Andy Murray is 6/1 with Betfred to win the US Open following his victory in the Cincinnati Masters last week. The 24-year-old world number four beat Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serbian was forced to retire with a shoulder injury when trailing in the second set. Supporters’ confidence ahead of Flushing Meadows will have been boosted by the fact that Murray‘s previous tournament success in Cincinnati preceded his best run in New York, in 2008, when he reached the final before losing to Roger Federer. The Scot is hoping for another good run this year, with conditions in Cincinnati likely to be almost identical to those he will encounter in the Big Apple.
Djokovic, however, is on the drift for the US Open and is now out to 6/4 with Paddy Power and Skybet even though his defeat to Murray in Cincinnati was only his second in 57 matches this year. He only has eight days to recover and is looking increasingly weary so those odds look on the short side for a player who has already been a beaten finalist twice at Flushing Meadows.
Murray, of course, has already reached the final of the Australian Open, where he lost to Djokovic, and the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2011, and on that evidence you would say a maiden Grand Slam title can’t be far away. But he’s also lost to relative unknowns Donald Young, Thomaz Bellucci and Kevin Anderson recently and never makes it easy for himself or his legion of fans.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer both exited at the quarter-final stage in Cincinnati but are likely to be much more focused in New York. Nadal (5/1 with totesport) won the tournament 12 months ago, while Federer (11/2 with Coral) has already won the US Open five times and was runner-up to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in 2009. The latter is still on his way back following injury and can be backed at 18/1 with Boylesports to repeat his victory of two years ago, but fellow big-server Thomas Berdych could be interesting at Boylesports and Betfred‘s 50/1 and the in-form Mardy Fish will have plenty of support in New York. He is 33/1 with Betfred, Boylesports and Victor Chandler. Andy Roddick, the last American-born winner in 2003, looks big at bwin‘s 150/1 considering his pedigree but he’s been woefully short of form in recent months and may struggle to justify his home crowd’s expectations having dropped out of the world’s top 20 for the first time in 10 years.
