We have previewed the men’s draw in the US Open and now it is the time to go through the women’s outright ahead of the tournament beginning on Monday. As with the men some big names are missing from the women’s draw but that may only serve to make the event even more competitive.
Angelique Kerber defends the title she won 12 months ago in one of the most open Grand Slams in recent memory.
Recent Winners
2016 – Angelique Kerber
2015 – Flavia Pennetta
2014 – Serena Williams
2013 – Serena Williams
2012 – Serena Williams
2011 – Sam Stosur
2010 – Kim Clijsters
2009 – Kim Clijsters
2008 – Serena Williams
2007 – Justine Henin
The Format
As with all of the Grand Slams on the women’s side each match is the best of three sets. This is a Grand Slam that has a tiebreak in the final set. The draw has been pre-determined and will be played out as drawn with the final taking place on the second Saturday.
Top Quarter
The 2016 runner-up Karolina Pliskova is the number one seed this week and as such she heads this quarter. Svetlana Kuznetsova is seeded as her biggest danger while the other seeds in this part of the draw are Shuai Zhang, Barbora Strycova, Kiki Mladenovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Coco Vandeweghe and Anett Kontaveit.
There are some extremely dangerous floaters in this part of the draw too. They include Catherine Bellis, Lucie Safarova, Alison Riske, Misaki Doi and former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki. All told this looks an open quarter.
Second Quarter
Elina Svitolina will head up the seedings in this quarter. The defending champion Angelique Kerber is also in this part of the draw with the other seeds being Daria Gavrilova, Elena Vesnina, Madison Keys, French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lesia Tsurenko.
Once again there are some decent outsiders in this part of the draw too. Daria Kasatkina is one of them as is Kirsten Flipkens but the best known of them all is Eugenie Bouchard.
Third Quarter
The Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza is the standout attraction in this part of the draw with Caroline Wozniacki seeded to be her greatest rival. They are joined by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Kiki Bertens, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, Caroline Garcia and Magdelena Rybarikova as seeded players.
In terms of those who are not seeded we have Camila Giorgi, Alize Cornet, Heather Watson, Carla Suarez Navarro, the Olympic champion Monica Puig and Ekaterina Makarova in what is a tasty looking quarter.
Bottom Quarter
It is not as tasty as the bottom quarter though. That is where the French Open runner-up Simona Halep has been drawn. She is seeded to face Johanna Konta in the quarter final with the six other seeds being Julia Gorges, Ana Konjuh, Dominika Cibulkova, Anastasija Sevastova, Shuai Peng and Lauren Davis.
The biggest unseeded name of them all is in this quarter as it is where Maria Sharapova, shambolically given a wild card for the tournament, is placed. She faces Halep in the first round. Timea Babos, Donna Vekic, former runner up Roberta Vinci, Sloane Stephens and Ashleigh Barty are some other dangerous names.
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Outright Betting
I’m taking a woman in each half of the draw in terms of an outright bet. In the bottom half I like Caroline Wozniacki. She loves New York and is twice a finalist here. She has also made three other semi-finals here including last year where she couldn’t quite get past the eventual winner Kerber. The Dane is up to fifth in the world rankings now having made no fewer than six finals in 2017. That’s top form and at 25/1 she looks a stonking bet here.
I’m also going to take a chance on last week’s winner Daria Gavrilova. As well as last week’s win she has made another final this year and went well at the Australian Open earlier in the year. She is hitting the ball well and with Kerber being completely out of sorts at the minute if Gavrilova can come past Svitolina a big run here is in store. At 200/1 I have to pay to see how she goes.
Quarter Betting
I also think it is worth a go with Gavrilova for her quarter. Kerber defends the title so she may not have been a threat anyway but on form she definitely isn’t. Svitolina aside there is not much in this quarter to fear anyone although admittedly there are some capable players. At 20/1 she looks overpriced to me.
In the bottom quarter all eyes will be on that match between Halep and Sharapova with the winner expected to go deep but they might be forgetting Sloane Stephens who has flown back to form since returning from injury recently. She has made the semi-final of a couple of high profile events and has a pair of wins over Kvitova in recent weeks as well as a win over Kerber. That’s good form and sets her up for a decent run here.
Tips
Back C.Wozniacki to win US Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Winner Sports (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back D.Gavrilova to win US Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 201.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back D.Gavrilova to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Ladbrokes
Back her here:
WON – Back S.Stephens to win 4th Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with Paddy Power
Back her here:
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