Men’s Draw Preview
The final Grand Slam of the year kicks off on Monday in New York with the world’s top players looking to claim the US Open crown at Flushing Meadows.
Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka headlines the list of illustrious names that miss out in New York – with Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic also unable to compete here. Old stagers Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal top the rankings and the betting markets but with so many big names absent, some of the next generation may fancy their chances here.
Outright Betting
With 128 players in the draw, whoever lifts the trophy in 2 weeks’ time will have to overcome 7 tricky opponents – over the best of 5 set matches.
Here’s a look at some of our favourites for the title this week:
Roger Federer – 2/1 (Paddy Power) – The Swiss legend has had another remarkable year picking up 2 grand slams in the process. His form will be particularly ominous for all of the players in the draw – as he looks to be striving towards the top of his game just in time for Flushing Meadows – despite pulling out with an injury in Cincinnati last week. Seeded 3 here in New York, he does however face some threats in his half of the draw (Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios & Rafael Nadal) and he will have to be on top form to win this tournament.
Rafael Nadal – 3/1 (Sky Bet) – The newly-crowned world number 1 will be desperate to continue his good form over the next 2 weeks and pick up his second slam of 2017. He has struggled for form during the US hard court swing – with early exits in Cincinnati and Montreal at the hands of rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Nick Kyrgios. He’s in the top half of the draw along with the aforementioned big names and will need to display some hard court form fast.
Alexander Zverev – 7/1 (William Hill) – ‘Sascha’ Zverev has had an incredible year – culminating in Montreal with his run to the championship title – beating none other than Roger Federer in the final – for his 5th ATP tour title of the season. It’s hard to believe he’s only 20 years of age as he looks at consummate ease on the world stage. In the absence of Wawrinka and Djokovic, Zverev is seeded 4th in New York meaning he’s in Andy Murray’s half of the draw and avoids some of the big guns – he looks good value at 7/1.
Andy Murray – 9/1 (Uni Bet) – 2012 champion Murray has not played since his painful quarter final exit at Wimbledon last month and seems to have poured all his energy into his recovery in order to feature here in New York. Question marks linger over his fitness but he has the big game experience and a decent draw here at Flushing Meadows,
The US Open looks more open than ever this season and here are some of the outside picks:
- Grigor Dimitrov – 20/1 (William Hill) – The Bulgarian picked up his maiden Masters crown last week in Cincinnati.
- Marin Cilic – 22/1 (Sky Bet) – The Croat reached the final at Wimbledon and won his only slam here in New York back in 2014.
- John Isner– 100/1 (Sky Bet) – Isner has been in good form during the hard court swing, he has a decent draw (seeded 10) and is the home crowd’s main hope.