US Open Best Bets: Top Tennis Picks and Predictions for Friday, September 9, 2022

The men's semifinals are here and we love our best bets for what should be an exciting Friday night at the US Open. 

This daily tennis column will feature our best tennis bets of the day, with no minimum or maximum amount of picks. If we think you should bet something, we'll post it here and send you on your way. This is one of the greatest tournaments there is, with the best players on the planet competing at an incredible venue. You're going to want to get in on the action, so let us help you do so. 

Without further delay, keep reading for the picks and don't hesitate to try out DraftKings Sportsbook, where you can bet $1 on tennis and get $100 in FREE bets! Just make sure you use the promo code "DIMERSTENNIS"!

US Open Best Bets: Top Tennis Picks for Friday

Karen Khachanov vs. Casper Ruud

Khachanov surprised a lot of people with his win over Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals, but we knew the Russian was capable of competing in that match and here he is in the semis. Now, Khachanov gets to face a much weaker opponent, yet he still finds himself as a sizable underdog against Casper Ruud. 

There's no denying that Ruud is in great form at the moment, and that's why we're only putting a half of a unit on the moneyline here. But it's just wild to think that Khachanov won't cover a 4.5-game spread in a match in which he should win at least a set or two. And given his ability to serve big, even the sets he'd lose would ultimately be rather close. 

Let's roll with Khachanov +4.5 and sprinkle a little on him to win outright. When he's on his game, he genuinely looks like a top player in the world. And that just so happens to be the version of him that we've seen in New York, so we just have to back him against an overrated opponent. 

PICK: Khachanov +4.5 games, which you can get at -145 with DraftKings & Khachanov to win (half-unit), which you can at +165 with DraftKings

MORE: Get insights on every US Open tennis match

Frances Tiafoe vs. Carlos Alcaraz

A lot of people seem very concerned about Alcaraz having to go up against Tiafoe after having played an epic five-set match against Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, but the day of rest should be more than enough for the Spaniard to get himself right and handle his business in this one. The reality is that Alcaraz is so much better than Tiafoe that he would have had to play 15 sets on Wednesday for us to be concerned with his ability to get across the finish line here. 

While Tiafoe's run to the semis has been awesome to watch, it's just hard to see how he'll really find an edge against Alcaraz in this one. One of Tiafoe's biggest strengths is his ability to grind and frustrate opponents, but nobody on the planet does that quite like Alcaraz. The 19-year-old also has the edge in both speed and power, and his win over Sinner should have him in a great place mentally. He now knows how to battle through tough spots in Grand Slams, which is something he hasn't really done before. 

It would obviously be a little better to take Alcaraz to win outright in this match, but the price is a little steep. And over the course of five sets, a 2.5-game spread is really nothing. This is a rare one in which we'll go bigger. 

PICK: Alcaraz -2.5 games (2u), which you can get at -130 with DraftKings