Leylah Annie Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the third round at the US Open with straight-sets victories on Wednesday.

A trio of fellow Canadians can join them in the third round later today.

Fernandez advanced with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kaia Kanepi as a -155 favourite.

The 18-year-old will face a much tougher challenge when she faces off with the defending US Open champion Naomi Osaka in the third round.

Osaka opened at -710 to win. Fernandez is +490 to pull off the upset.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime scored a 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-2 win over Bernabe Zapata Miralles. He will play Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.

That match opened as a pick’em.

Day 4 at the US Open will feature a triple-header for Canada.

Bianca Andreescu, Denis Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil will get the opportunity to join Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime in the third round.

While Andreescu’s odds to win her third-round match have shortened over the past 24 hours, her odds to win the women’s singles title have lengthened significantly.

What should we make of that movement?

Here is the Morning Coffee for Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021.

Andreescu’s US Open futures shift

Andreescu extended her perfect run in the main draw at the US Open to eight wins in a row with a win over Viktorija Golubic in her opener.

She opened at -315 to beat Lauren Davis in the second round. That number has been bet to Andreescu -375.

On the flip side, Andreescu’s odds to win the women’s singles title have lengthened over the past 24 hours.

Andreescu went from +2200 to +1100 to win the tournament following her win over Golubic. Since then, her odds to win the women’s singles title have lengthened from +1100 to +2900.

The 2019 US Open champion went from the seventh choice to the 11th choice to win the title without playing a match.

There was a lot of talk about Andreescu’s physical condition entering the tournament, and the conversation continued after she need treatment following the first set of her win over Golubic. 

Maybe it’s nothing, but there is clearly some concern among bettors regarding Andreescu’s ability to make another deep run.

On the men’s side, Shapovalov is an overwhelming favourite to beat Roberto Carballes Baena at -1700.

Shapovalov is currently the sixth choice to win the men’s singles title at +4500. 

Meanwhile, Pospisil is a +290 underdog for his match with Ilya Ivashka.

He’ll have his work cut out for him against a tough opponent after rallying as a +5500 live underdog against Fabio Fognini in a match that took more than three hours to complete.

 

TOUR Championship futures

After a thrilling playoff finish to the BMW Championship, the focus shifts to the PGA Tour finale with the TOUR Championship set to begin this morning.

Thirty of the world’s best are set to compete in this week’s season-ending tournament. The winner will take home a massive $15 million prize.

Jon Rahm remains the favourite to win outright at +380 odds this morning.

Last week’s winner, Patrick Cantlay, is the second choice at +380, followed by the BMW Championship runner-up in Bryson DeChambeau at +500.

Tony Finau (+650), Justin Thomas (+1600) and Dustin Johnson (+2200) round out the top contenders to win the TOUR Championship.

Who do our experts like to take home the grand prize? Mark Zecchino, Bob Weeks and Adam Scully revealed their best bets for this week’s event.

 

Cole adds to AL Cy Young Award case

Gerrit Cole delivered a brilliant performance to help the New York Yankees avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels with a 4-1 win as the biggest favourite on the board at -280.

Cole became the eighth pitcher in Yankees’ history to throw 15 strikeouts in a game.

He struck out Shohei Ohtani three times in the win.

As of this morning, Cole is -280 to win the American League Cy Young Award. Robbie Ray is now the second choice at +320, followed by Lance Lynn at +440.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Blue Jays squeezed out a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles as a -250 favourite.

Toronto is just 1-6 on the run line in its past seven games.

Even with wins by the Yankees and Blue Jays, Wednesday was a rare losing night for MLB favourites, as underdogs went 8-6.

The Arizona Diamondbacks pulled off the biggest upset with an 8-3 win over the San Diego Padres as a +190 underdog.

The Boston Red Sox snapped the Tampa Bay Rays’ nine-game win streak with a 3-2 win as a small +105 dog.

Despite last night’s results, MLB favourites are still hitting at a 65.7 per cent clip in the month of August.

 

Ronaldo sets scoring record

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the final minutes of a UEFA World Cup Qualifying match with Ireland to set the men’s international scoring record and lead Portugal to a 2-1 win.

Ronaldo tied the game in the 89th minute. Then in the sixth minute of stoppage time, he delivered the game winner.

Ronaldo’s 111 goals for Portugal are two more than Ali Daei scored for Iran as the most goals in men’s international competition all-time.

It was Ronaldo’s 27th career multi-goal game with the national team.