US Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz vs Tu Li preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick

Match Details

Fixture: (3) Carlos Alcaraz vs (Q) Tu Li

Date: August 27, 2024

Tournament: US Open 2024

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Venue: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York, USA

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Hard

Prize Money: $75,000,000

Live Telecast: USA - ESPN | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - TSN, RDS

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Tu Li preview

Alcaraz at Wimbledon 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Third seed Carlos Alcaraz will square off against qualifier Tu Li in the first round of the US Open 2024.

Alcaraz commenced his season at the Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals for the first time. His title defense at the Argentina Open concluded in the semifinals with a loss to Nicolas Jarry. He was then forced to retire in the first round of the Rio Open due to an injury.

Alcaraz claimed his first title of the year at the Indian Wells Masters, with his unbeaten run ending in the Miami Open quarterfinals. An injury messed up most of his clay swing, and he was forced to skip the Barcelona Open, the Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Italian Open.

The Spaniard only contested the Madrid Open, where he fell to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. Despite his less-than-ideal prep in the lead-up to the French Open, he emerged victorious at the claycourt Major. He then successfully defended his Wimbledon crown to increase his Major tally to four.

Alcaraz was among the favorites to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. While he did reach the summit clash, he came up short against Novak Djokovic in the final and settled for the silver medal. His return to hardcourts was disappointing as he lost to Gael Monfils in his opener at the Cincinnati Open.

Tu beat Alejandro Mono Canas and Marco Trungelliti to reach the final qualifying round at the US Open. He upset sixth seed Jesper de Jong as he rallied from a set down to defeat him 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 and book his place in the main draw of the US Open for the first time in his career.

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Tu Li head-to-head

This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Tu Li odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Carlos Alcaraz	-10000	+1.5 (-10000)	Over 28.5 (+110)
Tu Li	+2500	-1.5 (+2800)	Under 28.5 (-155)

(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Tu Li prediction

Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open 2024. (Photo: Getty)

While qualifying for the US Open main draw is a career highlight for Tu, Alcaraz is on a different level compared to him. The Spaniard is gunning for his third straight Major title this year.

Alcaraz had a disappointing outing in Cincinnati, where he made a swift exit after coming quite close to winning the title last year. However, he has underperformed before a Major twice this year only to end up putting his best foot forward when it mattered.

Tu hasn't won a main draw match on the ATP Tour this season and has only one win to his name on the main tour. Given the vast gulf in their achievements, anything other than a routine win for Alcaraz would be quite a surprise.

Pick: Carlos Alcaraz to win in straight sets.