the fourth and final tennis grand slam of 2017 is upon us. it’s been a strange old year in the sport. in the women’s game serena won yet another grand slam but has missed much of the year as she is due to give birth any time now. that has allowed garbiñe muguruza and jeļena ostapenko to lift slams, whilst the us open looks very tough to call.
our focus here, however, is the men’s game and there too, things have been unusual. there was much talk that this was the year when the young guns were finally going to break through. rafa nadal was injured, roger federer was passed it and andy murray and novak djokovic were struggling with motivation and form having achieved so many of their goals.
things didn’t pan out that way though. federer turned back the clock to win the australian open and wimbledon, with nadal claiming a record 10th french. that pair have won nine events between them thus far.
djokovic and murray have struggled though, that much is true and we have, to a degree, seen the emergence of some young players. the mid-season has seen 20 year old alexander zverev really shine. the german has won six titles this season, including two masters 1000 events.
the exciting zverev comes into the 2017 us open as the third favourite in the outright winner betting market. odds of 8/1 with unibet show he is in with a real shot but can he get over the line on the biggest stage?
us open favourites
according to the outright winner betting odds the only men priced at shorter odds than zverev are favourite federer and world number one nadal. the swiss ace is available at best betting odds of 6/4 with coral, with the mallorcan available at odds of 11/4 with ladbrokes.
neither man has prevailed in this event since nadal beat djokovic in 2013, with the last of federer’s five us titles coming back in 2008. there have been so many high profile withdrawals from the 2017 championships that both men will feel they have a real chance to add to their amazing tallies of majors.
djokovic is out, injured, whilst 2016 champion stan wawrinka has pulled out with a knee problem. world number 10 kei nishikori is out with a wrist problem, the same issue that has recently caused world number 11 milos raonic to withdraw. with andy murray having endured hip and back problems for much of the year, this year’s us open may be a case of survival of the fittest!
zverev has youth on his side and will come here full of confidence and our odds comparison shows the 8/1 on him is decent value. some bookies price the youngster at 13/2.
dark horses for flushing meadows glory?
nick kyrgios may tempt some at odds of 18/1 with william hill, whilst the best betting odds on grigor dimitrov are 20/1 with the same firm. marin cilic, who won here in 2014 and also made the final of wimbledon this summer, is sure to interest some at odds of 20/1 with unibet. dominic thiem is available at 25/1 with paddy power but we don’t think the surface will suit and his form has tailed off a little.
conclusion
as said, this year’s men’s us open is tough to predict, with several key contenders and plenty of interesting options at longer odds. the withdrawals have really opened up the draw but whilst we feel federer is a worthy favourite, his odds look too short for us.
we’re happy to stick our neck out a little here and predict a stunning first (of many) grand slam title for zverev. the first slam is probably the hardest to win and the youngster’s inexperience is against him. however, we think his brilliant all-round game and the fearless exuberance of youth can see him home.
he beat federer in the final in cincinnati at the start of the month and his baseline play, superb second serve and sheer determination can see him land the us open. odds of 8/1 look solid so back zverev and watch the birth of a star.