US Open — Day 1 30/08/26

Matches in Focus

• Kecmanovic v Shapovalov — US Open R1
• Etcheverry v Kopriva — US Open R1
• Wu v Walton — US Open R1
• Landaluce v Fearnley — US Open R1
• Van Assche v Norrie — US Open R1

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Kecmanovic v Shapovalov

In the early rounds of Slams I like hunting the matches that feel very over/3.5-sets coded — and this one screams it. Both players have fluctuating serves, fluctuating mentalities, and are just inconsistent by nature. They're around the same level, and both will fancy their chances in this opener, which is exactly the recipe for a long, scrappy one.

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Etcheverry v Kopriva

Another great way to find the over/3.5 matchups is when two players are off their preferred surface. These two are both clay-courters and good movers, which usually means a stack of service breaks. They've had tight matches in the past — I think Etcheverry may just edge it, but in a long one:

🎾 Kecmanovic/Shapovalov O3.5 Sets · Etcheverry/Kopriva O3.5 Sets @ 1.96 (Bet365) — 2u

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Wu v Walton

More of a gut call, but I think Walton takes this. He's played better over the recent months and has more hard-court time this season (even though both prefer the surface). Wu has had some ugly hard-court losses in the past month — dropping to a couple of clay-courters and never finding rhythm. And historically, fading Wu in big tournaments has been a profitable way to bet:

🇦🇺 Walton ML @ 4/5 (Bet365) — 1.5u

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Landaluce v Fearnley

An interesting one. This match is destined to go over/3.5 sets too, but it's weird to me that Fearnley is the favourite. He's in as a Lucky Loser and has been up and down all season. Landaluce is obviously very talented for his age but hasn't played well — or much — since Wimbledon. I think Landaluce has the higher top level, and with Fearnley's inconsistencies mentally and in his game, I like Landaluce in a messy one:

🇪🇸 Landaluce ML & O3.5 Sets @ 2/1 (Bet365) — 0.5u

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Van Assche v Norrie

Norrie is absolutely the better player, but this match screams over/3.5 sets. Van Assche has been playing great through the hard-court swing and is comfortable on the surface now, while Norrie comes in rusty. That combination should make for a highly competitive match once both are settled in:

🎾 Landaluce/Fearnley O3.5 Sets · Van Assche/Norrie O3.5 Sets @ 2.21 (Bet365) — 1u

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Total staked: 5u . For The Love Of The Game.