Djokovic and Williams favorites to win
The 2013 United States Open Tennis Championships, mostly known as the US Open, is just around the corner. If Wimbledon showed us anything, it is that big surprises are not so rare in tennis so it will be an interesting week for gamblers looking to support their favorite players all the way to the trophy. The chaos at the All-England Club certainly gave the bookmakers a hit but the lucky gamblers took full advantage of the odds and cashed in big as they saw top seeded players get eliminated early on. In the end, Andy Murray managed to end the drought of British players winning at Wimbledon and made big headlines across the world.
Now, the attention is aimed at the US Open since there are only a few more days left to ponder on the bets. The action will start on August 26 and conclude on September 9, with the qualifiers already underway. A lot of people are expecting to see another wild Grand Slam and while this can also be seen on the betting lines, the No. 1 seeds, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, are still considered to be the most likely to win.
Novak Djokovic – 2/1
As far as the men’s singles go, Djokovic has a pretty good line of 2/1 to win the tournament while Rafael Nadal is second at 5/2. Nadal won the French Open and although he was one of the surprises at Wimbledon who got eliminated early in the competition, he recently won the Cincinnati Open to overtake Andy Murray in world rankings. He defeated John Isner 7-6, 7-6 and showed great form throughout the tournament.
Murray, the new Wimbledon champ, remains a strong opponent in the US Open, with bookmakers giving him 11/4 odds to win another title. Most were expecting the line to be even lower since he is defending his title from last year on the US courts and has also been on a great run this year.
The biggest surprise for gamblers remains Roger Federer. He was considered the undisputed king of tennis not too long ago and is now the fifth favorite player to win the US Open at 15/1 odds. Juan Martin del Potro is lower at 10/1. Such a high line for Federer is a result of the season he had and of the fact that his legs don’t seem to hold the pressure of world-class tennis anymore, at 32 years of age.
[geocode id=1]Past this point, the list is mostly compiled of dark horses that can have what it takes to make it all the way to lifting the trophy but it is highly unlikely that this will happen. Tomas Berdych has 28/1, John Isner and David Ferrer are at 50/1, just to name a few.
Serena Williams – 5/6
On the women’s singles side, the betting lines are a bit more straight-forward and they lead to Serena Williams. Maria Sharapova had to withdraw due to a shoulder injury and this leaves Williams far ahead of her competition to defend her US Open title. A 5/6 line can give gamblers a lot of confidence that she will take another trophy but being the big favorite did not help Williams at Wimbledon, when she was eliminated by 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki in three sets.
Victoria Azarenka is the biggest competitor right now, with bookmakers giving her a 4/1 line considering the fact that she defeated Williams in the recent finals for the Western & Southern Open. Lower down the list, Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, Sam Stosur and Li Na have 20/1 odds while former number one, Caroline Wozniacki is at 33/1. Sabine Lisicki, who made to the Wimbledon finals after eliminating Williams earlier this year, has 40/1 odds to go all the way in the US Open.