Novak Djokovic 8/5
Carlos Alcaraz @ 9/5
Jannik Sinner @ 13/5
Alexander Zverev @ 8/1
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Aryna Sabalenka @ 12/5
Iga Swiatek @ 18/5
Coco Gauff @ 8/1
Elena Rybakina @ 9/1
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Every August it is traditional for the biggest stars and storylines of WWE to collide and culminate at an event called SummerSlam. The 37th incarnation of this showbiz extravaganza took place a couple of weeks ago.
Similarly, every August, the biggest stars of the tennis world convene in Flushing Meadows, New York to compete for superiority at the final Slam of their summer season. Combatants with made-up sounding names – such as Lulu Sun and Jannik Sinner – will wow the crowd, sweat profusely, and possibly smash a few racquets.
Are the characters of the tennis world as ridiculous as those in the heightened-reality environment of WWE? Does the sport contain outlandish posers, trash-talkers, and pantomime villains? Well, no. But only because Nick Kyrgios is still injured…
This year will be the 144th US Open; and, in the men’s draw, all eyes will be on the abovementioned #1 seed, and favourite to win the competition, Jannik Sinner…though not necessarily because he occupies those lofty positions.
For the marquee names of tennis, the build-up to the US Open usually involves a quick trip up to Canada, followed by a brief stay in Cincinnati. But this year, due to the sizeable appeal of the Olympics, many top players returned to the slow clay courts of Roland Garros immediately following Wimbledon, rather than begin to prepare for the hard court swing.
An upshot of this was that many of the top names did not play in Canada, and some who returned in time to play at Cincinnati appeared hugely unprepared for the faster harder surfaces. This was particularly the case for defeated Olympic finalist Carlos Alcaraz, who was beaten in the second round by veteran Gaël Monfils.
A further consequence of this humiliating defeat was that Alcaraz now arrives in New York seeded #3; so, if he meets Jannik Sinner, it will be in the semi-final, rather than the main event. The big winner – as usual – despite playing neither of the warm-up events, was the newly crowned Olympic Champion, Novak Djokovic; who will now occupy a berth in the lower half of the draw, away from those two young talents.
Will the Serbian struggle to make the transition to the speedy US surfaces? Probably not. But he is on course to meet big-hitting Ben Shelton in the 4th round, which may well provide a very stern test en route to the latter stages.
Jannik Sinner, of course, made headlines this week after it was revealed he failed two drug tests – though was quickly cleared of wrong-doing – earlier this year. Rivals and conspiracy theorists, however, are unlikely to accept the explanations behind these failures, and the spectre of doping is sure to stalk the Italian over the course of the coming fortnight.
Perhaps Nick Kyrgios isn’t the only top tennis player who has something in common with WWE superstars after all?
Aryna Sabalenka missed Wimbledon due to injury, and did not compete at the Olympics, but managed to arrive at Cincinnati fresh and ready: winning the event in domineering style, without dropping a set. Along the way to triumph she also beat in-form American hope Jessica Pegula and world #1 Iga Świątek.
Can anyone prevent Sabalenka’s 2024 US Open becoming what they call in the world of pro-wrestling a ‘squash match’ – a brief, one-sided contest where the opponent barely lands any blows or offence? Probably not until the final.
The real fun of the first few days will be away from Sabalenka, in the top half of the draw. Ostapenko v Osaka, Andreescu v Paolini, and Raducanu v Kenin are all outstanding clashes on the 1st round match card.
Will behind-the-scenes stories dominate proceedings when the bell rings at Flushing Meadows? Will the big names get the opportunity to successfully perform their finishing manoeuvres? Who will ultimately prevail at the final slam of the summer?
For all your bets on the US Open, visit our dedicated tennis betting page.
