U.S. Open 2025 Quarterfinal Preview and Best Bets for Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Pegula

Quarterfinal action at the U.S. Open gets underway on Tuesday at Flushing Meadows. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are on a collision course for a semifinal showdown, but a formidable foe in Taylor Fritz stands in Djokovic’s way. Alcaraz is going up against more of an underdog in Jiri Lehecka. Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Barbora Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova are on the women’s schedule. Let’s take a look at some of Tuesday’s intriguing matchups and discuss the US Open quarterfinal best bets to make. 

U.S. Open: Taylor Fritz vs. Novak Djokovic best bet – Fritz +1.5 sets (-140) 

There is no denying that Fritz is 0-10 lifetime in the head-to-head series, but this is a different Fritz and also a different Djokovic that will be on display in the US Open quarterfinals. Fritz has established himself as a top-four player in the world and he went all the way to the final last summer in New York before falling to Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic, on the other hand, has struggled since capturing the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 38-year-old Serb appears to be well past his prime. He is still a great player; he just isn’t at the level that carried him to 24 Grand Slam titles from 2008 through 2023. Djokovic really has been unimpressive through four rounds this fortnight, whereas Fritz is in stellar form and destroyed Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday. Asking the American to simply win two sets should not be too much, because he has a great chance to win the match outright. 

U.S. Open: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jiri Lehecka best bet – Under 32.5 games (-130) 

Alcaraz leads the head-to-head series 2-1 after most recently prevailing 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 a few months ago on the grass courts of Queen’s Club. The Spaniard’s other win over Lehecka came in straight sets, and that will likely be what’s in store for Tuesday in New York.

This is a relatively new stage for Lehecka, who has played in only one Grand Slam quarterfinal and lost it to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets at the 2023 Australian Open. The 23-year-old Czech has played well this fortnight, but he has not faced any opponent ranked better than No. 59 in the rankings. Alcaraz obviously represents a massive step up in competition. The 2022 US Open champion did not drop a single set through four rounds and only once in 12 sets did he get pushed to a tiebreaker. 

U.S. Open: Jessica Pegula vs. Barbora Krejcikova best bet – Pegula -1.5 sets (-102) 

This matchup sets up very well for Pegula, mainly because of what transpired with Krejcikova on Sunday. The 29-year-old Czech saved an unbelievable eight match points against Taylor Townsend and came back to win 1-6, 7-6(13), 6-3 in three hours and four minutes. Both mentally and physically, it won’t be easy to recover from such a gruelling contest.

Pegula, on the other hand, absolutely cruised into the quarterfinals. The 31-year-old American beat Mayar Sherif, Anna Blinkova, Victoria Azarenka and Ann Li all in straight sets without even playing a single tiebreaker. It should also be noted that Pegula finished runner-up at the 2024 U.S. Open. She loves outdoor hard courts and she particularly thrives at this tournament.