The men’s US Open has a slightly more open feel to it this year but that is nothing compared to how the women’s competition looks where as many as about 20 players head to New York believing they have a genuine shot at glory.
It was Naomi Osaka who landed the title last year in those amazing scenes against Serena Williams in the final and the Japanese star will look to make a successful defence here. As I eluded to though she faces plenty of competition.
Recent Winners
2018 – Naomi Osaka
2017 – Sloane Stephens
2016 – Angelique Kerber
2015 – Flavia Pennetta
2014 – Serena Williams
2013 – Serena Williams
2012 – Serena Williams
2011 – Sam Stosur
2010 – Kim Clijsters
2009 – Kim Clijsters
The Format
The normal Grand Slam rules apply to the women’s draw too in that 128 ladies qualify for the tournament and are placed in a knockout draw which was revealed on Friday. The entire tournament is the best of three sets with a tiebreak in the final set at 6-6 should it be needed. The winner is crowned on the second Saturday evening inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium assuming the weather cooperates.
Top Quarter
Just like in the men’s draw the world number one is also the defending champion in Naomi Osaka and she is in the top quarter of the draw. She has won the Australian Open since winning this last year so she is entitled to go well. Kiki Bertens is the main seed in this section but she is more of a clay specialist. The other seeds looking to take out Osaka are Julia Goerges, Donna Vekic, Aryna Sabalenka, Belinda Bencic, Anett Kontaveit and Carla Suarez Navarro so in truth it is hard to find someone to opponent the Japanese star with.
There are some decent names among those not seeded in the draw in this quarter. Viktoria Azarenka is the main one of them while Coco Gauff is sure to look to make a name for herself again. Alize Cornet, Yulia Putintseva, Kaia Kanepi and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova have all had decent results in Grand Slams in the past and will want another one here too.
Second Quarter
The Wimbledon champion Simona Halep is the top seed in the second quarter. She comes in here with an indifferent record on a hard court but she was useless on grass until she arrived at SW19 this year and became inspired. Petra Kvitova is scheduled to be her quarter final opponent but she rarely copes well with the heat in New York. Elise Mertens, Garbine Muguruza, Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu, Caroline Wozniacki and Barbora Strycova ae the other seeds looking to get at Halep.
Sorana Cirstea, Danielle Collins and Kirsten Flipkens have the game to be dangerous without a seeding next to their name here while Svetlana Kuznetsova arrives having made the final in Cincinnati. Bronx Open champion Magda Linette is another one coming in here having won a lot of matches in recent times and she too could be dangerous at Flushing Meadows.
Third Quarter
Karolina Pliskova is the top seed in the third quarter. I have my doubts over whether she will ever be a winner at this level after she passed up a brilliant chance at Wimbledon. Elina Svitolina is scheduled to be her quarter final opponent and she is no better in these big tournaments it has to be said. The other six seeds in this quarter of the draw are Caroline Garcia, Shuai Zhang, Jo Konta, Madison Keys, Sofia Kenin and Dayana Yastremska.
One woman stands out a mile from those who are not seeded in this section and that is Venus Williams. Olympic champion Monica Puig, Coco Vandeweghe, Laura Siegemund, Daria Kasatkina, former champion Sam Stosur and Ons Jabeur are some of the other unseeded names who could be around as we approach the second week and beyond.
Bottom Quarter
Ash Barty is seeded as the main player in the bottom quarter of the draw but I think even she will know deep down that this section could be all about Serena Williams. Su-Wei Hsieh, Petra Martic, Anastasija Sevastova, Angelique Kerber, Qiang Wang and Maria Sakkari made up the seeded players in this section but a number of them have really tough first round games.
Serena faces Maria Sharapova in her opener while Sakkari plays Camila Giorgi. Kerber has the challenge of Kiki Mladenovic and Sevastova takes on Eugenie Bouchard in a tough looking first round for the seeds. Other unseeded names who will fancy their chances here are Karolina Muchova, Daria Gavrilova and the highly rated Iga Swiatek who has been practicing with Naomi Osaka in the lead up to the tournament.
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Outright Betting
Annoyingly the two players I had lined up for this tournament have both found themselves in the same quarter in Sofia Kenin and Dayana Yastremska so I am only going to back one of them outright and given that she made the semi-final in both Toronto and Cincinnati recently that player is Kenin, a woman who I’ve had down as a potential winner of a Slam ever since she beat Serena at the French Open. She blitzed Serena away with power and clean hitting and a fearlessness that really caught the eye which is key should she meet the American legend in the semi-final of this tournament. I get the impression that Kenin is warming to the task nicely. She was hitting the ball really well in the two recent Masters tournaments and is in a quarter with a load of renowned bottlejobs, in particular Svitolina, Pliskova and Konta. At 25/1 she has the draw and the game to go very deep.
In the bottom half I’ll have a tiny go with Danielle Collins. You would expect Simona Halep to be the one dictating terms in her quarter and I would have gone with Sloane Stephens had she literally any form behind her but she doesn’t. Bianca Andreescu is never too far from an injury which is why I’m swerving her while Petra Kvitova always struggles with the humidity here. There isn’t a lot else in her quarter so while Collins is still looking for her first win in New York, she is a semi-finalist in the Australian Open where she came through a tougher draw and in a quarter which could easily open up I’ll pay to see just how far the American goes at a monster price.
Quarter Betting
I’ll attack the other three quarters with some big priced fancies in the hope of getting a semi-finalist like we’ve managed a couple of times this year already. I’ll take a punt on Cori Gauff in the first quarter. It won’t take a huge amount to get the bandwagon rolling on her chances in this tournament but she goes in a little under the radar at the minute with all the attention on Osaka defending the title and Serena looking to break the record. Osaka is a potential third round opponent for Gauff which would be a firecracker of a match but we saw at Wimbledon that the youngster is no respecter of reputation and that she hits a mighty clean ball. Unlike some of her opponents in this draw she will be relatively fresh after the daft restrictive rule that denies her playing many tournaments. I think she’s overpriced at 16/1 in a quarter that could easily open right up.
In the second quarter I’ll take my outright fancy in Danielle Collins. I’ve explained all above and she’s a huge price while in the bottom quarter it could be worth going with the form of Anastasija Sevastova. We might need someone to beat Serena for us to have a chance of this landing but the Latvian has gone QF, QF and SF in the last three years here so there is something about Flushing Meadows which she clearly likes. Serena isn’t guaranteed to go deep in this with all her injury problems this year and if Sevastova does meet her I expect it to be closer than their semi-final last year. Serena dominates the market so someone will win this at a big price if anything happens to her. That can be Sevastova who is now ranked 11 in the world almost without trace.
Tips
Back S.Kenin to win US Open (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 26.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back D.Collins to win US Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 301.00 with 888sport (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back C.Gauff to win 1st Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 17.00 with Betfair
Back her here:
Back D.Collins to win 2nd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Betfred
Back A.Sevastova to win 4th Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Betfred
Back them here:
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