The 2014 US Open will be getting underway in just a few short days. The majority of the top Men’s players are taking this week off after playing two Masters 1000 tournaments over the past couple weeks. In those tournaments we saw Novak Djokovic struggle, which lead to a couple of early exits, while Federer was on top of his game, which lead to a finals appearance in Toronto and a win last week in Cincinnati. With the news that Rafael Nadal has had to withdraw because his wrist has not healed sufficiently enough to compete these two men are the biggest favourites in the tournament.
The odds have already changed dramatically. I did a YouTube video showing the US Open odds last week and Djokovic was listed at +137, while Federer had odds of +600. Nadal was at +333 and Murray at +350. Djokovic has remained pretty steady, but Federer has dropped significantly due to his success along with Nadal’s absence.
2014 US Open Odds
But let’s get right into it and check out the odds for the players who I think have a legitimate chance at winning the tournament.
The odds were taken from 5Dimes.eu, which for the most part has the best odds for this tournament.
- Novak Djokovic +130
- Roger Federer +350
- Andy Murray +600
- Stan Wawrinka +1600
- Grigor Dimitrov +1600
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga +2200
- Milos Raonic +2500
In my opinion the winner of the US Open will surely be one of these 7 men. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see the full list of odds.
My Picks
I’m normally all about Novak at Grand Slams, and don’t get me wrong I’m not counting him out, but I don’t think he is a great bet at +130. Novak lost in the round of 16 in both Toronto and Cincinnati. In Toronto he lost 6-2, 6-2 to the eventual winner Tsonga, while in Cincinnati he was beat 7-6, 7-5 by Tommy Robredo. Needless to say Djokovic isn’t currently on the top of his game and has yet to find his game on the hard courts. Another week of practice should help him, but I’m not ready to bet on him at +130 to win this tournament because winning 7 matches in a row isn’t easy, especially considering he may be lacking confidence.
I do like Federer at +350. I think Nadal not being at the tournament helps him the most because he has a better chance to beat Djokovic than he does Nadal. He lost in 5 sets to Djokovic at Wimbledon, but he may be primed even more here to win his next Grand Slam. After losing in Wimbledon Finals, Federer has won 9 of his 10 matches on hard court in the last two Masters events. He has a record of 49-9 this season, compared with Djokovic’s 39-6, which is roughly the same win rate. I like Federer at +350. I liked him even more last week when he was +600 to win the tournament, but he is still a strong bet at +350.
I don’t like Murray at +600. He has not had a good season and I’m surprised he’s still considered one of the three favourites heading into New York. He did lose to both eventual winners in the last two tournaments, but with a record of 34-14 this season he isn’t on top of his game. I don’t expect him to make the finals.
Wawrinka and Tsonga are both too inconsistent to bet on them to win 7 matches in a row to win a Grand Slam.
I do like Raonic at +2500. He has been able to get by lower ranked players with ease of late and if Djokovic or Federer fall early I think Raonic will become the favourite to make the finals of whichever side of the draw he is on. Look for Raonic to make a splash at the US Open in what could be his initiation into the elite of Men’s tennis.
Favourite Plays: Federer +350 and Raonic +2500
Check back for more US Open predictions. You can find them on our tennis betting page.