The fourth and final Grand Slam event in tennis each year is the U.S. Open, and for all intents and purposes it signals the end of the tennis season for casual fans and bettors on the sport. This year’s tournament begins on Monday in New York and concludes with the men’s singles final on September 9 – the women’s final is the night before.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Each of the four majors in tennis has a different personality, so to speak. The Australian Open is the first of the year and known for the crazy heat in Melbourne. The French Open has the peculiar red clay that tends to benefit only certain players. Wimbledon has the most tradition and the grass courts. The U.S. Open, played on hard courts, is the rowdiest of the four majors. The fans get more involved in New York than anywhere else.
The favorite on the men’s side is No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic at +250. The Serb is a two-time champion, winning in 2011 and 2015. He also has lost in the final five times, most recently in 2016 to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic entered this year in a big slump but broke out of that by winning Wimbledon for the fourth time. He also just won a U.S. Open warm-up event in Cincinnati by beating Roger Federer in the final.