Alcaraz’s shock US Open exit opens path for Draper and de Minaur

Thursday night in New York brought what was quite possibly the biggest upset in men’s tennis over the past decade, with world No.74 Botic van de Zandschulp sending third seed Carlos Alcaraz crashing out of the US Open.

The straight sets upset – 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 – came out of nowhere and caused a significant reshuffle in the US Open betting odds being offered by tennis bookmakers.

Big opportunities now exist in Alcaraz’s quarter of the draw, with players such as Jack Draper and Alex de Minaur the primary beneficiaries in the latest US Open Men’s Singles betting odds.

Big opening in US Open draw for Draper and de Minaur

No.25 seed Draper has rocketed up to the sixth line of betting, paying $29, despite having sat at odds of $100+ pre-tournament with many bookies.

De Minaur is paying $34 to take out the title.

The pair are the two highest seeds in the quarter now that Alcaraz has exited, with Matteo Arnaldi the only other seeded player.

One of these eight players will be making the US Open semi-finals:

• Botic van de Zandschulp
• Jack Draper (25)
• David Goffin
• Tomas Machac
• Alex de Minaur (10)
• Dan Evans
• Matteo Arnaldi (30)
• Jordan Thompson

Bookies are favouring Draper, given the Brit has made the quarter-finals in New York previously and is in sharp form the past three months.

De Minaur would be the favourite, but the top-ranked Aussie has question marks over his health still, with the 10th seed only returning from a hip injury sustained at Wimbledon this week.

Thompson is another excellent prospect to go deep at the US Open, with the 30-year-old playing the best tennis of his life in 2024 and having just upset No.7 seed Hubert Hurkacz last round.

Djokovic firms in US Open Men’s Singles betting

In the outright US Open Men’s Singles betting odds for the US Open, Alcaraz’s shock loss has meant Novak Djokovic is now the clear favourite to win the tournament.

The Serbian moves to $2.40, putting some distance between himself and second-favourite Jannik Sinner ($2.87). This is the biggest gap in the US Open odds for months.

Other title hopefuls Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev also have had their odds shortened in response to the third seed’s exit.

Zverev now sits at $6, a marked improvement from his $15 pre-tournament, while Medvedev is paying $7.50 after having been at $23 last week.

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