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Carlos Alcaraz is coming off a second-round loss in Cincinnati and halted a practice session on Saturday due to an ankle injury, but the Spaniard was still the popular favorite to win the men’s draw as the U.S. Open got under way on Monday.

Alcaraz won his first grand slam title at the 2022 U.S. Open, but was upset by Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals last year. The 21-year-old has gone on to claim his third and fourth grand slam titles at this year’s French Open and Wimbledon.

However, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match at the Olympics earlier this month and then dropped a three-set match against veteran Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open.

That hasn’t dissuaded the public, which has backed Alcaraz with 29 percent of the money and 42 percent of the total bets wagered on the men’s U.S. Open champion at DraftKings. Alcaraz has even shorter odds at BetRivers, where he did shift from +140 to +170 after the draw was released and revealed a potential semifinal showdown against Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic claimed the most recent of his 24 career grand slam titles in Flushing Meadows last September. He has +250 odds at DraftKings to make it 25 this year, and while the Serbian has been backed by 22 percent of the money, he has drawn a modest 11 percent of the total bets.

The second most bets have gone to Sinner, who has 22 percent at +350 odds. The only other player with shorter than Medvedev’s +1400 odds at the book is Alexander Zverev. The German, who is seeking his first career grand slam title, has been backed by 13 percent of the money at +750.

Djokovic begins his title defense Monday night against Radu Albot, while Alcaraz will have another day to rest his ankle before facing Li Tu on Tuesday. Djokovic is viewed as having the easiest draw among the favorites, as he could face the winner of a Ben Shelton-Frances Tiafoe match before a potential semifinal date against Zverev, who reached his lone U.S. Open final four years ago.

The fifth-seeded Medvedev is in the same half of the draw as Sinner and Alcaraz, whom he could face in a marquee quarterfinal match.

–Field Level Media