The 136th edition of the United States Open Tennis Championships takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center from 29th August – 11th September.
With all the big guns expected to be firing on all cylinders from the men’s and women’s game, we should be in for yet another enthralling US Open championship. Last year, Novak Djokovic came out on top in the men’s division, whilst somewhat more surprisingly Flavia Pennetta took the women’s crown. Novak will be back trying to defend his second US title, but Pennetta retired at the end of the last year, meaning there will be no defending women’s champion going into the tournament.
With a number of world class players all vying to be No. 1 in New York and become 2016 US Open Champion, stand by for what promises to be a captivating two weeks of top tennis in Flushing Meadows. Can anyone stop Novak Djokovic from claiming his second straight US championship, and will Serena Williams continue her dominance on home court by claiming a seventh win?
Men’s Tips
- Betting Tip – Andy Murray at 2/1 with Ladbrokes
- Dark Horse Tip – Stan Wawrinka at 25/1 with Coral
Women’s Tips
- Betting Tip – Serena Williams at 5/4 with Betfair
- Dark Horse Tip – Angelique Kerber at 10/1 with Bet365
US Open Analysis
With the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Milos Raonic, Rafael Nadal – among many others – all believing they have a genuine chance of lifting the crown, this year’s men’s championship looks to be an extremely open betting proposition.
Equally, although Serena Williams is the strong favourite to secure her seventh US Open title in the women’s tournament, top players such as Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza, Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova won’t let the 34-year-old have it all her own way in the Big Apple. British hopes, Murray aside, will be resting on Johanna Konta, who is priced at chunky odds of 50/1 with Ladbrokes.
Men’s Tournament
Starting with the men though, we fancy backing the Brit Andy Murray to come out on top in New York’s prestigious tournament. The Scot is fresh off the back of winning gold for Great Britain at the Rio Olympics, and his stunning 2016 Wimbledon crown will also be prominent in his memory. Not only has Murray won at Wimbledon and Rio this season, he also reached the Australian and French Open finals this year. Sure, Djokovic will no doubt be the 29-year-old’s biggest rival and the man to beat, but at 2/1 (Ladbrokes) to win his first US Open title since 2012, we believe Andy Murray has what it takes to come out on top.
The Scot loves the DecoTurf surface used here (it was also used at the Olympics) and won his first ever Grand Slam title in New York. Prior to that he also made his first Slam final at the US, so this is clearly a tournament he relishes. Back in 2012 he did the Olympic/US Open double and in the spirit of Mo Farah, we think Murray can complete his own double-double here, four years on.
In terms of who could be the dark horses at Flushing Meadows, we’re going for the talented Stan Wawrinka to cause a few upsets in New York. On his day, the Swiss has the ability to beat anyone – he proved that by winning the 2014 Australian Open, and securing last season’s French Open crown. He has reached the semi-finals on two occasions in the States (2013 and 2015), but has never managed to to progress any further than that.
After losing in straight sets to Roger Federer in the last four of the US Open last year, Wawrinka will be looking to kick on and go even further this time around. The 31-year-old is generously priced at 25/1 with Coral to win in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, and at that price, he certainly could be a good choice as the dark horse this year. Each way bets will pay out at half the odds if he makes the final and that’s certainly well worth a small interest.
Women’s Tournament
As for the women, it’s extremely difficult to look past Serena Williams to win in New York for a seventh time, putting her one behind Molla Mallory’s record of eight. Williams has reached all three Grand Slam finals this year, but has only managed to win one, at Wimbledon in July.
Last year she was knocked out in the semi-final stage and missed out on winning all four Grand Slams tournaments in the calendar year. Williams won the US Open for three consecutive years before losing out to Roberta Vinci in the final four last term and this is clearly an event she loves.
She will be 35 in the month of the final though and some are questioning how much longer she can dominate for. Still, even with odds as short as 5/4 (Betfair), we just can’t see anyone else stopping the Florida-born powerhouse from claiming her 23rd Grand Slam title, beating Steffi Graf’s open-era record in the process.
We also like the look of Bet365’s 10/1 for Angelique Kerber to lift the women’s US Open crown. The German has had an excellent season so far, winning the Australian Open and reaching the final of Wimbledon. This campaign has certainly been a breakthrough year for the 28-year-old, and she’s a good bet to follow up her Aussie title with a win in New York in September. A semi-final in 2011 is the furthest Kerber has gone in America, but the Bremen-born star looks a totally different player these days, and it could be her year.
Alternative US Open Bets
If Andy Murray is to go all the way and claim his second US Open crown, then there’s a good chance he will come up against rival Djokovic in the final. The Serbian world number one stormed his way to last year’s title by beating Marin Cilic in straight sets in the semis, before seeing off Roger Federer (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4) in the final. However, Murray beat Djokovic in five sets on the way to his maiden US trophy. Sky Bet are offering the very tasty odds of 9/2 for the Scot to beat the Serb in the final in a straight forecast bet. These two are undoubtedly the class acts in the field and so that certainly looks tempting with Federer injured.
Frenchman Joe-Wilfried Tsonga always seems to be there or thereabouts in the latter stages of tournaments. Incredibly, though, the 31-year-old has never won a Grand Slam event. In fact, the closest Tsonga has come was in the 2008 Australian Open, when he lost in the final to Djokovic.
Last year, he reached the quarter-final stage of the US Open, but eventually lost out to the Croatian Cilic. Of course, with so much competition this year, as there always is in in Grand Slam tennis, it will be a very hard task for Tsonga to win his first major. Nevertheless, we still think BetVictor’s massive odds of 100/1 for the Frenchman to win this year’s US Open could be worth a punt.