US Open Betting Preview – Clijsters odds on to repeat success

US Open betting for the women’s draw at Flushing Meadows has seen some movement, with big tennis names falling early on. The most shocking exit was that of Victoria Azarenka, who would have been pencilled in as one of the top tips here to win the tournament. The Belarusian, who was coming back into form nicely for the US Open, collapsed in her first round match against Gisela Dulko. Azarenka’s downfall was not only put down to the soaring temperatures in New York, but a fall in which she hit her head during her warm up for the first round match, resulted in a minor concussion that affected her game. She just never looked right, and will be a huge disappointment to one of the strong contenders. The 2010 US Open had already lost Justine Henin and Serena Williams through injury before the tournament even started, but there is plenty of tennis betting to take advantage of, as the tournament starts to wrap up the second round. Britain’s Elena Baltacha missed out on her chance to play Kim Clijsters in the third round, as her battling performance against Kvitova in the second round just wasn’t enough for the Scot. So where are the best bets for the US Open sitting at the moment? Truth be told, the women’s draw is very wide open, just as the WTA season has been all year. Winners have come from nowhere, with very few players stamping any kind of dominance over the season. This was highlighted by Francesca Schiavone winning the French Open against all the odds, so can we expect another surprise winner of a Grand Slam here?

There is of course a hint of it, and your tennis betting for the women’s US Open will be a lot harder to narrow down than the men’s. There are however, some prime candidates who are expected to go all of the way, and they of course will be the ones sitting at the top of the seedings and rankings. He we will cast a betting eye over the main candidates expected to challenge for the title, as well as some of the sleeper bets, who could sneak through and cause another surprise and twist on this wonderful WTA season.

Online Bookmaker Bet365 offer great coverage of the US Open Tennis betting on their website. Their live in-play betting service is there to be enjoyed as the tournament progresses. Along with a welcome bonus of up to £200, they remain one of the most highly recommended online bookmakers available.

Caroline Wozniacki – 6/1 at SportingBet
The young Danish star, who was runner up to Clijsters last year, goes as number one seed for the tournament at Flushing Meadows, and that is after coming strongly back into form. Wozniacki won the Olympus US Open Series with some inspired play, that backed up her position in the world rankings of having climbed up to number two. She is probably one of the WTA stars who has found some consistency and turned performances into titles this year, and while at the other Grand Slams she has been easily dismissed after not looking ready to win a major, this time around it is a little bit different. She genuinely has a strong chance, and her path has already been made just a little bit easier. In her quarter of the draw, Li Na and Lucie Safarova have both departed, leaving Maria Sharapova, Maria Kirilenko and the unpredictable Svetlana Kuznetsova awaiting her. Can Wozniacki get the better of them? Yes, of course, but they are all players against whom she has had her problems during her short career. Ahead in tennis betting on Caroline Wozniacki, you have to look at the quarter finals, where Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska are all fighting for supremacy. Well worth a bet, now she looks ready to overcome everything after winning the last two tournaments she has entered.

Kim Clijsters – 3/1 at Stan James
This time last year, the Belgian tennis star was embarking on one of the greatest comebacks in tennis history. She came out of retirement to win the US Open, and coming back again she can only be stronger for the experience, and at Flushing Meadows she always looks and feels as if she is at home. Clijsters goes as number two seed for the 2010 US Open, and she has a much tougher quarter than Wozniacki. In fact, the fourth quarter, in which she is in, is probably the most interesting as Ana Ivanovic, Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva are all in there. Anyone of those really could prevail from this quarter of the draw, which means Clijsters needs to find the form that carried her through last year. She has had a pretty good comeback season, picking up three titles this year, most recently in Cincinnati. You can expect a quarter final appearance out of her at the very least, and while it would have been good to see her go against Elena Baltacha, she instead faces an interesting match against Baltacha’s conqueror Petra Kvitova, who reached the semi finals of Wimbledon against the odds a couple of months ago. One of the stronger bets for the two time US Open winner, and you can expect Clijsters to be in the mix come the business end of the tournament.

Elena Dementieva – 18/1 at Boylesports
One of the more experienced players on the WTA Tour and one of the most graceful to watch around the court. She has had a mixed season, but is always up near the top of the world rankings, and that always makes her a threat. She is a big, big match player and this is why she is realistically one of the strong bets to win the US Open out of a very equally match pack. She goes against Daniela Hantuchova in the third round, and the expected fourth round match should see her against number five seed Sam Stosur in what should be a great contest. She is a strong player and will look for a strong finish to the season. Injured hampered her at the French Open and then completely ruled her out of Wimbledon, so she will be hungry and that could be a big factor. Seeing Dementieva go all of the way in a Grand Slam would be a great site to see. She came close in 2004 when she finished runner up at the US Open. She has the talent and the experience without question, the only question is over her consistency to pull it all off when it matters, and hold her concentration to the last.

Jelena Jankovic – 33/1 at Bet365
If she had been fully fit in her build up to the 2010 US Open, betting on her would have probably placed her favourite. However, after retiring from Wimbledon she just hasn’t quite looked the same, and struggled through her first round match at Flushing Meadows a little bit. On her day she can beat the best as she has shown in this season, one of the best of her career. She is a tough player to beat because of her energy levels and she has some of the quickest and best footwork on the WTA. The question here is over her fitness levels and match sharpness, especially in the blistering heat. Unfortunately, she may be sitting more of an outside bet than one of the favourites where she really should be. The draw has been quite kind to her though, if she can battle through and get some momentum going. Still a threat, and if she wins her quarter, then who knows, but as reflected in her odds, her time away from the game over the past month or so could really hurt her. Her best finish at the US Open was runner up in 2008.

Venus Williams 7/1 at BetFred
Has to be counted as a threat, and a big one when it comes to performing at the big events. She is missing a Grand Slam title this year after not being able to go all of the way, and it’s not really been one of the most convincing seasons for her. Her sister is not taking part, so all focus will be on her to perform. She has a tricky quarter of the draw, and then she would bump into the winner of the Clijsters quarter in the semi finals, which isn’t going to be an easy match. Shahar Peer and Flavia Pennetta will go against each other for the right to face Williams in the fourth round, and they are very tricky opponents. Then you have Bondarenko and Pavlyuchenkova in the same quarter, it’s going to be tough going for Venus. But she is a champion and a winner, and is well worth looking at it tennis betting. She is beatable though and probably not quite on top of her game, but she has won the title twice before at Flushing Meadows.

Notable Outsiders
Ana Ivanovic (20/1 at Bet365). She really is getting back to the best of her abilities, the skill sets which took to her world number one during her career. She fell heavily from there, but she is looking really hungry this year, and didn’t mess around knocking out Jie Zheng in the first round. A wild card threat in the Clijsters quarter. Not a great draw for her, but worth taking a peak at. As is Maria Sharapova (9/2 at SportingBet), who is also looking as if she has found a new energy for the game this year. Not seeded, and that will work against her, but could set up a very interesting fourth round match against Caroline Wozniacki. Why Sharapova is second favourite is a bit of a mystery. She is playing well this year, but not at the level to take out all of the higher class opposition in her way. Vera Zvonareva (18/1 at Blue Square) is one of those players who you always look at in tennis betting, hesitate and then move on past. She is in the same quarter as Jankovic and with questions over the Serb’s fitness, Zvonareva could be a threat. Consistency and rising up to the big occasion will be her biggest challenges.

As mentioned, the WTA is wide open in terms of talent at the moment. You have Jankovic and Wozniacki who have probably been the two outstanding performers of the year, but when you draw names from a hat like Sam Stosur (33/1 at Bet365), Elena Dementieva, Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska and more, then you are going to be in for a wild tournament, and more unpredictable than the men’s.