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Tennis picks are back on The Gaming Juice in time for arguably the biggest showcase in men’s tennis — Novak Djokovic vs. Carlos Alcaraz.
For those who casually or rarely watch tennis, the clash is akin to Bills vs. Chiefs in the NFL playoffs. It’s two titans of the game ready to engage in a must-see matchup that’ll be played at the sport’s highest level.
The Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry resumes in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday (4:10 a.m. ET on ESPN) in a showdown much too early for a major tournament. Rather than fret over the unfortunate timing of their latest encounter, let’s just be glad it’s happening and celebrate it, of course, with a wager.
Carlos Alcaraz wins the match and both players win a set (+152, FanDuel)
The passing of the torch in men’s tennis looked inevitable last summer after the 21-year-old Alcaraz dominated the 37-year-old Djokovic to capture a second-straight Wimbledon crown. However, Djokovic mustered another moment of greatness to hold off the coronation in a rematch in the Paris Olympics final.
Djokovic scored a stunning, straight-set triumph on the Roland Garros red clay — where Alcaraz had won the French Open just two months earlier — to win Olympic gold, the only hardware missing from his trophy case. After that incredible display of grit and determination, I promised to never doubt Djokovic again.
I lied.
While the changing of the guard has been put on hold, the third-seeded Alcaraz looks intent on completing his career Grand Slam with an Australian Open title. He’s beefed up his serve, having won 94.4% of his service games in four matches in Melbourne, and he’ll be well-rested after playing just two sets in a fourth-round victory cut short by an injury to Jack Draper.
Djokovic, the No. 7 seed, leads Alcaraz 4-3 in head-to-head meetings, including 2-0 on hard courts, but Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in their last two Grand Slam matches. He’ll extend that streak to three, although Djokovic will make it interesting by winning a set.
You could roll with the moneyline bet on Alcaraz (-200 at BetMGM), but I’m continuing the commitment to plus-money wagers with the above FanDuel prop of an Alcaraz victory extended to at least four sets.