy that crushes the ball. Sinner could tire himself out a bit by going for haymakers. That would give De Minaur an opening to extend this one. And I even think he has a chance of stealing it.
Bet: De Minaur +1.5 Sets (-150 – 2 units) + De Minaur ML (+195 – 0.75 units)
Ben Shelton vs. Christopher Eubanks – Cincinnati
In a matchup between two big servers, I’m going with Shelton to find a way to get by Eubanks. Breaks of serve will probably be at a premium in this match, and there’s probably a good chance we’ll see a tiebreaker or two here. But I think Shelton’s baseline game is a little more reliable than Eubanks’ right now. Eubanks has done a good job of going for broke with winners over the last couple of months, and it has definitely paid off for him. But there’s a little more wiggle room with Shelton’s game. And Shelton has already had a big moment in Cincinnati in his career, as he beat Casper Ruud here in 2022.
Bet: Shelton ML (-140)
Tallon Griekspoor vs. Frances Tiafoe – Cincinnati
Nobody will be more excited about returning to American soil than Tiafoe. This is a player that has become used to having home-court advantage, but he was the villain against Milos Raonic in Toronto last tournament. That ended up getting to his head a bit, with Tiafoe committing a lot of uncharacteristic unforced errors. I expect him to clean things up significantly now that he’s back in the United States. And this is a tournament in which Tiafoe will feel like he has a legitimate chance of making a run. That should start with a big win over Griekspoor on Sunday. Griekspoor has played some good tennis this season, but Tiafoe has a few more weapons than his opponent here. And I think he’s a better server between the two, which could come in handy if they play a tiebreaker.
Bet: Tiafoe ML (-175 – 3 units)
ADDED PLAYS:
Liudmila Samsonova ML (+140 – 1.5 units) vs. Jessica Pegula
Western & Southern Open Futures
Carlos Alcaraz To Win (+200 – 2.5 units) – I’m aware that Alcaraz didn’t look great in Toronto, but he has now had a little time to get his feet wet on hard courts. And overall, I think he has a relatively easy draw to the final in this tournament. Sure, Alcaraz might have to face Tommy "The King Slayer" Paul in the third round, but I’d expect the Spaniard to roll the American in a potential rematch. And I’m not sure there’s anybody in the top half of the draw that really scares me too much. The only players I’d be worried about are Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, who are all in the bottom half of the draw. And if Alcaraz does reach the final, you can always hedge off this a little.
Stefanos Tsitsipas To Win Quarter 2 (+210) – Tsitsipas has performed at a high level at Cincinnati in his career, and he happens to have a very reasonable draw. Potential matchups with Ben Shelton, Hubert Hurkacz, Borna Coric and Andrey Rublev might look scary, but I’d like Tsitsipas to come through against any of them. He needs to make a run at this tournament, too. He’s defending a lot of ranking points here.
