ATP and WTA US Open 2021 Day 4 Top Tennis Picks and Predictions

Hello there! We return to the Flushing Meadows once more after a couple of days filled to the brim with dramatic five-setters and three-setters alike. One such encounter was the all-out war between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andy Murray - or the late-night contest between Rebeka Makarova and Ana Bogdan.

Wednesday offered some rain delays and roofed matchups, but the forecast looks clear for today´s action. Let´s get into the matchups and take a look at both the ATP odds and WTA betting lines!

Taylor Fritz vs. Jenson Brooksby

Thursday, September 02, 2021 - 11:00 AM EDT at Hardcourt

Though the absolute elite class is missing from the current generation of American tennis players, the depth is incredible. No US tennis players reside within the top 15 in the world, but a whopping 14 are in the top 100. One of those players is Jenson Brooksby, a pristine talent who's had his breakthrough on tour this 2021 season.

Brooksby is quick around the court, consistent, physical and hard to break down. Whilst incredibly mobile for his 6´4 frame, the 20-year old needs to improve his serve. Jenson employs an unconventional style on all of his strokes, with the serve and backhand particularly noticeable.

By leaving his second hand on the racquet even when drop-shotting, it's disguised incredibly well, and it's hard to tell where he will go with his next shot.

https://twitter.com/josemorgado/status/1432888203183378434

2021 has been a grand success, with three Challenger titles, and breakthrough runs at ATP Newport(final) and ATP Washington (semifinal). In the first round bout with Mikael Ymer, the American was drawn into a four-set war that lasted almost 4 hours, and the physical test in high humidity was passed impressively in the end.

For a man with such profound weapons, some may even be a bit disappointed that Taylor Fritz has yet to have more major success in the ATP tour´s finer tournaments. Yet to progress beyond the third round of any Major, the big-serving 23-year old does have one ATP title to his name.

Along with the aforementioned serve, Fritz can dominate rallies with his forehand, and as opposed to many of his countrymen - the backhand is compact and an effective shot. He also moves well for his 6´4 frame and can grind himself to winning rallies.

https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1432917570835783686?s=20

This year was looking like it might be majorly disrupted following knee surgery, but the 23-year old was back and winning matches at Wimbledon just three weeks later! Whilst he looked jaded after only two sets had been played, Fritz managed to overcome the super grinder Alex de Minaur in the first round in four sets.

Both players looked to be laboring physically during their first-round matches, but there is no doubt who is the more physical of the two. Brooksby will make Fritz move all around the court, and also has a little more zip to his game than de Minaur is able to bring.

The Pick

While the serve is still a work in progress, he defends it well, and I wonder how well Fritz will be able to hang in the extended rallies. His younger compatriot was forcing Ymer to run 115.1 ft per point, a whopping 24 more than Fritz did against de Minaur. His power might offset that a bit, but expect the 20-year old to finish the grinding job that de Minaur started.

At a cheap favorite line across most top sportsbooks, we invest in Brooksby for our ATP pick of the day.

Tennis Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

Belgium's Greet Minnen returns the ball to Czech Republic's Petra Kvitova on May 30, 2021. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Liudmila Samsonova vs. Greet Minnen

Thursday, September 02, 2021 - 11:00 AM EDT at TBD

Fortune was kind to Greet Minnen this week, who makes only her third main draw appearance with this second-round contest. The 24-year old Belgian usually plies her trade on the ITF tour and lost in the final round of qualifying to the main tournament. Minnen got in as a lucky loser, however, and made the most of the opportunity.

When her game is on, the big first serve and forehand combination can terrify the opposition, especially when she follows her shots to the net - a tactic she employed often and successfully against Nadia Podoroska. The Argentinian was error-prone and far from her best, however, hitting only 22 winners to 36 unforced errors.

Even still, Podoroska was the better player for stretches of the match, winning the second set 6-1 before fading away in the decider.

https://twitter.com/TickTockTennis/status/1432889152127787013?s=20

As a player who grew up on the red dirt, the way Ludmilla Samsonova has transformed into a ferocious player on faster surfaces has been a sight to behold. The Italian turned Russian hadn´t had any real WTA-level success off the clay following her breakthrough run from qualifying to semifinalist in Palermo 2019.

That all changed this year though, with the 22-year old qualified for the Australian Open (made 2R), Miami (made 3R), and Berlin(won the title). Samsonova had barely played on grass before in her young career, but her absolutely massive first serve and groundstrokes were obliterating the field in Berlin.

https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1425202213937287169

Even seasoned professionals such as Veronika Kudermetova, Madison Keys, and Belinda Bencic had no answer.

In the first round here, the world no.52 obliterated the big-hitting Briton Katie Boulter by a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline, and now faces a similar stylistic matchup.

Outside of her big serve and forehand, Greet Minnen is quite immobile and error-prone. When you rush her and make her run, the errors soon come. Ludmilla Samsonova is the better player, the more powerful player and the better mover of the pair.

The Pick

Compared to Boulter, this is an easier matchup as Minnen´s movement is far more limited. Most online sportsbooks still give the Belgian plenty of respect in the market, however, which we will take advantage of fully for our WTA pick.

Tennis Pick:

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.