Day 3 multi selections & best bets for US Open tennis

THE Australians have had a few ups and downs in the opening exchanges of the 2017 US Open.

Giant slayer Jordan Thompson added another scalp to his collection, ousting local hope Jack Sock over five sets.

Thanasi Kokkinakis should have joined his compatriot in the second round after going two sets up on Janko Tipsarevic, but a 6-1 romp in the third set the tone for the Serbian’s comeback win.

Bernard Tomic was disappointing once again, succumbing to Gilles Muller after taking the opening set.

Things were a little brighter over in the women’s draw, where Ashleigh Barty rallied from a set down to knock out 21st seed Ana Konjuh.

There were also wins for Ajla Tomljanovic and Arina Rodionova as one of the title contenders crashed out.

Second seed Simona Halep was the unlucky bugger who drew Maria Sharapova in the first round at Flushing Meadows.

The wild card made a big statement on her return to the grand slam arena, defeating her Romanian rival in three sets.

What surprises will the second round dish up?

Alize Cornet vs. Petra Kvitova (13)

Cornet – $3.14
Kvitova – $1.33

These two have not faced each other since the second round of the 2012 US Open, when Kvitova claimed a straightforward 6-4 6-3 victory. The Czech has endured some indifferent form in the lead-up, although we must not forget that she reached three hard-court finals last year and won two of them. The oft-erratic Cornet has an ordinary record at Flushing Meadows, so we are taking Kvitova to anchor the multi.

Denis Shapovalov vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (8)

Tsonga – $1.43
Shapovalov – $2.71

This is a danger game for Tsonga. Although only 18 years old and ranked well outside the top 100 players on the men’s circuit, Shapovalov comes into only his second appearance in the main draw of a major after shock wins over Juan Martin del Potro and world number one Rafael Nadal at the Canadian Open. JW may have to find his A-game early if he wishes to reach the quarters for a third consecutive year.

Jared Donaldson vs. Lucas Pouille (16)

Donaldson – $2.04
Pouille – $1.72

These guys met only a few weeks ago, when Donaldson edged out Pouille in a pair of hard-fought tiebreakers at the Canadian Open. That is why the betting is much tighter than it normally would be for two players with such a significant rankings gulf between them. It could have gone either way in Toronto, and we are expecting things will fall in the 16th seed’s favour on this occasion.

Shuai Peng (22) vs. Donna Vekic

Peng – $1.49
Vekic – $2.50

She is young and raw, but Vekic has more than a bit about her. She was very impressive at Wimbledon, going stroke for stroke with Johanna Konta in one of the standout matches of the women’s draw. Peng outplayed a soft field to win at Nanchang a few weeks back, but she has not looked a threat at this level since bolting to the US Open semis in 2014. We are on Donna to give our multi some real value.

US Open online betting specials

Check in every day at Ladbrokes.com.au for US Open Mega Multi specials.

For example, Tuesday’s deal offered $3.50 odds on Daria Gavrilova, Nick Kyrgios and Rafa Nadal all to win their first-round matches in straight sets.

Multi tipsters should also check out Bet365, where you can win up to 50 per cent extra on tennis parlay bets.