2017 has been a strange year for tennis. In the men’s game, top players have fallen from their perch at the head of the rankings and golden oldies have fought back to extend their already impressive records. Meanwhile, the women’s side of the game has seen great champions take time out of the game while young talent emerges.
As we gear up for the final grand slam of the year – the 137th US Open in New York – the betting odds are beginning to shape up and it’s fair to say that the oddities of the season preceding the tournament have thrown up a few curve balls. So, what do you need to know before you place a bet on the 2017 US Open? Read on and we’ll take you through the ins and outs of the Grand Slam, from the surface to the betting markets on offer.
The Last Grand Slam of the Year
It’s not even autumn yet, but the tennis season is starting to wind up as far as the really big tournaments go. This year’s last Grand Slam will begin on August 28 in the USTA Bille Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York City. Over the space of two weeks, the best male and female tennis players will fight it out in a knockout format for the right to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the biggest Grand Slam champions in tennis history.
The US Open is far from being the most prestigious tournament in the tennis calendar, nor is it completely unique as far as the surface played on is concerned. Like the Australian Open that kicks of the Grand Slams of the year, this event is played on a hard court surface, meaning that the speed of play should fall nicely in-between the slow courts of the French Open and the fast courts of the Wimbledon Championships.
What does this mean for the state of play? Well, unlike clay courts and grass surfaces, hard courts don’t really have any special quirks or characteristics which suit certain players and, as such, players tend to find themselves on a more level playing field. That is to say that the vast majority of professional players are comfortable playing on the surface, so there is more chance for outsiders to cause an upset. For proof of this, you just need to consider that there have been 7 different men’s champions at the US Open in the past 9 years, including the likes of Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka.
Will an Outsider Win It This Year?
The fact that no player apart from Serena Williams has really managed to get a run of wins in the US Open in the last few years is indicative of the high level of competition in the modern game. We also suspect that the toils of the long tennis season begin to take its toll by the time that the fourth Grand Slam comes around in the Calendar, perhaps making room for more unexpected results as the top ranked players begin to feel the strain.
Now, we’re not saying that you should write off the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer (who are ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively) but we would suggest keeping an eye on some of the younger up and coming stars in the men’s game. It will be a few more years yet before the path of Grand Slam glory is completely cleared for the likes of Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Grigor Dmitrov and Dominic Thiem, but the cracks are beginning to show in the old guard.
Novak Djokovic won’t compete in the 2017 US Open due to injury to round off a pretty disappointing year for the 12 time Slam winner. Andy Murray is also struggling with injury – the same one that saw him crash out in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon – but the Briton is still in the draw. Roger Federer has had a bit of a renaissance year that has surprised many tennis fans having won the Australian Open and Wimbledon, although he hasn’t been imperious, skipping the French Open to preserve his energy and recently losing to Zverev in Montreal. Rafael Nadal has also enjoyed a resurgence in form, winning the French Open and climbing to world number one. However, the Spaniard holds the number one spot with the lowest points total of any top ranked player since the new system was introduced in 2009 – a good measure of the general decline of the “big four”.
If these top players aren’t going to win it then who will? Well, among the young upstarts, Alexander Zverev is deemed to have the best chance to win the US Open with bookies laying odds of 8/1. Only Federer and Nadal have shorter odds at 7/4 and 11/4 respectively since Murray’s injury and dip in form has been given unfavourable odds of 10/1. If you fancy going even more left-field then you might be interested in backing Nick Kyrgios at 18/1, Grigor Dmitrov on 20/1 and Dominic Thiem at 25/1.
All Open in the Women’s Draw
While the men’s side of the tennis tour is finally beginning to open up to the possibility of new champions, the women’s game continues to serve up plenty of first time Grand Slam Winners. Granted, the absence of Serena Williams opened the way for Jelena Ostapenko and Garbiñe Muguruza to win the French Open and Wimbledon respectively, but it’s not the first time that there has been unexpected champions in the women’s game – especially in the case of Ostapenko who was unseeded at Roland Garros.
It is no wonder that the online sports betting sites have remained conservative when pitching their odds for the women’s singles at the US Open. There are a total of 15 players who can be found with odds of 20/1 or better with the likes of Sloane Stephens, Coco Vandeweghe, Jelena Ostapenko, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova all returning £200 profit from a £10 bet.
If you’re looking to back a firmer favourite then you will find Garbiñe Muguruza at odds of 9/2 – which is not too bad for the outright favourite and world number 1. Then again, there is so much room for an upset in the women’s game that you might be tempted to go for the middle ground with strong contenders such as Karolina Pliskova on 15/2, Simona Halep on 10/1, Johanna Konta on 11/1 and Elina Svitolina at 14/1.
Big Guns vs The Field
If you don’t think that you could call the outright winner of either the men’s or women’s US Open, then you might like to consider placing a ‘Big Guns v The Field’ bet. This wager is offered by the Paddy Power sportsbook and it essentially gives you the chance to bet on the big players winning or not winning the tournament.
For example, you could go with either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to win at 4/7 or you can back anyone else to take the trophy at 5/4. In the women’s game, the ‘Big Guns’ are Garbiñe Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep and you can get one of those three to win with odds of 13/8 while the field is at 4/9.
