The draws have been set for the upcoming US Open. Serena Williams is the top seed, but she will have a challenge right off the bat with young Taylor Townsend trying to beat the American hero.
The bottom quarter of the draw is very difficult with Simona Halep the second seed being joined by #5 seed Maria Sharapova, #10 seed Caroline Wozniacki who has been playing very well of late and the always dangerous #19 seeded Venus Williams. This is a rough draw for all of these women. Even with this tough quarter Sharapova and Halep are still the second and third favourites to win the US Open.
Let’s take a look at the odds before I break down the draw more and give you my favourite picks.
2014 US Open Women’s Winner Odds
These odds are from 5Dimes.eu because they have the best odds for tennis futures for almost every tournament.
- Serena Williams +160
- Maria Sharapova +675
- Simona Halep +800
- Petra Kvitova +1200
- Eugenie Bouchard +1600
- Victoria Azarenka +2000
- Agnieszka Radwanska +2000
- Caroline Wozniacki +2500
- Ana Ivanovic +3300
- Venus Williams +4000
- Angelique Kerber +4500
Those are the 11 women who have been given a better than 50/1 shot at winning this major by 5Dimes.
My Thoughts
Serena Williams is a huge favourite and rightfully so. She is without a doubt the best player in the field if she is on her game. She is coming off a win in the last Masters event in Cincinnati only dropping one set (to Wozniacki) on the way to the win. The week before in Montreal she lost to her sister in the semi-finals. She also won a tournament the week before, so in the summer hard court season and since she has returned from her Wimbledon illness Serena has a record of 12-1 with her only loss coming to Venus. If Serena plays like she can nobody will beat her. That said upsets can happen much easier in the women’s game because you only need to drop 2 sets to be heading home. I don’t mind Serena at +160 though.
I don’t like Sharapova at +675. She is only 4-2 in her last two tournaments since Wimbledon and she’s just not quite on the top of her game. Couple this with the fact that she has a possible round of 16 match with Wozniacki followed by a quarterfinal with Halep or Venus and you start to see that she will need to win 4 very difficult matches to win the tournament. I just don’t see that happening.
Halep is in the same boat. She will likely face Venus in the round of 16 and then Sharapova in the quarters. Halep only played 1 hard court tune up tournament and lost to Sharapova in the quarters of Cincinnati. I don’t like her at +800.
Kvitova is next on the list, but even though she has an easy draw her current form doesn’t bode well for a deep run. Kvitova played both of the hard court Masters and only won 1 match. She is in the same quarter as Eugenie Bouchard who is in a similar boat. Bouchard has not been on her game lately and is currently 0-2 in the summer hard court season. This quarter of the draw is definitely the weakest so if either of these ladies can find their form they could advance to the semi-finals without much competition, but that is a big if. I would stay away from both of them.
Radwanska at +2000 is a bet I can get behind. She won the Montreal Masters, beating Venus in the finals and she only lost in the quarters to Wozniacki (who has been playing unbelievable tennis of late) in Cincinnati. She has a favourable draw with Kerber a potential opponent in the quarters. These two are also on the bottom of the draw, which means they would steer clear of Serena until potentially the finals. I think both Radwanska and Kerber are good bets at their current odds because one of them will surely get to the semi-finals where you can then start to hedge.
In conclusion here are my favourite plays because you can hedge either one once they are deep in the tournament.
Radwanksa +2000 & Kerber +4500 at 5Dimes.eu!
Tagged With : Kerber • Radwanska • Serena Williams • US Open • US Open betting