US Open 2023: Betting Favourites

The last Grand Slam of the year begins on the 28th of August with Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek going into the US Open as the betting favourites in the men’s and women’s draw. Let’s look at some of the outright favourites.

Men’s Favourites

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic returns to the US Open main draw this year after missing the last past two editions of the event. The Serb tennis ace didn’t want to vaccinate for Covid-19 which US authorities ended up denying him to travel into their country. Whenever Djokovic enters the court, history is always on the card. He is chasing to extend his Grand Slam title to a record 24 titles and a career 68 trophies in total.

The positive note is that he managed to reign supreme in the Cincinnati 1000 masters where he came from a set down to defeat youngster Carlos Alcaraz this past weekend. He later described the match as one of the most entertaining ones in his whole career.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz will arrive as the prime favourite to claim the US Open title for the second time in two consecutive years. That is a quite big ask as in the past decade, no player has managed to achieve that. The World no 1 player is super talented though and can be dangerous on a good day in court with his never die spirit and grit resilience.

This year already, he has etched himself into the history books winning the Wimbledon Open title and defeating Novak Djokovic in the final. As one of the few players to get over the line against Djokovic that shall serve as a big motivation heading into the tournament. Plus he has a chance to get revenge since he was beaten by the same opponent in the Cincinnati Open. Can he end the year on a high?

Daniel Medvedev

Daniel Medvedev is the man on a mission now. This year, he has shown some hunger to capture the Grand Slam title but nothing has gone his way to be fair. It is hard to fault him as Slam winners Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have been displaying quality tennis all around. To dispatch them requires a player with a positive mindset plus game strategy on another level.

In a warm-up tournament, Cincinnati Open, to get ready for US Open he suffered a shocking loss to Andrey Rublev in a match where he blamed the camera for disturbing him. Quite difficult for a 2021 champion who is hoping to regain the quality tennis that made fans across the globe to fell in love with him.

Alexander Zverev

Alexander Zverev is the man in the building phase but is quite dangerous and unpredictable. Despite results being mixed in the past few months for him, it is quite hard to write him off. In 2020, he came agonizing close to winning the US Open title losing in the final to Dominic Thiem. That memory still lives with the German superstar as on the day he was tipped as the overwhelming favorite to clinch the title.

Recently he has shown some good performances, especially after that disappointing third-round loss during the Wimbledon Open. He managed to bounce back by winning German Open then lost in the semi-finals to Novak Djokovic in last week’s Cincinnati Open. Can the 26-year-old go all the way this year? 

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner is widely recognized as the outsider heading into the main draw but is one of the players to watch in the tournament. The 22-year-old Italian star is known for his powerful backhand shots which makes him one of the best in the world. He didn’t enjoy an ideal start in the Grand Slam calendar as he crashed early in both the Australian and French Open. But his performance at Wimbledon where he reached the semi-finals to lose to Novak Djokovic sent a big message to people who doubted his talent.

Despite going out early in the Cincinnati Open, Sinner will be hoping to end the year on a positive note and with a great high ranking on board. So there is a better way to showcase his attributes than in the US Open. 

Women’s Favourites

Iga Swiatek

Will Iga Swiatek continue her red-hot form? It is undeniable that Swiatek is ranked the number 1 female player in the world for the outstanding performances she has been putting in this year. She already had a Grand Slam title under her name when she successfully defended the French Open title in June. Her quest though to win Wimbledon didn’t progress in the right direction as she lost into the quarter-final. But as one of the consistent performers on the court in the women’s game, it no doubt she is tipped to reign supreme.

But she has to overcome making mistakes which let him down during the Cincinnati Masters loss to Coco Gauff. As she enters as the defending champion having won last year, she is intending to fight with everything to protect her title and chase for the career fifth Grand Slam title.

Coco Gauff

There is doubt that Coco Gauff will start the US Open in high spirits considering the wonderful form she has been in of late. The 19-year-old US tennis youngster is coming back from snatching her first master’s title by winning Cincinnati Masters last weekend. In that tournament, she managed to defeat World no1 Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals to show her classic act. That was not all, on the fourth night she powered to win CITI Bank Open.

These titles come in a good space of time considering she suffered a shocking first-round exit in the Wimbledon Open. Despite being disappointed in that result, Gauff has been steamrolled afterward to indicate that she is the born winner. The dream of the Grand Slam is still much alive and will aim to progress much further than her fourth-round best performance from last year. Can she handle the pressure and show her true potential?

Aryna Sabalenka

One thing that makes Aryna Sabalenka among the favorites to win the US Open this year is her consistency, especially in the majors. In this year’s three majors played she has reached the semi-finals three times going further once when winning Australian Open in Melbourne. Now with the chance to add to her grand Slam tally, she has to be her best once again.

She arrives back after losing the semi-final match in Cincinnati Masters last week to Karolina Muchova. It was the third time losing to the same opponent this year as she had beaten her in the French Open in June. Having reached the US Open semi-finals twice in consecutive years, Sabalenka will hope this year will be her year. Can she go all the way to the final? 

Ons Jabeur

The African Golden girl will once again carry the hopes of the nation as she continues her quest to win her maiden Grand Slam title. No African woman has ever won a major in the history of the game. Before, Jabeur has come close on three occasions to achieving that feat losing twice at Wimbledon (2022 and 2023) and once at the US Open which happened last year. She also became the first Arab woman to compete in the US Open final.

The 28-year-old Tunisian tennis sensation will look to put the Wimbledon loss behind her already. That is one of the main reasons she skipped some events to process that final defeat before returning to court last week where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Masters quarter-final. It is hard to tell if Jabeur will finally claim Grand Slam glory but signs are there that it might be her turn this time around. 

Elena Rybakina

The 25-year-old Kazakhstan international has seen much improvement in her game this year. It no doubt that she is ranked fourth in the world. In the past, she hasn’t gone past the third round of the US Open and will hope to change those fortunes this year. Her biggest victory to date remains the 20222 Wimbledon title. That indicates that she has the qualities to win the big games. She hasn’t been off her best since that quarter-final loss to Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon Open.

Even last week she stopped playing in the second set after feeling discomfort in the round of 16 clashes during the Cincinnati Masters. Despite all being said and how her results have gone against her but remains a very tough competitor on the court. 

US Open Interesting Facts

• The last non-European player to win the Men’s Singles title was Juan Martin del Potro in 2009. Del Potro will not be part of this year’s edition due to persistent injuries that have kept him outside of sport for over three years now. 

• Roger Federer is the only player to repeat as Men’s Singles champion since 2000, winning five consecutive titles (2004-08). Federer won’t be part of this year’s event as he retired from professional tennis last year. 

• The United States has produced 19 US Open champions in the Open era. Australia and Spain are tied for second with six champions each.

• 48% of all Men’s Singles champions since 2000 have won the final match in straight sets. 

• Bianca Andreescu made US Open history last year by becoming the first woman to capture the tournament in her main draw debut.

BET Contributor