2010 US Open Preview

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Last Updated on Friday, 27th Aug 2010, 

Written by Anto

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Men’s Tournament:

We’re guaranteed a new champion in the Men’s section of the draw as 2009 winner Juan Martin Del Potro withdrew as he has not overcome a wrist injury that has blighted his season in 2010. Will last year’s beaten finalist Roger Federer be able to improve as a result of the withdrawal of Del Potro?

Top Ten Players in the Outright Market (supplied by William Hill):

• Roger Federer – 3.50
• Andy Murray – 3.75
• Rafael Nadal – 3.75
• Novak Djokovic – 11.00
• Andy Roddick – 17.00
• Robin Soderling – 17.00
• Tomas Berdych – 17.00
• David Nalbandian – 21.00
• Nikolay Davydenko – 34.00
• Mardy Fish – 34.00

For a full listing of player odds please visit WilliamHill.com.

With Juan Martin Del Potro out of the picture and unable to defend his title at this year’s competition, the bookmakers clearly believe that it will one of Federer, Nadal and Murray the second, first and fourth seeds. Will the bookies get it right or, like last year, will one of the dark horses manage to cause an upset at the final Grand Slam of the year?

Federer is the favourite to claim the title and he has looked good on the hard courts so far this season and he has reached the final of the last two tournaments he has entered on this surface, defeating Mardy Fish in the Cincinnati final and losing to Andy Murray in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. As well as this Federer has reached the US Open final in each of the last six years and he won all five titles between 2004 and 2008, dropping just two sets in those five finals. Despite this, Federer has not been at his best in 2010, but he has improved as we’ve closed on the start of the US Open and he will once again be in with an excellent chance of taking the title.

Top seed for this year’s tournament, Rafael Nadal, has not had an good time of things at the US Open and it is the only Grand Slam that he has not won. His best results came in 2008 and 2009 when he was beaten by runner-up Andy Murray and winner Juan Martin Del Potro in the final four. Nadal has played the same warm up tournaments as Federer, but he only reached the Quarter Finals in Cincinnati, losing to Marcos Baghdatis, and lost at the Semi Final stages to eventual winner Andy Murray at the Rogers Cup. Despite this, Nadal saves his best performances for the Grand Slams and, just like Federer, he will one to watch for the tournament win.

Fourth seed Andy Murray comes into the tournament as joint second favourite with Nadal after playing three warm up tournaments, with the Farmers Classic in California being the extra tournament. He reached at least the final eight in each of three tournaments, winning the Rogers Cup by beating Roger Federer in straight sets, coming second to Sam Querrey in California and reaching the Quarter Finals in Cincinnati and losing to his bogey player in 2010, Mardy Fish. Murray is yet to win a Grand Slam event, but he reached the final of the Australian Open this season and he reached the final at Flushing Meadows in 2008, losing to Federer on both occasions. He has performed well in the run up to the US Open this season and seems to enjoy playing on the hard courts. Can he claim his first Grand Slam title this time around? If he doesn’t, I expect him to at least make the Semi Finals.

I can’t see anyone but one of the previous three winning the title, but I’m going to look at one dark horse pick for laying off later in the tournament. My pick for this is world number thirty-three David Nalbandian. Nalbandian has played exceptionally well in the build up to the US Open. At the Legg Mason Classic in Washington he claimed the title and dropped just one set all week long. Prior to that he had won both of his matches in the Russia v Argentina Davis Cup Quarter Final tie, and as he began the Rogers Cup he had won eight straight matches on hard courts and held his eleventh ATP title. In Toronto he won his first three matches, including beating David Ferrer and Robin Soderling, world numbers twelve and five respectively, before being stopped by eventual champion Andy Murray. That eleven game winning streak moved Nalbandian from 111th to 33rd in the ATP rankings and I see the Argentine having another good run on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.

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With Nadal never having won at the US Open and Federer having an off season, I feel that Andy Murray will claim his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Back an Andy Murray victory at odds of 3.75.


Women’s Tournament:

Last year’s champion Kim Clijsters goes into this tournament as the favourite knowing that two of her top rivals for the title are out of the running, as Serena Williams and Justine Henin have withdrawn through injury. Can Clijsters retain her title and claim her third crown at Flushing Meadows?

Top Ten Players in the Outright Market (supplied by William Hill):

• Kim Clijsters – 4.00
• Maria Sharapova – 4.50
• Victoria Azarenka – 8.00
• Caroline Wozniacki – 9.00
• Venus Williams – 9.00
• Svetlana Kuznetsova – 11.00
• Elena Dementieva – 21.00
• Vera Zvonareva – 21.00
• Jelena Jankovic – 26.00
• Samantha Stosur – 26.00

For a full listing of player odds please visit WilliamHill.com.

With three time winner Serena Williams and two time winner Justine Henin out of the US Open, this year’s competition could be the closest and most exciting US Open for women for many years. In this article we’ll be reviewing the chances the top five in the outright market and their chances of claiming the title.

First up is second seed, world number three and reigning champion Kim Clijsters. Clijsters has reached the Semi Final at Wimbledon and the finals of the Australian and French Open tournaments, but she has only ever won Grand Slams at Flushing Meadows, with her wins coming in 2005 and 2009. Since Wimbledon Clijsters has played two tournaments, both being warm up events for the US Open and she took victory in Cincinnati and reached the final eight at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, where she lost to Vera Zvonareva despite winning the first set 6-2. The Belgian will be highly confident of winning after her triumph last year and her good run on the hard courts in the run up to the tournament. Without Serena and Henin in action this year I feel that Clijsters will have a great chance of adding to her two US Open titles.

Former world number one and fourteenth seed Maria Sharapova is the second favourite for the title after reaching the finals of the two warm up tournaments that she has entered prior to the US Open. At Stanford she was beaten in the final by Victoria Azarenka, while Kim Clijsters took the title in Cincinnati ahead of Sharapova. Despite this, she has done well to get to the final in both tournaments and she should have a good run at the US Open as she has hit top form just at the right time. Will she add to her 2006 US Open title though?

It’s difficult to understand why Victoria Azarenka is the third favourite to claim the title as she has never passed the fourth round at Flushing Meadows and she hasn’t really shone in any of her four warm up tournaments. She started off her warm up events at Stanford and was beaten by Maria Sharapova in the Semi Finals before going all the way to the final at San Diego, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Since then she has been knocked out at the last sixteen stage in Cincinnati and Montreal with Sharapova again eliminating her in Cincinnati and Kuznetsova again getting one over on her at the Rogers Cup. I’m not sure that she’ll even beat her fourth round finish in 2007 at the US Open this year, let alone win the competition outright.

Caroline Wozniacki is the highest WTA rankings entrant at world number two and she is has been given the top seed in the absence of Serena Williams. The Dane has played in three warm up tournaments to get accustomed to playing on hard courts, winning in Copenhagen and in Montreal. She has made massive improvements in her game this season and has recorded her best finishes at all of the Grand Slam events, and she will hope to at least equal her result of reaching the final at the 2009 US Open. In my opinion, she may go one better and win it this year and at odds of 9.00 to win it I’m fairly sure where my cash is going.

Venus Williams has won seven Grand Slam titles in her career, including two at Flushing Meadows, but it is madness that she is available at the same odds as world number two Caroline Wozniacki despite not having played since Wimbledon due to a knee injury. Wozniacki has won tournaments while Venus has been on the sidelines and Venus has only reached the last four stage at the US Open in the last seven years. I feel her odds are too short, despite being a great of the game, and I don’t think she’ll be challenging for the title this time around.

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My money is one Caroline Wozniacki to join Andy Murray in claiming a first Grand Slam title this year, and i’ll be backing her to win at odds of 9.00. Having said that, I’m also going to hedge my bets by backing Kim Clijsters to win at odds of 3.50 as I cannot see anyone but either of these two players taking the title.

During the US Open there will be further bets and chat from the BetRepublic.com members in the Tennis Talk Stadium. Come join us and post your favourite bets from the action at Flushing Meadows.