Judging by the betting board, you could say that the 2024 Men’s U.S. Open (which begins Monday) is a three-horse race between Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz is the nominal favorite to win his second U.S. Open and third slam of the year (French Open, Wimbledon) at +175, but he’s only slightly ahead of 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic (+230) and No. 1 seed Sinner (+340).

And though it is likely that one of these three contenders hoists the trophy in a fortnight, there are some questions to be asked about each of them as we kick things off in Flushing.

It has been another tremendous year for Alcaraz, with two Grand Slams and a silver medal in Paris, but he is riding a two-match losing streak.

The Spaniard lost a classic to Djokovic in the Gold Medal match in Paris then was upset by Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Masters.

Alcaraz also has a couple of tough opponents (Denis Shapovalov, Jack Draper) to deal with in the early rounds.

Djokovic’s game is in great shape after winning gold in Paris, but he is 37 years old and hasn’t played in almost a month.

The Serb did get a kind draw, however, and would be my favorite bet if I had to back one of the big three in this tournament.

Sinner will have the most skeptics after he tested positive for banned substances but wasn’t suspended.

The Italian has been sensational for most of this season, but that dark cloud will loom over him, and the frenzied crowd in New York could turn on him.

But more importantly, Sinner got dealt a tough draw with Tommy Paul as a potential foe in the Round of 16 and Daniil Medvedev as his likely quarterfinal opponent.

With that in mind, let’s see if we can’t pick out a couple of players who should be able to outrun long odds at the U.S. Open:

There is always one section of the bracket at every major that begs bettors to take a shot on a big price, and there’s little question that it’s Berrettini’s portion of Quarter 4 in this field.

The Italian will almost certainly need to beat Taylor Fritz in Round 2, but his path really opens up if he wins that match.

And it’s not just the draw that makes Berrettini great value, he also has winning upside as the former World No. 6 and a former semifinalist in Flushing.

This is a fantastic number on one of the most dangerous players outside of the top 10.

Paul, a native of New Jersey, has yet to have his big moment at the U.S. Open, but he has been to a semifinal at the Australian Open (2023) and looked like a potential gatecrasher at this summer’s Wimbledon until he was dispatched by Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

If you offered this number a few months ago, there would be plenty of people hopping all over it, but an injury to de Minaur at Wimbledon has left him friendless in the market.

And though that does complicate things, it also presents a great buy-low opportunity on a player who was ranked No. 6 in the world just a month ago.

De Minaur has a manageable early draw, so he should be able to ease his way into the tournament and get back into form.

If he does find his legs, he has every chance of outrunning his odds at a tournament that suits his physical, relentless style of play.