2018 U.S. Open Women’s Semifinals Betting Preview

Thursday night marks the 2018 U.S. Open Women’s semifinals at the U.S. Open, in Flushing Meadows, New York. This has definitely been a tournament of upsets, as the highest seed of any player who has made the semifinal is Madison Keys, who holds the 14th seed and faces 20th seed Naomi Osaka at 8:15pm Eastern time. Preceding their match will be the showdown between 17th seed Serena Williams and 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova. You can catch all of the action on ESPN. As you consider your wagers, take a look at our sports betting predictions for each of these matches.

2018 U.S. Open Women’s Semifinals Betting Preview

Six-time champion Serena Williams powered past eighth-seeded Karolina Pliskova and into #USOpen2018 semi-finals pic.twitter.com/TGAbgxeXdI

— Xinhua Sports (@XHSports) September 5, 2018

(17) Serena Williams vs (19) Anastasija Sevastova

Anastasija Sevastova delivered a straight-sets victory over Sloane Stephens, winning 57 percent of her first serve points and a surprising 59 percent of her second serve points. She also converted five breaks against Stephens. Sevastova had a difficult time with accuracy on her first serves, which she will have to fix if she wants to get to the finals. She has shown that she can stand up against opponent serving, though, as she has broken her opponents 17 times in her last three matches combined. If she can keep her service accurate and avoid unforced errors, she could push Williams hard in the semis. Serena Williams also cruised in straight sets over Karolina Pliskova, and her first serve was impressive, as she won almost three-fourths of her points that way. She was pushed to twelve break points but was only broken twice in the match. She has served 40 aces in her last three matches, showing that she still has dominant power that she can use to bring home key points on service when she needs them. Aces keep her from having to play as many rallies, and as long as she can avoid fatigue that way, she will be the player to beat here. If she beats Sevastova, this will be her 10th final in her last 13 appearances at a Grand Slam. However, she has lost in the semis at Flushing Meadows in each of her last two years — but has won 16 of her last 18 Grand Slam semifinals. As far as this match goes, Serena has a much better serve and can deliver winners with power — traits that Sevastova does not have. Sevastova is a solid defensive player, but against a power player like Serena, that defense will eventually crumble. 2018 U.S. Open Women’s Semifinals Prediction: Williams wins in straight sets

(14) Madison Keys vs (20) Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka has put together a tremendous run at the U.S. Open, rolling through her quarterfinal win in straight sets and dropping just two games along the way. She delivered five service breaks, and her own serving was outstanding, as she dropped just seven points in the games that she served. This is her first semifinal at a Grand Slam, which could mean that she will develop some nerves under the klieg lights at this point in the bracket, but she has not shown any jitters to this point. Madison Keys also won her quarterfinal match in straight sets, rolling over Carla Suarez Navarro. She won all of her service games and nailed six aces in the match, and she also delivered a pair of service breaks. Now that Sloane Stephens has been eliminated from the tournament, Keys has become the crowd favorite, and she drew some raucous cheers (raucous for tennis, that is) in her win. That crowd support will follow her into the semifinal, which could make things tougher for Osaka. Keys has won both of the previous matches between these two players. Given the fact that Keys has been to a semifinal before, and given that Keys has the advantage of playing in front of a friendly crowd (and given that Osaka has never beaten Keys), it looks like Osaka’s run may be at an end. 2018 U.S. Open Women’s Semifinals Prediction: Keys wins in three sets