One of the best betting events on the sporting calendar, the US Open, gets underway Monday at Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Queens.

If the past six weeks are any indication, we should be in for quite a treat as the tennis season reaches its crescendo.

It’s not surprising that bookmakers (and most tennis fans) see the men’s tournament as a two-horse race between Novak Djokovic (+130) and Carlos Alacaraz (+160).

The two budding rivals have met three times since June, and while their first encounter at the French Open semifinals was a bit of a dud, the next two showdowns — in the finals at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Masters — were classics.

There’s always a buzz around the US Open.

New York is one of the great tennis cities on the planet, but this tournament has box office potential as the chasing pack behind Djokovic and Alcaraz has plenty of starpower.

Here are a couple of long shots that have the potential to give you a run for your money under the bright lights at Arthur Ashe.

2023 US Open picks

Andrey Rublev (+8000, DraftKings)

With two clear favorites at the top of the board sitting under +175, you’re going to get a couple of elite players at big numbers in this field.

And while most folks trying to beat the favorites will gravitate towards Daniil Medvedev (+1000), Jannik Sinner (+1200) and maybe Taylor Fritz (+5000).

I’ll go one step further and back a player who just can’t seem to get over the hump on the biggest stage.

Andrey Rublev has made the quarterfinals at every Grand Slam and has been to eight in total, including three at the US Open, but has never been to a semifinal.

The 26-year-old Russian won his first Masters 1000 title this year, so perhaps some of the pressure has been lifted on a player that clearly has the talent to win a Grand Slam but just hasn’t found a way to breakthrough just yet.

Rublev’s draw isn’t ideal — he’s in Medvedev’s quarter and has a couple of tricky early opponents — but his upside is so high that getting 80/1 is almost an automatic play at this point in his career.

Matteo Berrettini (+10000, DraftKings)

It does look like Matteo Berrettini is on the path back towards the top of his game. Injuries and poor form have rocked the Italian’s 2023 season, but a strong showing at Wimbledon seemed to put Berrettini back on the right path.

The 27-year-old Italian has made runs at every Grand Slam, most notably he was a runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021, and has been to the semifinals at both hard-court slams (Australian and US Open). Flushing has been a happy hunting ground for Berrettini in his career as he’s been to one final four, two quarterfinals and the Round of 16 in his last four trips to Arthur Ashe Tennis Center.

Berrettini and Rublev are on a collision course in Round 3, but I think the winner of that match has a great chance of getting into the quarterfinals and if there’s some chaos on the other side of the bracket we could be looking at having a real shot of getting a big number into the semifinals.

Tommy Paul (+13000, DraftKings)

For some reason, Tommy Paul is being glossed over a bit in the betting market despite having a great draw. 

Perhaps its because most tennis fans overlook him in the discussion for best American player in favor of Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda, but it’s been Paul who has been the most consistent player among that cohort of late.

In fact, you could argue that Paul has been one of the best players on the ATP Tour during the North American hard-court swing.

Not only did Paul beat Alcaraz en route to a semifinal appearance at the Toronto Masters, but he pushed the Spaniard to three sets in the Round of 16 in Cincinnati the next week.

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Paul is 34-16 in his last 50 matches on hard courts and made the semifinals at the Australian Open in January.

Holger Rune is the top seed in his quarter, but the Dane has been banged up and the second-highest seed in this part of the bracket is an out-of-form Casper Ruud.

It’s wide open in Quarter 4 and its well within reason that Paul is the last man standing out of these 32 players in a couple of weeks.