Odds To Win the 2018 U.S. Open

The final tennis Grand Slam event of 2018, the U.S. Open, gets underway early next week at Flushing Meadows with Novak Djokovic on the men’s side and Serena Williams and Simona Halep on the women’s side as the betting favorites to win it all.

Online sportsbook Bovada has Djokovic (+225) at the top of the oddsboard on the men’s side followed by reigning U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal (+300), Roger Federer (+500), Alexander Zverev (+1000) and Juan Del Potro  (+1200) to round out the top five.

On the women’s side, Williams (+600) shares the top billing with Halep (+600) followed by Angelique Kerber (+750), Sloane Stephens (+1000) and Petra Kvitova (+1400) as the top five on the list.

Can anyone knock off the Old Guard?

Rafael Nadal, who is the defending champion of this tournament, is aiming for his fourth U.S. Open title and second major of 2018. The Spaniard won the Rogers Cup earlier this month in Toronto but bettors will remember his last major appearance when he lost to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in the semifinals. While he should be in contention when it gets down to the nitty-gritty from the quarterfinals onward, it’s worth noting that when Nadal won last year, he didn’t have to face Djokovic, Murray or Federer on his way to the title.

As for Djokovic, he finally returned to form at Wimbledon to win his 13th Grand Slam title and was impressive in dispatching Nadal on grass. At Flushing Meadows, he has made the final in four of the last five years he competed (he didn’t play in 2017 due to injury) and won the title in 2011 and 2015. Coming off the Wimbledon win and having the W-L edge vs Nadal, Federer and Murray on the hard surface makes him very appealing at +225.

Roger Federer may be in the twilight of his career and typically doesn’t play much on hard surfaces these days but the Swiss can never be counted out of a major. The all-time Grand Slam title leader will take the court at Flushing Meadows as the No. 2-ranked player in the world but the reality is that Federer hasn’t won this tournament since 2005. While I expect him to make at least the quarterfinals, it’ll be hard for the 37-year-old to win it all with so many up-and-coming players and the other Big 3 looming, which makes the +500 price tag a bit of a ripoff.

Odds to 2018 U.S. Open - Men’s

Odds as of August 27 at Bovada

• N. Djokovic +225
• R. Nadal +300
• R. Federer +500
• A. Zverev +1000
• J. Del Potro +1200
• M. Cilic +1600
• A. Murray +2500
• K. Anderson +3300
• M. Raonic +3300
• N. Kyrgios +3300
• S. Wawrinka +3300
• G. Dimitrov +4000
• D. Thiem +5000
• J. Isner +5000
• K. Nishikori +5000
• S. Tsitsipas +5000
• D. Shapovalov +6600
• D. Goffin +8000
• B. Coric +10000
• H. Chung +10000
• K. Edmund +10000
• K. Khachanov +10000
• G. Monfils +12500
• S. Querrey +12500
• L. Pouille +15000
• R. Bautista Agut +15000
• D. Medvedev +20000
• F. Fognini +20000
• F. Tiafoe +20000
• J. Sock +20000
• P. Carreno Busta +20000
• R. Gasquet +20000
• A. Rublev +25000
• D. Schwartzman +25000
• S. Johnson +25000
• B. Paire +30000
• D. Ferrer +30000
• F. Lopez +30000
• F. Verdasco +30000
• G. Muller +30000
• J. Vesely +30000
• M. Zverev +30000
• T. Fritz +30000
• G. Simon +40000
• P. Kohlschreiber +40000
• R. Harrison +40000
• A. Ramos-Vinolas +50000
• J. Donaldson +50000
• J. Struff +50000
• J. Thompson +50000
• M. Cecchinato +50000
• M. Jaziri +50000
• P. Cuevas +50000
• P. Lorenzi +50000
• R. Haase +50000
• V. Pospisil +50000
• V. Troicki +50000

Is Serena Ready to Take Back her Crown?

Making the final of Wimbledon after she gave birth less than a year ago was all that oddsmakers needed to see to install Serena Williams as the co-favorite to win at Flushing Meadows. Serena was her usual dominant self until the Wimbledon final vs Angelique Kerber, where she lost in straight sets, and while it’s a tremendous achievement to make the final, you could see that she was running out of gas in defeat.

That being said, Serena has been sooooo good at Flushing Meadows in her career that it’s hard to fault bettors for wanting to back her. She won this tournament for three straight years (2012-2014) and has made the semifinals or better every year since 2008 (she did not play in 2010 or 2017). At +600, this may be the best odds you can get for her if she steamrolls her way through the competition.

Defending champion Sloane Stephens is listed at +1000 but her play in 2018 has been too up and down to inspire confidence in bettors looking to see a repeat winner. Prior to winning in 2017, Stephens had never made it past the fourth round at the U.S. Open and although she made the final at the French Open, she lost in the opening round at Wimbledon. That type of volatility is crushing for bettors trying to back a player who can win it all.

Odds to 2018 U.S. Open - Women’s

Odds as of August 27 at Bovada

• S. Halep +600
• S. Williams +600
• A. Kerber +750
• S. Stephens +1000
• P. Kvitova +1400
• E. Svitolina +1800
• G. Muguruza +1800
• M. Keys +2000
• Ka. Pliskova +2200
• K. Bertens +2200
• C. Wozniacki +2500
• M. Sharapova +2500
• D. Kasatkina +2500
• J. Ostapenko +3300
• V. Azarenka +3300
• A. Sabalenka +3300
• J. Konta +4000
• C. Garcia +5000
• E. Mertens +5000
• N. Osaka +5000
• V. Williams +5000
• D. Cibulkova +6600
• A. Barty +6600
• C. Vandeweghe +6600
• M. Buzarnescu +6600
• A. Kontaveit +8000
• A. Sevastova +10000
• B. Bencic +10000
• C. Giorgi +10000
• D. Vekic +10000
• K. Siniakova +10000
• L. Safarova +10000
• M. Sakkari +10000
• S. Kuznetsova +10000
• K. Mladenovic +12500
• M. Vondrousova +12500
• A. Pavlyuchenkova +12500
• A. Radwanska +15000
• C. Suarez Navarro +15000
• E. Makarova +15000
• E. Vesnina +15000
• A. Van Uytvanck +15000
• D. Collins +15000
• D. Gavrilova +15000
• M. Puig +15000
• M. Rybarikova +15000
• N. Vikhlyantseva +15000
• T. Bacsinszky +15000
• Y. Putintseva +15000
• A. Krunic +20000
• A. Sasnovich +20000
• A. Tomljanovic +20000
• A. Anisimova +20000
• B. Pera +20000
• C. Witthoeft +20000
• J. Brady +20000
• K. Kanepi +20000
• P. Martic +20000
• Q. Wang +20000
• S. Stosur +20000
• T. Babos +20000
• B. Strycova +25000
• C. McHale +25000
• E. Alexandrova +25000
• S. Zhang +25000
• A. Petkovic +25000
• A. Cornet +30000
• L. Kumkhum +30000
• L. Tsurenko +30000
• C. Dolehide +40000
• I. Begu +40000
• K. Kozlova +40000
• Kr. Pliskova +40000
• S. Kenin +40000
• S. Vickery +40000
• R. Peterson +40000
• V. Kuzmova +40000
• T. Maria +40000
• Y. Wang +40000
• J. Larsson +50000
• A. Riske +50000
• K. Flipkens +50000
• K. Nara +50000
• S. Cirstea +50000
• S. Hsieh +50000
• L. Siegemund +50000
• Z. Diyas +50000
• V. Lapko +50000
• Y. Wickmayer +75000
• D. Jakupovic +75000
• A. Muhammad +75000
• A. Schmiedlova +75000
• S. Voegele +75000
• T. Townsend +75000
• M. Gasparyan +75000
• M. Linette +75000
• K. Bondarenko +75000
• P. Hercog +75000
• P. Parmentier +75000
• C. Liu +75000
• E. Rodina +75000
• L. Arruabarrena +75000
• S. Sorribes Tormo +100000
• V. King +100000
• T. Zidansek +100000
• W. Osuigwe +100000
• L. Cabrera +100000

Bet on the US Open today at Bovada