The second round at the U.S. Open continues Thursday with plenty of star power in action.
The pregame narrative: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner continues his historic season as he takes on Australian Alexei Popyrin. There’s also Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who plays his second-round matchup against Roman Safiullin.
Check out my top US Open predictions for Aug. 28, including a pick on Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Daniel Altmaier.
US Open predictions: Aug. 28
Best Bet: Sinner/Popyrin under 30.5 games (-103)
When Sinner plays, it’s become about finding the best value on the Italian — and I think this is it.
He unsurprisingly dominated his first-round matchup, losing just four games over the three sets.
I would name that opponent, but it doesn’t really matter at this point as long as it’s not Carlos Alcaraz.
- In matches against anyone but Alcaraz, Sinner is 31-1 this season, winning 28 of them in straight sets.
- On hard courts, he has won 34 of 37 sets in 2025.
It’s hard to keep pace with Sinner, and I don’t think Popyrin has what it takes right now.
The 26-year-old is having a tough season, holding a 17-19 record (7-9 on hard courts). That’s not the level to be playing at when challenging a guy who’s 43-6 on the playing surface since the start of 2024.
Key stat: Sinner is on a 50-match winning streak on hard courts against players outside of the top 20.
US Open best bet: Safiullin vs. Auger-Alassime
Auger-Aliassime -4.5 games (-122): I like the value here backing the Canadian to pick up a comfortable win.
- Auger-Aliassime looks to be finding his form again. He’s 4-1 in his past five, with all the wins coming in straight sets.
- The loss was against Sinner, which doesn’t affect his stock.
- His opponent, Safuillin, has a 13-19 record in 2025, with a 9-11 record on hard courts.
In the first round, Safuillin needed all five sets to best a rapidly declining 38-year-old Gael Monfils. Before that, he lost three of four matches, all contested on a hard court.
Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime covered this spread in his first match, beating Billy Harris, who at least had a decent 21-17 record on hard courts in 2025.
With how Safiullin has been playing, this is arguably a step down in competition, and the Canadian should continue rolling.
Best bet: Tsitsipas vs. Altmaier
Tsitsipas -2.5 sets (+190): Let’s end these picks off with a nice plus-money pick.
- Altmaier is coming off a gruelling five-set match with Hamad Medjedovic, which lasted just under five hours.
- The German wasn’t in the best form entering the U.S. Open, losing seven of his previous nine matches before his first-round win.
- Tsitsipas lost his first set in his match against Alexandre Muller, but looked sharp in winning 19 of the last 26 games for the win.
Tsitsipas wasn’t playing the best before that, so it’s encouraging to see a rather dominant victory against a top-40 opponent.
Tsitsipas has always been a strong player on hard courts. He is 192-104 in his career and has never finished with a losing record on the surface over a full season.
Altmaier (No. 56) ranks worse than Tsitsipas’ first-round opponent, so I think it’s worth a shot on the Greek star to build on his momentum in dominant fashion.
US Open predictions made at 11:11 a.m. on 08/27/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.