First-round play at the Cincinnati Open continue Friday. The 32 seeds in the men's and women's draws have byes into the second round, but multiple former top-10 ATP players and a multiple-time WTA Grand Slam winner are among the players set to take the hard courts in Cincinnati on Friday.
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All men's and women's singles matches at the Cincinnati Open are best of three sets. A mix of players' previous hard court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets. The aforementioned underdogs are highlighted in the Upset Alert section, the Lock It In section covers players who can safely be viewed as overwhelming favorites, while the Value Bets section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Cincinnati Open Tennis Picks: Upset Alert
Talia Gibson (+149) vs. Lilli Tagger
If the entire season was played on hard courts, the 65th-ranked Gibson might be a top-20 player by now. The 22-year-old Aussie has posted a 13-3 record across the last three hard-court WTA 1000 events, with six top-25 wins over that span and all three losses coming against top-20 competition. She's an underdog against the surging 18-year-old Tagger, who is coming off a hard-court title in Prague, but the talented teenager still needs to show she can string together consistent results and maintain a high level of play when she travels across the Atlantic. Tagger went just 2-2 during the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open while Gibson was making deep runs there, and the Austrian teen didn't play in the Canadian Open.
Maria Timofeeva (+196) vs. Xiyu Wang
Wang has been the tennis equivalent of a AAAA baseball player in 2026, dominating the minor leagues but struggling to gain any traction at the highest level of the WTA Tour. Her 34-8 record is buoyed by wins in qualifying and WTA 125 events, but Wang has lost her last three main-draw matches at the WTA 250 level or above, as well as her last four such matches on hard courts. Timofeeva is ranked 12 spots ahead of Wang, and while the 22-year-old has been at her best on clay, Timofeeva notched a main-draw hard-court win in Prague at her previous event to build some confidence on this surface.
Honorable Mention
Alina Charaeva (+203) vs. Nikola Bartunkova
Cincinnati Open Tennis Odds: Lock It In
Hamad Medjedovic (-230) vs. Marco Trungelliti
Trungelliti doesn't have a main-draw hard-court win in 2026 and is just 2-10 on this surface in his career, as the 91st-ranked Italian is a pure clay-court specialist. Medjedovic has an all-court game and a 28-19 record on hard courts, which is his best mark on any surface. The 23-year-old Serbian is currently ranked 73rd, but Medjedovic looks like a top-50 talent as long as he can put together an extended healthy stretch. Medjedovic defeated Trungelliti on the Italian's favorite clay-court surface in Barcelona earlier this year.
Emiliana Arango (-274) vs. Venus Williams
Williams continues to accept wild cards and put fans in seats, but she hasn't been all that competitive on the court. The 46-year-old American has lost 13 consecutive matches and is 0-10 in 2026, with five of her last seven losses coming in straight sets. The 95th-ranked Arango won a pair of three-set qualifying matches to make the main draw here, so the Colombian has had a chance to adapt to the conditions and won't be lacking confidence in big moments.
Honorable Mention
Kamil Majchrzak (-192) vs. Christopher O'Connell
Cincinnati Open Tennis Predictions: Value Bets
Matteo Berrettini (-139) vs. Titouan Droguet
Berrettini has struggled to stay healthy but still plays at a high level when his body allows him to, as the big-serving Italian reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and the third round of Wimbledon to get back into the top 50. The 111th-ranked Droguet has won just one Grand Slam main-draw match and two Masters 1000 main-draw matches in his career, and the 25-year-old Frenchman has never cracked the top 100 in the rankings while Berrettini has been ranked as high as No. 6.
Pablo Carreno Busta (-114) vs. Tomas Machac
Carreno Busta is no longer the player that reached a pair of US Open semifinals in 2017 and 2020, but the 35-year-old Spaniard is still a tough out, as evidenced by his run to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros this year. He has been playing matches regularly, which isn't the case for Machac, who has been sidelined since the French Open by a foot injury. Machac is likely hoping to play his way into form by the US Open, but it will be difficult to produce his best tennis in this match after a layoff of nearly three months.
Honorable Mention
Jenson Brooksby (-139) vs. Jaime Faria
