Betsided

3 Dark Horses to Win the 2022 Men's U.S. Open

By Donnavan Smoot

Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to Borna Coric in the first set of the Western & Southern Open men
Stefanos Tsitsipas returns to Borna Coric in the first set of the Western & Southern Open men / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY
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It’s official. Novak Djokovic will not be playing at the U.S. Open this year. 

Djokovic is unvaccinated and is not allowed to play due to travel restrictions. “The Joker” is coming off a win at Wimbledon and won’t be able to go for back-to-back Grand Slams. 

With Djokovic out, the entire board is now wide open for a winner. There are several notable names at the top, but let’s dive into some names that may have a little bit more value further down the list.

Top Dark Horses For 2022 U.S. Open

Stefanos Tsitsipas (+1200)

Tsitsipas is my favorite pick on the entire board. With his overall skill and value, this is a great bet to make. Tsitsipas is winning 70% of his games on hard court and has made a Grand Slam semi final this year. He’s never had amazing success at the U.S. Open, but that’s going to change this time around. 

Tsitsipas is 10-3 in Grand Slams in 2022. He lost to Nick Kyrigos at Wimbledon and Holger Rune in Paris, but neither of those losses were embarrassing. The No. 5 player in the world on the brink of being outside the top 5 in the odds standings, and I like the value that creates. 

Felix Auger-Ailassime (+2500)

Auger-Aliassime is one of my favorite dark horses in this tournament because even without many titles, he’s having a great year. He’s 7-3 in Grand Slams, has a .700 winning percentage on hard court and has had several solid showings in recent Grand Slams. He’s made at least the quarterfinals in three of his last five Grand Slams. Auger-Aliassime made the semis at the U.S. Open last year, and a dominant year on hard court can put him right back there again. 

Matteo Berrettini (+2500)

It hasn’t been a great year for Berrettini, but it’s not because of his play. After making it to the semi finals at the Australian Open, Berrettini had to miss the French Open due to a hand injury and then was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after testing positive for COVID-19. It makes sense that he’s this far down the list, but the last time we saw him play, he was fantastic. 

Berrettini is still searching for his first Grand Slam and has a real shot to get it in a big way now that Djokovic is gone. If Berrettini can get his legs under him fairly quickly, expect a deep run from him. 

You can find Donnavan Smoot’s full betting record here.

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