Tennis : US Open 2005 (August 29th - September 11th)

[edtkh]

Right, after weeks of shannanigans and rubbish tournies, the last Slam of the year is upon us and let's hope it will be business as usual as has been the case with all the other Slams. A quick preview for the US Open. In the Men's Draw, once again I wouldn't see past Federer (1.73 @ Betfair) for the title as he's quite simply in imperious form at the moment - cynics could go on arguing Federer has played in just one tourny since Wimbledon and even though he won that, there were times when his form was suspect; quite simply, I view that as the sort of class that's unique and exclusive to Federer which just sets him apart from the rest. On that basis, the US Open is clearly one for Federer to lose. That aside, one other bet that catches my eye has got to be Roddick (3.45 @ Betfair) to win in the Betting w/o Federer market. Roddick should have the beating of Nadal(which will basically be the clash of the bottom half if all goes to plan), who still hasn't convinced me entirely he's a top 3 player outside claycourts. Lasting 7 best-of-5 matches on the much faster hardcourts clearly remains a stern challenge to Nadal who will inevitably be consumed by fatigue at some stage given his all-action style of play. Considering the relevant experience, pedigree and form of the frontrunners, I'd have to fancy Roddick to book another appointment with Federer on September 11th. As for the Women's draw, this year's tourny looks more open than ever with no one in any shape or form in the run-up to the US Open to suggest anyone's a worthy frontrunner. However, a quick glance on the way the draw has shaped up and it's not hard to see who the biggest threats will be. On first looks, however, I like the look of Henin-Hardenne (5.20 @ Betfair) for the outright market as she does seem to have a relatively easy draw in her half with just Mauresmo and Davenport threatening her berth in the final - quite frankly, neither is in any shape or form to take on Henin-Hardenne given their fitness/inconsistent performances(and I don't see how Davenport exerting herself in New Haven a week before the big one actually helps her cause given how her match fitness had been questionable in the latter stages of the French Open and Wimbledon this year) over the last couple of weeks. Henin-Hardenne is certainly one to back, even if that's just for the sake of generating a superb back-and-lay proposition. The other bet that has caught my eye in the women's draw has obviously got to be laying Clijsters (3.25 @ Betfair). Granted, Clijsters could well beat just about anyone on the WTA, but as her record has shown down the years, winning a Grand Slam is quite simply another matter altogether. Clijsters has entered Grand Slams in better form than what she's shown over the last few weeks, been in positions to close out matches against big name opposition in previous Slams only to bottle it when it has mattered most - all that clearly does little to boost anyone's confidence in putting your money on someone who has yet to prove she has what it takes to deliver the goods when it matters most. Add that to the fact that she's got the Williams sisters to contend with in her quarter and Sharapova(in all likelihood) in the semis and you just start wondering how you could put a case for Clijsters to be priced at anything as ridiculously low as prices in the 3's. The top half is obviously a tough draw where anything could happen with Sharapova, Clijsters, S Williams(assuming she's lost some weight :lol ) & V Williams potentially providing the threat to Henin-Hardenne/Mauresmo/Davenport in the final. Come September 10th, though, I'd like to think I'd be really surprised - then again, what haven't we seen in the women's game? :rollin - if the winner doesn't come from one of these 3 : Sharapova/Henin-Hardenne/V Williams. I will stick up more thoughts on the individual matches when the tourny eventually gets underway...

[tranmerekev]

Re: Tennis : US Open 2005 (August 29th - September 11th) Can't disagree with a lot of what you say. I'm on Fed @ 1.88. What I want to know is where the hell is Monday's Order of Play? It has been decided apparently as I read a small snippet of it on another site and I've heard the US broadcasters have put up their TV schedules. The official site still hasn't put it up and I've looked everywhere. Can amyone point me in the right direction please?