This article is part of our Tennis Picks series.
Friday's Canadian Open action consists of the men's and women's quarterfinals. The men's draw is unusually wide open in Montreal, and the upsets could keep pouring in Friday, as a couple of underdogs are set up to give favorites a run for their money. Over in Toronto on the women's side, a multiple time Grand Slam winner looks ready to continue knocking down every obstacle put in front of her, while a player who has come tantalizingly close at the majors before has rounded back into the form that has made her a top-10 mainstay in recent years. All Tennis Odds & Lines are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook, but you can sometimes find more favorable odds on some of these matches by checking other mobile sportsbooks such as FanDuel, BetMGM or Caesars.
All the matches at this ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 hard-court event are best of three sets. A mix of players' previous hard court results, recent form and stylistic matchups can help pinpoint intriguing betting opportunities, both among favorites likely to cruise to victory and underdogs ready to pull off upsets. The aforementioned underdogs are highlighted in the Upset Alert section, the Lock It In section covers players who can safely be considered overwhelming favorites, while the Value Bet section recommends enticing options in matchups that are considered closer to toss-ups.
Upset Alert
Beatriz Haddad Maia (+165) vs. Belinda Bencic
Beating a legend or world No. 1 tends to give players a short-term confidence boost, like the one Harmony Tan experienced at Wimbledon following her first-round win over Serena Williams. Haddad Maia's victory over top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16 was her second consecutive impressive win here, as she knocked off 13th-ranked Leylah Fernandez in the previous round. Bencic won their only previous encounter back in January, but Haddad Maia's a far different player now, as the Brazilian lefty has enjoyed a breakout season in 2022.
Hubert Hurkacz (+235) vs. Nick Kyrgios
Kyrgios is the favorite to win this title, and he's playing the best tennis on the planet this side of Novak Djokovic, but it's fair to wonder if all the matches he's played recently will start to take a mental or physical toll on the Australian. The value on Hurkacz is tough to pass up here considering the 10th-ranked Pole has proven he has what it takes to go all the way at a hard-court Masters 1000, winning last year's Miami Open. Hurkacz beat Kyrgios in their only previous meeting earlier this year in Halle in a third-set tiebreak, and this match should also come down to just a few key points, as both players are adept at taking care of their serve.
Honorable Mention:
Jack Draper (+190) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta
Lock It In
Simona Halep (-175) vs. Coco Gauff
Gauff has shown tremendous perseverance to get through each of her last two matches in third-set tiebreaks, but Halep has been in far more dominant form here, as the veteran's yet to drop a set through three matches. With 28 double faults in her last two matches, Gauff has been the shakiest server in this tournament besides Aryna Sabalenka, who double faulted 18 times in Thursday's loss to the American. Halep has won all three of their previous encounters in straight sets, including a pair this year, so all the data points in her favor here.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (-165) vs. Casper Ruud
Auger-Aliassime will have the crowd behind him, and the Canadian's power game is a bit better suited to hard courts than Ruud's grinding baseline style. Ruud will have to work much harder to hold serve, and the odometer's running high for the Norwegian after he needed three hours and 17 minutes on court to hold off Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4 on a rainy Thursday in Montreal. Meanwhile, FAA has been flying high here and has yet to drop a set despite facing a pair of challenging opponents in Yoshihito Nishioka and Cameron Norrie.
Honorable Mention:
Jessica Pegula (-265) vs. Yulia Putintseva
Value Bet
Karolina Pliskova (-120) vs. Qinwen Zheng
Pliskova's playing the type of tennis that has allowed her to reach two Grand Slam finals in recent years, notching quality wins over Barbora Krejcikova, Amanda Anisimova and Maria Sakkari while dropping just one set along the way. This match will feature plenty of power tennis on both sides, but the 19-year-old Zheng's a bit more raw and error-prone. Nerves could also come into play for Zheng, while Pliskova has been deep in big tournaments plenty of times before, giving her the slight edge here.
Honorable Mention:
Tommy Paul (-150) vs. Daniel Evans
