The draw didn’t take much time to cause a stir in the women’s side as a mouth-watering clash was thrown up between Simona Halep and recently returned Maria Sharapova in Round 1.
Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza goes in to the fortnight at Flushing Meadows as the 9/2 favourite, with last year’s finalist Karolina Pliskova next on the list at 13/2 and a number of stars follow at double figures who will fancy their chances.
We’ve had a quick look at the four US Open quarters and picked out a few bets to give paddy a smashing…
Quarter 1
This is a quarter of two halves (if you get us). Number one seed Pliskova has what looks quite the favourable draw through the first number of rounds.
The out-of-form Mladenovic her highest ranked projected opponent before the quarter finals and she has been in dreadful form since her quarter-final defeat at the French Open, losing her last three first round matches coming into this.
The bottom section of this quarter looks a much more interesting proposition and whoever makes it through this will have earned their spot in the quarters with the ever-reliable Svetlena Kuznetsova, the feisty Coco Vandeweghe, the rejuvenated Agnieska Radwanska, the up and coming Catherine Bellis, just to name a few with hopes here.
Pliskova the raging favourite to come out of this quarter and her 13/8 odds to make the semis reflect that.
Agnieszka Radwanska looks a decent alternative here though at 13/2 to progress to the semi-finals holding a 7-0 head-to-head over Pliskova and 5-1 over Vandeweghe – with the most recent a comprehensive victory only a number of weeks ago.
Quarter 2
This quarter serves up our main bet – arguably the most consistent player on tour this year and most recently Rogers Cup winner, Elina Svitolina to win this quarter at a tasty price of 7/2 to make her first Grand Slam semi-final.
It’s not the easiest of draws with the social media queen Genie Bouchard one of a few early potential tests and Madison Keys is a fourth-round possibility. There’s also a good chance of either French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko or the defending champion Angelique Kerber waiting in the quarter-final.
Keys has been in great form, winning in Stanford and it took a third set tie-break for Gabrine Muguruza to get the better of her in Cincinnati. A result we’ve seen her odds tumble in to 12/1 outright.
Kerber and Ostapenko both come into the tournament on average recent form.
Osta, a 25/1 shot, has had two bad first round losses to qualifiers, failing to follow up her impressive run to the Wimbledon quarter finals after her amazing win at the French.
It’s difficult to believe that we can have last year’s winner of both the hard court majors as a 22/1 shot defending her US Open without Serena Williams, but such has been Kerber’s form this is the latest quote.
Quarter 3
Another fascinating quarter with the Wimbledon champion Muguruza and two-time US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki (18/1 for glory) the top seeds in this section.
Wozniacki, who has lost all six finals she’s played this year, has a few dangerous opponents to take down in Ekaterina Makarova and Carla Suarez Navarro before she could prepare for the projected fourth round tie with the ageless Venus Williams.
The older Williams (who holds a 7-0 record over Wozniacki), has the nicer path before their projected meeting.
Gabrine Muguruza (who is an interesting 7/4 to make the semis) will be heavily expected to reach at least the fourth round, but her opponent there looks a much harder thing to call. Petra Kvitova has been struggling for form coming into this tournament and looks vulnerable, while British hope Heather Watson will fancy her chances of a run in this part of the draw.
She has a winnable first round tie against the fiery Alize Cornet before a potential meeting with Kvitova in Round 2.
Quarter 4
British hope Johanna Konta and Simona Halep as the top seeds and are expected to meet in the quarter-final. It would be a re-match of their absorbing recent Wimbledon clash, which Konta won in three tough sets.
Konta has a number of dangers to account for before the quarter final though – a potential third round tie against the in-form Julia Goerges, before a fourth-round tie against any of the back-to-form Sloane Stephens, Dominika Cibulkova, Ash Barty or Ana Konjuh.
Simona Halep, 12/1 outright, has the unwanted test of the controversial Sharapova in Round 1.
The winner of this match will be a strong favourite to progress to the quarter-final and if the Romanian can get to the quarter finals, she will be confident following her recent straight sets wins over both Konta and Sloane Stephens on the hard courts in Cincinnati – her last tournament before the US Open.
Halep is a 2/1 favourite progress to the semi-finals, but let’s not forget she’ll have to overcome a 6-0 losing record vs Sharapova before thoughts of semi-finals…..
Slamming Bets
Name the Finalists: Svitolina vs Muguruza – 18/1
Possibly the two form players coming into the tournament and we’re backing the two to meet off in the final. There’s little to worry Muguruza before the quarter final and we’re backing her to make it all the way to her first final. Svitolina’s point has already been made and combining the two is an 18/1 shot.
Outsider – C Bellis – Outright – 150/1
The 18-year-old has a great future ahead of her. She has been making quite a bit of noise recently and is well placed for a decent run at Flushing Meadows. It’s a big ask for her to go all the way, but recent wins over her possible third round opponent Kuznetsova and Kvitova. At 150/1, she can give a great run.
Projected Round of 16:
Karolina Pliskova v Kristina Mladenovic
Svetlana Kuznetsova v Agnieszka Radwanska
Angelique Kerber v Jelena Ostapenko
Elina Svitolina v Madison Keys
Garbiñe Muguruza v Petra Kvitova
Caroline Wozniacki v Venus Williams
Johanna Konta v Dominika Cibulkova
Simona Halep v Anastasija Sevastova
* All odds correct at time of posting.