Tuesday brings us Day 3 at the U.S. Open and the final day of first-round matches. The action is still in high gear on DraftKings, as they feature their $20 Line Painter contest with $20k to first. Let's break down some of my top plays.
Check out our DFS Optimizer for full projections.
Top Tier
Iga Swiatek ($11,400) over Emiliana Arango
I'm looking to spend up on Swiatek, who I'm confident will only lose a few games and pay off on the expensive salary. She didn't drop a set in her win in Cincinnati and routinely crushes lesser oppoennts. Arango hasn't made it out of the first round in her last six tournaments, so this is going to be a tall task to for her to even stay remotely competitive.
Amanda Anisimova ($10,600) over Kimberly Birrell
This is a great way for Anisimova to start off her U.S. Open run against a 27-year-old grinder in Birrell, who hasn't won a grand slam main draw match this year or in her career in New York. Even though Anismiova's summer hasn't been what she has hoped for, she lost to solid opponents and simply has too much firepower for Birrell to handle.
Middle Tier
Eva Lys ($8,300) over Francesca Jones
Lys took Madison Keys to a third-set tiebreak in Cincinnati, so the 23-year-old is trending in the right direction, with her career-high ranking coming last month. She's made it past the first round in every major this year, and Jones isn't much of a threat to end that run. She made it through qualifying against much weaker competition and has never won a main draw grand slam match.
Roman Safiullin ($7,300) over Gael Monfils
Age finally appears to be catching up to Monfils. He's lost in the first round in four of his last five tournaments and hasn't made it to the third round of a major since his impressive Aussie Open run. Safiullin recently went 5&6 with Holger Rune in Cincinnati. If he has that kind of a form, he should be able to get past Monfils.
Upset Tier
Marin Cilic ($5,400) over Alexander Bublik
Bublik is enjoying a career year, but it's difficult to know what you're going to get from him. He didn't play either Masters 1000 event, so it's also hard to know exactly what kind of form we'll see. He's lost in the first round here two straight years including as a sizable favorite in 2023. Cilic is 3-0 against him and recently made the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Brandon Holt ($5,100) over Nuno Borges
This is mainly a fade against Borges, who has lost in the first round in three of his last four tournaments with the lone win being over a 14.3 UTR opponent. Holt will have the home crowd support and recently took Mackey McDonald to 7-6 in the third in Winston-Salem.
