US Open champion earns respect and is now priced close to Nadal and Federer.

Now that the 2009 US Open is over there is not another Grand Slam in the near future. However Stan James, on the ball as usual, has already released its prices for several key players on the men’s tour.

At this point the favorites still run six deep though Andy Roddick is a questionable favorite:

1. Roger Federer, +200 (2/1). 2. Rafael Nadal, +250 (5/2). 3. Juan Martin Del Potro, +275 (11/4). 4. Andy Murray, +350 (7/2). 5. Novak Djokovic, +550 (11/2). 6. Andy Roddick, +1600 (16/1). In that group, Roddick and Murray look like the two worst bets based on their poor performances at the US Open. On the other hand Nadal and Djokovic are probably the players that should be attracting money at this point. Djokovic played exceptionally well hard court tennis over the summer and he has won the Aussie before. Nadal, despite losing to Del Potro in the semis, still matched his career best US Open performance and will certainly be looking to perfect his game to defend his 2009 championship.

[Source: http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Tennis/Australian-Open-2010--Juan-Martin-Del-Potro-Among-Favorites-200909150003/]

Serena will have to be at the top of her game to win this match.

With all of the top seeds that have been falling left and right on the women’s draw it’s time to look at who the favorites are. Betting trends put Serena Williams, correctly, as the favorite followed by Kim Clijsters (correctly), but after that the list is all wrong. Here are the favorites in terms of odds (subject to change).

1. Serena Williams, Paddy Power -120 (5/6). 2. Kim Clijsters, Victor Chandler +600 (6/1). 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Paddy Power +800 (8/1). 4. Caroline Wozniacki, Victor Chandler +1200 (12/1). 5. Flavia Pennetta, Betfred +2000 (20/1). And here are how the favorites should look, with the top 3 players all on the same side of the draw: 1. Serena Williams 2. Kim Clijsters 3. Flavia Pennetta 4. Caroline Wozniacki 5. Svetlana Kuznetsova Post-Wimbledon Flavia Pennetta has been tough as hell to play against as she has surged into the WTA top 10. At one point she had a 15 match winning streak going that included two titles and wins over 3 top 10 players, including Venus Williams.

In her round of 16 match at Flushing Meadows versus Vera Zvonareva, Pennetta lost the first set but then she came back to win in 3 sets 3-6, 7-6, 6-0 and she saved half a dozen match points while doing it.

Pennetta is going to be the underdog facing Serena Williams in the quarters, as Williams is the defending champ, but Pennetta has been so tough lately and so resilient against adversity that you shouldn’t be afraid to bet on the upset if you like the odds that you are given. The fact that Pennetta is +2000 to win the US Open in the futures market while Williams is -120 certainly reflects who will be the more popular pick but if you can find something like +400 (4/1) or better on Pennetta to win, then that will be a valuable enough price to justify the risk on the underdog.

[Source: http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Tennis/US-Open-2009--Serena-Williams-vs-Flavia-Pennetta-200909070003/]

Venus Williams vs. Magdalena Rybarikova 2009 US Open Results, Odds, & Predictions: After surviving a first round scare versus Vera Dushevina, Venus Williams quickly rebounded with a straight set, round 2 win over fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Now in the 2009 US Open Results, Odds, & Predictions’ third round, Venus Williams [-1000 ML] will take on sports betting odds underdog Magdalena Rybarikova [+550 ML]. This match is scheduled to take place at Arthur Ashe Stadium starting at 7 PM ET (4 PM PT) tonight from Flushing Meadows.

Please don’t forget that, before making your 2009 US Open Results, Odds, & Predictions Picks, get the latest sports betting odds and your free sports picks from the best online US Open Betting Odds sportsbooks, free courtesy of Sports-Odds.com.   The third seeded Williams won back-to-back New York titles in 2000 and 2001. The following year, Venus lost in the US Open finals to her sister Serena, finishing as the 2002 runner up.

Since ‘02 the older of the Williams sisters has been eliminated twice in the quarterfinals (2005 & 2208), in the fourth round in 2004, and she reached the US Open semifinals in 2007.

The only two majors that the 7-time Grand Slam Champion has yet to win are the Australian Open and the French Open. Venus was the runner-up in the 2003 Australian and her best finish in France came the year before, where she was once again the tournament’s runner up.

Bet on Venus Williams vs. Magdalena Rybarikova 2009 US Open Betting Odds and Get a 100% Deposit Bonus at SportsBook.com. Betting on Venus Williams vs. Magdalena Rybarikova 2009 US Open Betting Odds and claiming your Deposit Bonus is easier than you think: simply use promo code WIN100 and start winning today with the 2009 US Open Results, Odds, & Predictions, Sports-Odds.com and SportsBook.com, you winning ace in NYC!

[Source: http://sports-odds.com/tennis/090409-venus-williams-vs-magdalena-rybarikova-2009-us-open-results-odds-predictions.html]

Gonzalez and Kohlschreiber are the two dark horses for the tournament on the men’s side.

Fernando Gonzalez pulled out of his first round match hurt against Tomas Berdych in Cincinnati last month after losing the first set 4-6. His price in the futures market immediately started to drift for the US Open as he became a bit of a question mark. However, Gonzalez, a very dangerous player on the men’s tour, looked perfectly fine in the first round at Flushing Meadows the other night as he cruised past Nicolas Massu 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. What makes Gonzalez such a threat on tour is that he is all-in on virtually every shot he hits. He has career victories over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, and it’s known that when he is ‘on’ that he can take out virtually anyone.

Gonzalez gets a little tight around the collar when the pressure is on sometimes but the runner-up at the 2007 Australian Open and the semifinalist at Roland Garros this year has a pretty good draw to the semifinals at the present US Open.

His next match is against Josselin Ouanna, the 103rd ranked player on tour, and you have to think Gonzalez will win that match. Down the road, should Gonzalez keep winning, he may encounter Tomas Berdych and/or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. There’s no real reason to think that Gonzalez can’t win either match as Berdych isn’t exactly a force on tour while Gonzalez vs Tsonga would be a coin toss.

If Gonzalez simply plays like he is able to he might find himself squaring off against Rafael Nadal in the quarters and the US Open isn’t exactly the Spaniard’s best Slam. With that there is reason to believe that Gonzalez can realistically make the semifinals here at the US Open and that makes his price to win at Flushing Meadows a good one at +10000 (100/1; bet365).

On the other half of the draw Philipp Kohlschreiber has exuded some strength lately. His play has been somewhat sporadic since Wimbledon where he lost to Roger Federer in the third round but he does have victories over Tommy Robredo, Fernando Verdasco, and Tomas Berdych in between Slams. He also beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on tour this year as well as Novak Djokovic at the French Open so there is no reason to believe he can’t beat some big names on tour.

Kohlschreiber has a tough draw ahead of him but both of his two opening round victories were very efficient straight sets wins. Also, he looked very sharp in those sets as his shots were often very well paced, tight to the net, deep, and most importantly – they were in. With Stepanek ahead of him and then likely Djokovic and probably Roddick, Kohlscreiber is far from a lock for the semis, but he does have the ability within himself to beat players of top 5 calibre so he can’t be written off either.

If you are only interested in longshots at this point Kohlschreiber (+20000 to win the US Open, 200/1; bet365) and Gonzalez are the two players to sprinkle a bet on.

If you don’t want to pick them to win the title outright because you don’t think the prices are worth it, then you might want to consider pounding bets on them in their individual matches as they develope.

[Source: http://www.crunchsports.com/category/Tennis/US-Open-2009--Fernando-Gonzalez-and-Philipp-Kohlschreiber-200909040006/]