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US Open Tennis 2018 Preview, Predictions Favourites and Odds

Neill Simpson 25 th August 2018

The final tennis Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, comes at you from the iconic Flushing Meadows in New York. Known as one of the favourite tournaments for both the fans and players, it is the one Slam that does always seem more open than the rest, making it a little more difficult to predict. Check out our preview for the 2018 US Open tennis including all the favourites and odds.

Where is the 2018 US Open Tennis Being Played?

The 2018 US Open is the final Grand Slam of the season and is a tournament run by the International Tennis Federeration and forms part of both the WTA and ATP Tour calendars. This year will be the 138th edition of the event and takes place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows on the outskirts of New York City.

The tennis center has 33-courts in all, although just 14 of them will be used including the Arthur Ashe Stadium which has a capacity of 23,200, the largest for a tennis court in the world which comes with a retractable roof so tennis can still continue when the weather sets in.

The tournament consists of both the men and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. There is also a tournament for the under 18 boys and girls, which serves as a great platform for the youngsters in their future professional aspirations, as seen with the likes of Stefan Edberg, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray who all won both the junior and senior titles at the US Open.

When is the 2018 US Open Tennis being played?

Like all of the Grand Slams, the 2018 US Open will take place over a two-week period beginning on the 27th of August with the men’s final bringing the curtain down on the 9th of September.

Who are the 2018 US Open Tennis Men and Ladies Defending Champions?

Rafa Nadal comes into the 2018 US Open tennis as the defending champion and will look to add a fourth one to his already impressive collection of 17 Grand Slam titles. Last year he cruised through to the final dropping just three sets, before going on to demolish South African Kevin Anderson.

The Spaniard is having another superb year, which includes a record extending 11th French Open title and the world number one ranked status, however as we have seen at the US Open, the tournament is wide open as shown by the fact that there have been seven different winners in the last 10 years in the men’s draw.

2017 US Open: Rafael Nadal vs. Kevin Anderson

In the ladies draw it was an all American final, (the first since the Williams’ sister played each other back in 2002) as Sloane Stephens defeated Madison Keys in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam.

2017 US Open: Keys vs. Stephens Match Highlights

 

Who are the 2018 US Open Tennis Men and Ladies Seeds?

The seeds for both the ladies and men’s draw of the 2018 US Open tennis will be based on their world rankings as of the 21 of August. As it stands Rafa Nadal will be the top seed followed by five-time champion Roger Federer, while in the ladies draw Simona Halep leads the charge followed by Carolina Wozniacki.

2018 US Open Men’s Singles Seeds

1. Rafael Nadal, Spain
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland
3. Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina
4. Alexander Zverev, Germany
5. Kevin Anderson, South Africa
6. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
7. Marin Cilic, Croatia
8. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria
9. Dominic Thiem, Austria
10. David Goffin, Belgium
11. John Isner, United States
12. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain
13. Diego Schwartzman, Argentina
14. Fabio Fognini, Italy
15. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece
16. Kyle Edmund, Great Britain
17. Lucas Pouille, France
18. Jack Sock, United States
19. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain
20. Borna Coric, Croatia
21. Kei Nishikori, Japan
22. Marco Cecchinato, Italy
23. Hyeon Chung, South Korea
24. Damir Dzumhur, Bosnia and Herzegovina
25. Milos Raonic, Canada
26. Richard Gasquet, France
27. Karen Khachanov, Russia
28. Denis Shapovalov, Canada
29. Adrian Mannarino, France
30. Nick Kyrgios, Australia
31. Fernando Verdasco, Spain
32. Filip Krajinovic, Serbia

2018 US Open Women’s Singles Seeds

1. Simona Halep, Romania
2. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark
3. Sloane Stephens, United States
4. Angelique Kerber, Germany
5. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
6. Caroline Garcia, France
7. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
8. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic
9. Julia Goerges, Germany
10. Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia
11. Daria Kasatkina, Russia
12. Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain
13. Kiki Bertens, Netherlands
14. Madison Keys, United States
15. Elise Mertens, Belgium
16. Venus Williams, United States
17. Serena Williams, United States
18. Ashleigh Barty, Australia
19. Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia
20. Naomi Osaka, Japan
21. Mihaela Buzarnescu, Romania
22. Maria Sharapova, Russia
23. Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic
24. CoCo Vandeweghe, United States
25. Daria Gavrilova, Australia
26. Aryna Sabalenka, Belarus
27. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia
28. Anett Kontaveit, Estonia
29. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia
30. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain
31. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia
32. Maria Sakkari, Greece

2018 US Open Tennis Men Favourites

Novak Djokovic 14/5

Djokovic arrives at the US Open in prime form following his victory over Roger Federer in the Cincinnati Masters final. The win for the Serb former world number one saw him become the first man in history to win all nine Masters titles and leaves him in the perfect position to lift a third US Open title.

It appears he is over his injuries and back to his very best form. This confidence boosting win makes him a good bet at 14/5 to go all the way in New York.

Djokovic 14/5 here

Roger Federer 7/2

Roger Federer will be determined to put his Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Kevin Anderson behind him, especially when he was two sets up and had two match points. The perfectionist that he is, you can bet he has been quietly reflecting that a second Grand Slam of the year got away from him at SW19.

The 37-year-old has three tournament wins to his name this year, although he has also gone to some lengths in managing his schedule, missing the whole clay court season. He also chose to miss the Rogers Cup, although does arrive off the back of a good showing at the Cincinnati Masters where he reached the final, eventually losing to rival Djokovic.

From 2004 to 2009 the Swiss Maestro reigned supreme at Flushing Meadows winning five consecutive titles and losing to Juan Martin Del Potro in the 2009 final. He also lost in the 2015 final to Novak Djokovic.

Federer 17/2 here

Rafa Nadal 11/4

Nadal is injury free and enjoying his tennis again, which explains why he is top of the rankings and has won five titles so far this year, his most recent in the Rogers Cup. The jury is still out on where he stands in terms of all-time greatness, one of the debates being 11 of his Slams have come at the French Open on clay, meaning he has won just the six on his lesser surfaces.

If Nadal can defend his title and win a fourth US Open crown, he will not only move to within two Slams of Federer’s haul, but also underline that he is not a one trick pony and can win consistently on other surfaces.

Nadal 11/4 here

Alex Zverev 9/1

The 21-year-old German is really coming of age in 2018, and there is every reason to back him to go all the way.  He has three titles to his name and has also reached an additional two finals. He redcently defended his Washington Open title, although couldn’t quite reach the heights at the Rogers Cup, going out in the quarterfinals as the defending champion.

Fatigue set in at Cincinnati afer he was dumped out in the opening round, the fourth consecutive year this has happened at the Western and Southern Open.

Zverev already has 9-ATP Tour titles at such a young age and will unquestionably be a future world number one.

He knows how to deal with the pressure of the big occasions as we saw last year when he beat Roger Federer in the final of Halle and the Rogers Cup.

Zverev 9/1 here

2018 US Open Tennis Men Outsiders

Juan Martin Del Potro at 10/1 when fit, is always worth looking at on the hard courts. His form this year has been good as we saw in his Wimbledon run which ended with the epic quarterfinal loss to Nadal. He is the 2009 US Open Champion and regards the hard courts his favourite surface.

Marin Cilic is another dangerous opponent and can be back at 16/1 to repeat his 2014 success. If his serve is on song and his baseline power has the accuracy he sometimes lacks, then he will get on a good run as we have seen at both the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati where he reached the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is definitely one to watch. The Greek teenager has really made an impact leading up to the US Open with his semifinal loss to Zverev in Washington, then overturning the result in the Rogers Cup on his way to the final where he lost to Nadal. He did also account for Djokovic and Thiem in Toronto.

This guy is very much the future of the men’s game, he is tall, athletic, has a massive serve and even more powerful ground strokes, not to mention the mental resolve to find that little extra when he is against the ropes. There is definitely a fiery rivalry brewing in the men’s game between him and Zverev and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw it again in the US Open.

2018 US Open Tennis Ladies Favourites

The ladies draw has a pretty open feel about it especially when you take into account Serena Williams lack of game time since Wimbledon. Sloane Stephens is the defending champion and looks in decent form coming into the Flushing Meadows showpiece, although Simona Halep certainly looks like the player to beat this year.

Let’s take a look at some of the favourites and possible outsiders for the 2018 US Open Ladies draw.

Serena Williams 11/2

Serena Williams starts as favourite for every tournament she enters regardless of her form or ranking. So often down the years much depends on which Serena turns up, if she is 70% on her game then she will most likely go on and win. That said, I don’t feel like I can say this with the same confidence as before. She has played very little tennis all year and I simply don’t feel her form or mentality is there.

The reality is what more does she need to achieve? She has won 23-single Grand Slam titles, six of those coming at Flushing Meadows. Marriage and motherhood has become a big part of her life over the last 15-months or so and at 36-years-of-age, who came blame her for wanting to wind things down.

Her first round 6-1, 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Jo Konta at the Silicon Valley Classic a few weeks back and her three-set loss to Kvitova in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters, shows her game is not there. She will also be seeded 17 meaning there is a very good chance in the early rounds she could meet a top 10 player in good form.

I really can’t see her adding to her six US Open titles this year and wouldn’t be surprised if she used this occasion to say farewell to all her US supporters.

Williams 11/2 here

Angelique Kerber 15/2

Angelique Kerber is the 2016 US Open Champion and arrives off the back of her Wimbledon title a few months ago. One of the problems here lies in the fact that she has had very little competitive tennis since her victory over Williams at SW19. A second round loss in Montreal to Alize Cornet and a quarterfinal loss to Madison Keys in Cincinnati isn’t the ideal build-up for the German.

One thing she does having going for her is the surface. The hard courts are where she produces her best tennis and considering she knows how to do the business in New York, she will be in the running.

In Cincinnati she did show glimpses of the form we know she is capable of.

Kerber 15/2 here

Simona Halep 13/2

I would be getting behind the diminutive Romanian at that price. The current world number one is the form player at the moment and has performed exceptionally well in the Slams this year, winning the French Open and reaching the final at the Aussie Open.

Ten of her 18-titles have come on the hard courts, while she has reached an additional six finals on the surface.

Her three-set victory over Sloane Stephens in the Rogers Cup and another good showing in Cincinnati which saw her lose to Kiki Bertens in the final despite being a set up, showcases her game is in great shape.

Halep 13/2 here

Sloane Stephens 8/1

The defending champion is in pretty good form coming into the US Open. A losing finalist at the Rogers Cup showcased the state of her game, not to mention five out of her six professional titles have come on the hard courts.

In Cincinnati she reached the round of 16 before losing to eventual winner Kiki Bertens. Her form is good and she will be playing in front of her home crowd which will be a boost for the defending champion.

Stephens 8/1 here

2018 US Open Tennis Ladies Outsiders

This is where the open side of the draw really comes in. There are quite a few ladies here that could go all the way, all of which have very accomplished games on the Flushing Meadows surface.

Elina Svitolina thrives on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, eight of her 12-professional titles coming on the surface. She also has the distinction of beating Simona Halep in a final this year at the Italian Open, although this was on clay.

My point here is that she knows how to win the big tournaments. At 15/1 not sure I will be backing her as an outsider purely on the basis she has really struggled since that Italian Open win.

Petra Kvitova is an underachiever at the US Open. Her powerful groundstrokes from the baseline have been key to her winning 17-hard court titles and with four tournament victories to her name in 2018, the Czech star looks a good outside bet at 12/1. Her run to the Cincinnati Masters semifinals, shows that she is in good shape coming into the tournament.

Maria Sharapova 11/1, last year’s finalist Madison Keys at 14/1 and two-time US Open runner-up Carolina Wozniacki at 11/1, are all capable of going all the way here. Both Sharapova and Wozniacki poulled out of Cincinnati while Keys got herself into the quarterfinals before losing to Sabalenka.

US Open Tennis 2018 SPORTSvox.com Prediction

With the draw now in place the projected quarterfinals in the men’s draw paints an interesting picture. In the top half of the draw Nadal could face last years finalist Anderson, while Del Potro and Isner could face-off. The bottom half looks a little tougher with Zverev facing Cilic and Federer taking on Djokovic.

Looking at this possible line-up I can see a Djokovic v Nadal final, with the Serb taking the spoils.

In the ladies draw Simona Halep against Sloane Stephens is on the cards as a potential semfinal, with Bertens and Ostapenko a possibilty in the bottom half.

Halep is the form player having reached the final in her last four tournaments, winning three. If Bertens does make it through I expect Halep to revenge her Cincinnati final loss and clinch her first US Open title.

Neill Simpson 25th August 2018
Novak Djokovic Rafa Nadal Roger Federer Tennis US Open