Jannik Sinner v Mackenzie McDonald: Prediction, Tips and Odds

It has been an eventful season on and off the courts for world number one Jannik Sinner, who will be hoping his tennis can do the talking when he heads to Flushing Meadows for the US Open this week.

Sinner claimed his maiden Grand Slam title on the hard courts of the Australian Open earlier this year before a run to the semi-finals of the French Open on clay.

The Italian will be determined to make his mark upon his return to the harder surface in New York having never gone beyond the quarter-finals.

First up for Sinner on Tuesday is a battle with home talent Mackenzie McDonald, who reached the third round at Flushing Meadows in 2023.

Jannik Sinner v Mackenzie McDonald betting tips and predictions

Jannik Sinner -9.5 games on handicap - 11/10

Everything points to a win for Sinner in this first-round contest and it will likely be straightforward for the Italian, who is 1/80 to progress.

That can make finding a value wager tricky but at 11/10, there could be some juice in backing Sinner to cover his games handicap of -9.5.

Sinner remains one of the fiercest players on the ATP tour, winning 48 of his 53 matches this season and collecting five titles in the process.

One of those titles was a hard-court Grand Slam at the Australian Open and he warmed up for the US Open by claiming the Cincinnati Masters title earlier this month.

He was taken to three sets by Andrey Rublev and Alex Zverev in two of his matches in Cincy but the gulf in class between him and McDonald suggests this match should be done and dusted without the American winning a set.

Sinner leads the head-to-head 3-0 with McDonald, whose recent record at the US Open is underwhelming.

Indeed, McDonald, who is 140th in the ATP rankings, has won just two of his eight previous matches in New York, so he could have a mountain to climb in this contest.

He did not feature at the Winston-Salem Open as originally planned recently, while he failed to make it beyond the qualifiers in Cincinnati, so he has not even got experience of returning the harder serves recently.

Sinner will want to get this match done and dusted as efficiently as possible and if he dominates the first set as expected, it should be plain sailing.

Under 28.5 games - 5/6

Another way to back a short contest between Sinner and McDonald is to bet on under 28.5 games at 5/6.

As mentioned, Sinner will be eager to complete this match as quickly as possible so that he can hit his highest levels later in the Grand Slam.

He wasted no time in beating Frances Tiafoe in the recent final of the Cincinnati Masters, winning 7-6 6-2 to claim the title, and five of his seven wins at the Australian Open earlier in the year were settled in three sets.

If the match is settled in three sets, even an average win of 6-3 in each set for Sinner would amount to 27 games in total, meaning a winning bet, so there could be juice in the odds-on quote.

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Jannik Sinner v Mackenzie McDonald odds

Jannik Sinner - 1/80
Mackenzie McDonald - 22/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.