The last Grand Slam tournament of 2018 is upon us, as Flushing Meadows, N.Y., prepares to host the U.S. Open. Serena Williams looks to make her mark once again, just a year after giving birth, while Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the favorites in the men’s draw. Nadal returns as the defending champion and already has five tournament titles this season, including his 11th win at the French Open, more than any other man in pro tennis. Other notables in the women’s draw include Petra Kvitova, who has also won five titles this year, and Simona Halep, the top-ranked player in the world, and Sloane Stephens, returning as the champion. Take a look at our sports betting preview, which includes insights into some of the top contenders & odds for the 2018 U.S. Open.
2018 U.S. Open Tennis Betting Preview
Rafael Nadal may be getting on the older side of things at 32, but he has three titles here (2010 and 2013 in addition to last year). This year, he retired from the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon. His titles this year include the French Open as well as tournaments at Monte Carlo, Rome, Barcelona and Toronto. He finished 2017 atop the rankings and has led the rankings for all but two weeks this year. He still trails Federer by three Grand Slam titles overall (20 to 17). It’s hard to pick against a champion who is on a roll like this, particularly since the surface is friendly to him. Roger Federer has won five U.S. Opens, and they all came in a row from 2004 until 2008. Since then, his best finish has been as the runner-up, losing to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015. He fell to del Potro in the quarterfinals last year, but he righted the ship with that Australian Open win earlier this year, and he has also won tournaments in Stuttgart and Rotterdam, but he lost again to del Potro at Indian Wells. He didn’t play any tournaments on clay this year, which cost him in the rankings, and he fell in the quarters at Wimbledon, slipping in the rankings, but he did make the finals in Cincinnati. Novak Djokovic has two U.S. Open titles, in 2011 and 2015. He did not play a year ago as he was recovering from injuries. This year, he went to the fourth round in the Australian Open and made the quarterfinals at the French Open before winning Wimbledon, and he also won in Cincinnati, completing the Career Golden Masters, which includes a career Grand Slam and all nine Masters 1000 titles, which leaves him alone among the top active tennis players. He is ranked sixth in the world at the present time, and he looks to make it back to the finals at the tournament that featured his major breakthrough, as he made it all the way to the finals at the age of 20 in 2007. Other notable names on the men’s side include Juan Martin del Potro, Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka. On the women’s side, let’s start with Simona Halep. She won the French Open, wsa the runner-up at the Australian Open but slipped at Wimbledon, losing in the third round. In addition to the French Open, she won at Shenzhen and Montreal. Her loss to Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the Australian Open was one of the classic matches in women’s tennis recently. She ended her Grand Slam curse at Roland Garros. She won at Montreal, an impressive result on hard courts, and she made the finals of the Cincinnati Open. Halep lost to Maria Sharapova in the first round a year ago, and she looks solid to make a deep run here. Sloane Stephens has been feast or famine at majors this year, exiting in the first round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon — but going all the way to the finals at the French Open. Winning at Roland Garros marked a huge comeback from a serious foot injury and was ranked third in the world after winning the Miami Open. She needs a deep run to keep from falling out of the top ten, though. She lost to Halep in the Rogers Cup final and lost in the third round of the Cincinnati Open last week to Elise Mertens. Does she have another deep run in her?BFFs reunited… @serenawilliams @CaroWozniacki#USOpen pic.twitter.com/WABgT2K0s7
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 21, 2018
