Well all right BetUS online tennis betting enthusiasts, with the finals for the men’s portion of the 2020 U.S. Open set, it’s time to find out whether Austrian star Dominic Thiem or still-blossoming German, Alexander Zverev will hoist the first Grand Slam trophy of their respective careers and bring home the bacon for online tennis betting enthusiasts everywhere.
Thiem, the world No. 2 and second seed, is the favorite at -400 while Zverev, the world No. 5 and fifth seed, is the underdog at -320. The US Open men’s final is set for Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. Now, let’s find out which player is offering the best value against their US Open betting odds.
Dominic Thiem vs Alexander Zverev
Sunday at 4 p.m. ET
2020 U.S. Open Men’s Final Odds
Alexander Zverev +320
Dominic Thiem -400
Total: 37½
The 23-year-old Zverev has had a fantastic run to the finals in dispatching veteran Kevin Anderson in four sets in his opener before going four more sets in the second round in order to subdue Brandon Nakashima in the second round.
Zverev then went four sets again to get past No. 32 seed Adrian Mannarino before smacking Alejandro Davidovich Fokina around en route to a commanding 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 rout in the round of 16. Zverev then pulled out another four-set win over Borna Coric in the quarterfinals before staging an epic comeback in order to get past surprising semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the title match at Flushing Meadows.
“Mentally, I stayed in it. … A lot of players would have gone away,” Zverev said after his ‘instant classic’ win over Carreno Busta. “There’s no easy matches anymore. Sometimes you have to dig deep. Today I dug deep, dug very deep.”
Zverev is the first man to win a US Open semifinal after being down two sets since world No.1 Novak Djokovic did it against the legendary Roger Federer in 2011. The young German is also the youngest male finalist at any major tournament since Djokovic reached the finals in New York as a 23-year-old in 2010. Zverev will look to become the first German male to win a Grand Slam since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open.
The 27-year-old Thiem had a much easier time in reaching the finals. First, he took out Jaume Munar in a two-set walkover in his opener before getting past Sumit Nagal in straight sets in the second round. Thiem got past former US Open winner Marin Cilic in four sets in the third round before dominating the blossoming Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7-6 (7), 6-1, 6-1 in the round of 16. Thiem then overpowered Alex De Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals before rolling world No. 5 and No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 7-6 (9), 7-6 (7) in the semis.
“I love these big matches — even more when there’s a full stadium, but it’s also great in front of many, many TV spectators,” Thiem said. “To face the best guys in the world, that’s what I do the hard work for all the time at home and in the offseason.”
Head-to-Head
Thiem and Zverev have met 10 times with Thiem owning a 7-3 edge that includes wins in their first – and last – three meetings. Thiem took out Zverev three times in 2016, including once at Roland Garros in four sets. Zverev then won two of the next three, including a 6-4, 6-4 win at the Madrid Masters in 2018. Thiem then beat Zverev at Roland Garros again in 2018 before recording a straight-sets win at the 2019 ATP World Tour Finals in 2019 and at this year’s Australian Open, in four thrilling sets. While four of Thiem’s wins have come on clay, the Austrian has also gone 3-1 against Zverev on hard courts while winning each of the last two meetings on hard courts.
Final Prediction
With that said, I’m going to say the smart money is on the favored Thiem to get it done again. Thiem has clearly improved immensely on hard courts and he’s the more mentally mature player in this affair, though Zverev has shown plenty of fortitude in making his own run to the finals.
In the end, though, Thiem has to be the pick, although I love the value Zverev is offering as a whopping +400 pick and I believe this meeting will go the distance. I’m going with Thiem to get it done, though I’m more of a Zverev fan and believe the young star is going to have the better overall career before it’s all said and done.
Pick: Dominic Thiem in 5 Sets