Carlos Alcaraz vs Lloyd Harris Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP US Open

Prediction published on 30/08/2023, 13:45  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 30/08/2023 at 14:19 in Tennis Predictions

Top seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will take on 150th-ranked Lloyd Harris in the second round of the US Open on Thursday.  Alcaraz began this tournament as world number one but will be second at the end with Novak Djokovic overtaking him. The winner of this match will move on to face either Botic van de Zandschulp or Daniel Evans in round three. Alcaraz spent just short of an hour on the court in the last round against Dominik Koepfer. The Spaniard was up a set before his opponent retired due to an ankle injury he sustained early in the match. After winning at Wimbledon, Alcaraz's return to the hard surface did not go as he would have hoped, losing to Tommy Paul at the Canada Masters in round three. However, he was back to his dominant best over the last two weeks in Cincinnati, where he reached the final. It took the formidable Novak Djokovic to stop him from winning his seventh ATP title of the year. Perhaps the only criticism one could have of Alcaraz is that of his six titles this year, only one came on the hard surface. Still, with a record of 54-6 and 17-3 on the hard, it is not surprising to see him showing up as a very short-priced favourite. 

Meanwhile, Lloyd Harris has had a productive year that began with a semi-final and then a final appearance at the Nonthaburi 1 and 2 Challenger events. Having missed most of last year through injury, the South African's ranking had plummeted to outside the top 300 at the start of May. However, a semi-final appearance on the grass court in Mallorca saw him rise over 100 places in the world standings. On the hard surface, though, Harris has only managed two main draw match wins. He was also knocked out in the first round of his last two ATP hard-court tournaments, including at the Cincinnati Masters this month. Has taken on clay-court specialist Guido Pella in the first round and got by the Argentina in straight sets. He is now 24-17 for the year and 17-11 on the hard surface.