Tennis best bets for the action at the Miami Open on Thursday, March 23nd
The Miami Open is underway at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and we’re going to be diving into the action for the second half of the Sunshine Double. With that in mind, keep reading for our tennis best bets for Thursday, March 23rd, and make sure you come back for more! We are coming off a very profitable run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and we think you’ll be happy with what you get from us here.
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts have on March 23
Christopher Eubanks vs. Denis Kudla
These two met in an Orlando Challenger-level event in 2020, when Eubanks came away with a 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Kudla. Since then, neither one of these players has taken a massive leap. However, Eubanks is on pace to play more ATP-level event this year than he has in any other season in his career. He has made slight improvements to his game since then, while Kudla hasn’t done much of anything.
Overall, it’s just hard not to be excited about this small of a number being next to Eubanks’ name on the moneyline. The 6-foot-7 American has a massive serve, which should be the difference in this match. Eubanks’ hold percentage is 82.9% this season, but it should end up in the ballpark of 85.0% by the time the year is over. Meanwhile, Kudla’s is just 76.7% since the start of the 2023 season. That means Eubanks should have a few more chances to break.
We also like that Eubanks went through qualifiers to get into the main draw. That means he got his feet wet with two victories on these courts, which are faster than the ones at Indian Wells. Look for him to be sharper right from the first ball.
Bet: Eubanks ML (-138)
Elise Mertens vs. Daria Kasatkina
Kasatkina is just 5-7 to start the 2023 season and she split with her coach, Carlos Martinez, earlier this year. Martinez’s comments afterwards implied that perhaps Kasatkina wasn’t working as hard on her game off the court as he would have wanted. And while that could have just been sour grapes, there’s no denying that we haven’t seen a great version of Kasatkina this year.
Mertens has had trouble with Kasatkina in the past, but she has been playing some great tennis since the start of the Australian Open. Since then, Mertens is 10-5 in the 15 matches she has played, and one of those was a win over Alycia Parks in the first round of this tournament. Mertens earned a 6-1, 6-4 win over the American, and it’s big she was able to get a victory out of the way on these courts. That should give her a big early advantage over Kasatkina, who last played at Indian Wells on March 13th — and lost that match in straight sets to world No. 54 Varvara Gracheva.
With Mertens being in better form and also being more comfortable with these courts, it’s hard not to take a shot on her as an underdog. This line is a little fishy given Kasatkina’s head-to-head success against Mertens and the difference in ranking, but I think we got to the bottom of why the oddsmakers might be hoping people back the Russian.
Bet: Mertens ML (+112)