Starting on Monday 27th August and lasting for two weeks, 128 of the best male and female tennis players in the world will battle it out on the hard courts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York to see who will eventually become the 2018 US Open Champion and the winner of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the tennis season.
As always, if you fancy a flutter on the outcome of the tournament, bet365 Sport is a good place to start, especially with the latest bet365 Sport Welcome Bonus offer as a starting point.
It’s been a tough year once again for the top tennis stars and heading into the US Open, there have been some familiar names that have claimed the three previous Grand Slam tournaments so far this year.
2018 Women’s Singles Grand Slam Winners
- Australian Open – Carolina Wozniacki (Den)
- French Open – Simona Halep (Rom)
- Wimbledon – Angelique Kerber (Ger)
2018 Men’s Singles Grand Slam Winners
- Australian Open – Roger Federer (Swi)
- French Open – Rafael Nadal (Spa)
- Wimbledon – Novak Djokovic (Ser)
With top names like Serena Williams still on her recovery from giving birth last year, as well as British star Andy Murray still recovering from a lengthy spell out with injury, this has meant that tournaments have been a little more open than usual, although it is notable that no player ranked outside the top six at the US Open this week has won a Grand Slam event this season.
Let’s learn a little more about the US Open with our factfile on the event, before we then turn our attention to the players in with a chance of winning it.
US Open Factfile
- This is the 138th US Open tournament to be contested.
- The first tournament was competed for in 1881 on grass courts at Newport Casino.
- From 1915 to 1975, the tournament was played on grass at West Side Tennis Club.
- From 1975 to 1977, the tournament was played briefly on clay courts.
- In 1978 the tournament moved to its current home of Flushing Meadows and has been played as a hard court tournament since.
- Jimmy Connors is the only player to have won the US Open on the three different surfaces the tournament has been played on grass, clay and hard court.
- The 2018 tournament has a prize fund of $53,000,000, a 5% increase from the prize money contested in 2017.
- The winning player will take home a cheque for $3.8 million in both the men’s and women’s draw.
- Prior to the Open Era, three players won a record seven Men’s Singles at the US Open. Americans Richard Sears, Bill Larned and Bill Tiden.
- Since the Open Era began in 1968, three male players have amassed five wins apiece. They are Jimmy Connors (US), Pete Sampras (US) and Roger Federer (Swi).
- Molla Bjurtstedt Mallor won eight female US Open title prior to the Open Era.
- Since the Open Era two female players have won six US Open titles, Chris Evert (US) and Serena Williams (US)
- The US Open is the only Grand Slam to use a tie-breaker system in the final set, rather than making players play until one player wins by two clear games.
- From 2019, the US Open will revert back to having 16 seeds rather than the 32 seeds in the men’s and women’s draw in recent years.
US Open 2018 – Men’s Tournament
With several big named stars having endured a torrid time with injury of late, not to mention a lack of form for some players, it’s been an intriguing year on the ATP tour. While emerging stars like Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas have caught the eye in the smaller events, the big names have also shone, particularly in the Slams.
This is reflected in the seedings for the men’s event in New York this week which are outlined below.
Men’s Seeds
- Radael Nadal (Spain)
- Roger Federer (Switzerland)
- Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina)
- Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- Kevin Anderson (South Africa)
- Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- Marin Cilic (Croatia)
- Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
- Dominic Thiem (Austria)
- David Goffin (Belgium)
- John Isner (United States)
- Pablo Carreno Busta (Spain)
- Diego Schwartzmann (Argentina)
- Fabio Fognini (Italy)
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
- Kyle Edmund (Great Britain)
- Lucas Pouille (France)
- Jack Sock (United States)
- Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
- Borna Coric (Serbia)
- Kei Nishikori (Japan)
- Marco Cecchinato (Italy)
- Chung Hyeon (South Korea)
- Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia Herzegovina)
- Milos Raonic (Canada)
- Richard Gasquet (France)
- Karen Khachanov (Russia)
- Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
- Adrian Mannarino (France)
- Nick Kyrgios (Australia)
- Fernando Verdasco (Spain)
- Filip Krajnovic (Serbia)
Who will win the Men’s Singles at the US Open 2018?
While men’s tennis has seen a large number of players win events this season it is notable that the big three names, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have been the Grand Slam winners and in truth, it is hard to look past either of these for a win here. Federer hasn’t won in the US since 2008 and a victory for the Swiss legend would be a popular one, but for me, I think Rafael Nadal at 3/1 has been the strongest both physically and mentally across 2018 and I think he’d be a fitting winner of the tournament.
If you want a solid each way bet to reach the final then take a look Juan Martin del Potro who at 12/1 with bet365 Sport, is a very good choice as an each way punt having endured a fine season since returning from injury and he is a former winner of this event too.
US Open 2018 – Women’s Tournament
Serena Williams pregnancy and her return to the sport has ushered in a more open era in the women’s game with a number of players claiming their maiden Grand Slam wins over that period. With Serena not quite back to her very best, the women’s draw is still very open with any number of players in with a realistic chance of landing the win here.
Women’s Seeds
- Simona Halep (Romania)
- Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
- Sloane Stephens (United States)
- Angelique Kerber (Germany)
- Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
- Caroline Garcia (France)
- Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
- Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
- Julia Gorges (Germany)
- Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
- Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
- Garbine Muguruza (Spain)
- Kiki Bertens (the Netherlands)
- Madison Keys (United States)
- Elise Mertens (Belgium)
- Venus Williams (United States)
- Serena Williams (United States)
- Ashleigh Barty (Australia)
- Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia)
- Naomi Osaka (Japan)
- Mihaela Buzarnescu (Romania)
- Maria Sharapova (Russia)
- Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)
- CoCo Vanderweghe (United States)
- Daria Gavrilova (Australia)
- Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
- Anett Kontaveit (Estonia)
- Dominika Cibulkova (Serbia)
- Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Serbia)
- Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Who Will Win the Women’s Singles at the US Open 2018?
As you can see by the seeding, this is a very open tournament, but it is notable that it is the first, second and fourth seeds in the current list that have claimed the Grand Slam victories this season and in truth, I think the outstanding bet here is one of those winners, the French Open champion Simona Halep (13/2 with bet365). She’s had a fabulous season and after her first Grand Slam win in Paris, I am backing her to do the same again in New York.
For a good value each way bet there are plenty of options but I think a very intriguing choice is the second seed Carolina Wozniacki (25/1 with bet365). The Dane hasn’t been in great form of late, but did win on the hard courts at the Australian Open at the start of the season and I think at that price, she is a great value each way bet.
Worried about your gambling?