One win won’t change the narrative around Stefanos Tsitsipas, but if the Greek can string a couple more victories together then we can start to reshape the trajectory of his career as we head toward the end of the season.

On the other hand, if Tsitsipas loses Thursday to Daniel Altmaier, it will cast further doubt on the Greek’s once-promising career

Tsitsipas is a -300 favorite over Altmaier in Round 2 of the U.S. Open.

It says a lot about where Tsitsipas’ form is at that it feels like a win over the World No. 56 would be a pretty big result.

Taking nothing away from Altmaier, a solid pro who has made a habit of pulling big upsets in his career, this match will come down to what kind of attitude Tsitsipas brings to the court with him Thursday.

Tsitsipas looked sharp for the most part in his victory over Alexandre Muller in Round 1, but that doesn’t guarantee he will carry that momentum into Thursday.

It’s been months since the native of Athens has won consecutive matches.

But, just like his match against Muller, Tsitsipas is taking on an opponent who is also searching for consistency.

Altmaier is just 4-8 in his last 12 matches, and a handful of those defeats came to opponents ranked well below him.

The German is 6-7 against top-10 opponents in his career, which is a starting number, but he has a habit of putting up duds against beatable players.

Trusting Tsitsipas as a -300 favorite is scary, so I’d advise swapping out some of that price for more risk by backing him to rout Altmaier.

If Tsitsipas is truly finding it, he should have no issues winning this going away.

The Play: Tsitsipas -4.5 games (-120, bet365)

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.