Carlos Alcaraz can add a second US Open title to his Wimbledon success (Picture: Getty)
Tennis fans travelling on the 7 Train from Manhattan to watch the US Open can expect a far busier journey than usual this week – with the New Mets playing home series against high-flying baseball rivals the Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners across the road at Citi Field.
The journey to the men’s singles final at Flushing Meadows should not be quite so congested for Carlos Alcaraz, though, as he seeks to defend his title at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in just under a fortnight.
The world No.1 arrived in New York for the final grand slam of the year in buoyant mood after beating Novak Djokovic in a Centre Court thriller to win Wimbledon and tickets to watch the world No.1 in action will be hotter than those for many of the current Broadway blockbusters.
Unlike Wimbledon, where the defending champion has the honour of opening proceedings on the first day, the King of Queens doesn’t start his defence until Wednesday night, giving Alcaraz the chance to relax and soak up the atmosphere.
He could also spend the time by making the short walk to Citi Field and reflecting on the state of play with the Mets, who spent £285million on players in the winter only to be a complete shambles this season.
The valuable lesson for the Spaniard is sporting success is never guaranteed and the underdog has his day more often than expected.
Alcaraz is a smart cookie, however, and should be backed at 2/1 with BoyleSports to win the title while it’s a pretty safe bet that Djokovic is across the net for another showpiece showdown at 15/8 with Betway and Bet365.
Alcaraz, who is 5/6 with William Hill to reach the final, starts his campaign against Dominik Koepfer and is 17/10 with Unibet and BetUK to win by over 10.5 games.
There could be some thrilling Battle of Britain scenarios looming with Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans all in the first quarter of the draw and they are all in action on Tuesday, along with Jack Draper who is in the second quarter.
Stick them in an accumulator to each win by over 5.5 games, which should return just over 10/1.
Jessica Pegula can win the women’s singles at the US Open (Picture: Getty )
The new NFL season is just around the corner and Jessica Pegula, whose parents own the Buffalo Bills, can win her own version of the Super Bowl by claiming a maiden grand slam with victory in the women’s singles.
The world No.3 is each-way value at 12/1 with BetUK and Unibet.
• Ange Postecoglou loved winning trophies at Celtic and Tottenham, who have made an encouraging start to the Premier League under his command, are 14/1 with Betfred and Bet Victor to win the Carabao Cup. They begin their campaign at Fulham and are 19/20 to win in normal time tonight with Betfair.
• Spurs, Leeds, Ipswich and Bournemouth form our first Carabao Cup yankee of the season.
• All hail Viktor Hovland who followed up our tip to win the BMW Championship at 18/1 by storming to victory as advised in the Tour Championship at 12/1 while claiming the FedEx Cup, and the £14million jackpot, at 7/2.
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