2008 US Open Tennis Predictions

2008 US Open Tennis Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard

The draws have been selected for the 2008 US Open Championships which will have players ready to serve for the fourth and final leg of the Grand Slam Series from Aug. 25 to Sept. 6 as another Nadal-Federer final is possible. However, we won't see another Williams-sisters Final slam thanks to the new WTA rankings that has the sisters potentially meeting in the quarterfinals.

2008 US Open predictions - who will win the men's 2008 US Open?

It has been a summer of contrasts for former No.1 Roger Federer and current No.1 Rafael Nadal. After beating Federer in an epic five-set finale on the brown grass at Wimbledon, Nadal moved up to No.1 on the ATP. During the Summer Olympics Nadal was joking and signing autographs while Federer was not speaking to his girlfriend as she handed him water on the practice court and was all business. Nadal ended up winning Gold (the first for Spain in tennis) while Federer had to settle for Gold with his drilling partner in Men's doubles.

Indeed, it's tempting to say something is wrong with Federer since three Grand Slams have come and gone this year and he has yet to win one of them. Strange ground for a player who is used to winning three of four slams in a year and had not lost at Wimbledon in five years.

The defending US Open Champion will look to add another slam to his collection and it looks like his draw is set up so that FedExpress will cruise to the quarterfinals. There he'll likely meet the player he beat in last year's US Open, Novak Djokovic, whose fortunes after winning the Australian Open have stalled. Indeed, there is a big drop off from the No. 2 to No. 3 player in the world. I think that it's likely we'll see Federer-Djokovic in the semifinals with Federer besting his Serbian foe to make it to the Finals.

Nadal has been white-hot (or just hot if you talk to my wife) this year, but the US Open has been his least successful venue where he has never advanced past the quarterfinals. This year he'll likely meet Andy Murray, who has elevated his game over the summer. If this happens it should be a fun match to watch. This year there is added incentive as Nadal is the 2008 Olympus US Open Series Champion which means if he can manage to win the US Open he'll earn a $2.5 million bonus; the richest prize in tennis history.

However, the hottest player right now on the Olympus US Open Series Tour is No. 17 ranked Juan Del Potro, a little known Argentinean who has jumped 900 points in the rankings since 2005 and has taken two US Open Series titles in the past few weeks. He won both the Countrywide Classic and the Legg-Mason Tennis Classic over the summer. Del Potro looks like a viable long-shot that actually has a chance of making it to the finals, but first he'll have to get by David Ferrer, seeded No. 4, in the fourth round, and then of course there is that Spaniard Nadal in the semifinals.

Men's US Open Pick! Roger Federer, (5/2)
Longshot Pick! Juan Martin Del Potro, (25/1)

2008 US Open predictions - who will win the women's 2008 US Open?

There hasn't been a wider women's draw in the US Open in years. Despite the fact that the Williams sisters followed up Venus' fifth Wimbledon and their Wimbledon Ladies Doubles title with their second Olympic gold medal in doubles (their record is 10-0 in the Olympics), there are a handful of women who can win the 2008 edition of the US Open; it is just a matter of who wants it bad enough.

If all goes well the Williams sisters will meet in the quarterfinals and on the hard courts at Flushing--the surface favors Serena who is seeded No. 4 over Venus, who is seeded No. 7. However, the player with the seemingly easiest path to the semifinals is Olympus 2008 US Open Series Champion Dinara Safina who has had a great summer; if you don't count the Olympic Women's singles final. Safina lost a tough three setter to Elena Dementieva. Safina had an uncharacteristic 17 double-faults and seemed flustered the entire match.

Safina's draw is relatively top-heavy as she could meet the oft-injured Daniella Hantuchova in the fourth round and then French Open winner Ana Ivanovic. If Safina can keep it together when the pressure mounts and she gets past Ivanovic she'll have to get by one of the Williams Sisters in the semi-finals to make the Finals. Not easy, but not insurmountable for the series champion.

Personally I love the price on the WTA's No. 2 player, Jelena Jankovic, at 10/1. Considering she has one of the easier draws to the semi-finals, No. 8 Vera Zvonerava is one of the few players likely to give Jankovic a hard time. But looming matches with Davenport and Bartoli don't seem to be as draw killing as they once may have been. That is if Davenport can even get out of her first round with Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak.

This US Open is really up in the air. I have really enjoyed the resurgence of the Williams sisters and have not missed Maria Sharapova's shrieks. This is a pivotal time in women's tennis as the Williams sisters try to once again reassert their dominance over women's tennis. The question is can any other women stop them? If so, who will rise to the challenge? Every time it appears a woman is ready to take over, they fail to live up to the challenge. We'll see if a wide-open US Open can produce a different champion of if it is business as usual.

Ladies US Open Pick! Dinara Safina, (4/1)
Ladies Longshot Pick! Jelena Jankovic (10/1)

Finally, check out our daily selections at www.docsportsblog.com where I'll post my plays on the best tennis sports investments each day. I made +30 units in tennis matchups over the fortnight in Wimbledon.

2008 US Open Men's Singles Championships*

Rafael Nadal 5/4
Roger Federer 5/2
Novak Djokovic 11/4
Andy Murray 10/1
Andy Roddick 33/1
Nikolay Davydenko 50/1
David Ferrer 66/1
David Nalbandian 66/1
Marat Safin 100/1
James Blake 50/1
Ernests Gulbis 100/1
Ivo Karlovic 150/1
Richard Gasquet 100/1
Dmitry Tursunov 150/1
Igor Andreev 100/1
Mikhail Youzhny 150/1
Stanislas Wawrinka 100/1
Tomas Berdych 66/1
Marin Cilic 150/1
Fernando Gonzalez 100/1
Fernando Verdasco 66/1
Robin Soderling 150/1
Nicolas Almagro 200/1
Juan Martin Del Potro 25/1
Radek Stepanek 200/1
Tommy Haas 200/1
Nicolas Kiefer 200/1
Tommy Robredo 200/1
Janko Tipsarevic 200/1
Gilles Simon 200/1
Ivan Ljubicic 200/1
Feliciano Lopez 200/1
Gael Monfils 150/1
Sam Querrey 500/1
Mardy Fish 500/1
Juan Carlos Ferrero 500/1
Robby Ginepri 250/1
Guillermo Canas 500/1
The Field (Any Other) 25/1

2008 US Open Women's Singles Championships*

Serena Williams 3/2
Ana Ivanovic 3/1
Venus Williams 7/2
Dinara Safina 4/1
Jelena Jankovic 10/1
Elena Dementieva 12/1
Svetlana Kuznetsova 15/1
Agnieszka Radwanska 40/1
Victoria Azarenka 40/1
Anna Chakvetadze 50/1
Nicole Vaidisova 50/1
Lindsay Davenport 50/1
Amelie Mauresmo 60/1
Nadia Petrova 60/1
Agnes Szavay 60/1
Marion Bartoli 800/1
Tatiana Golovin 1000/1
Daniela Hantuchova 1000/1

* Odds Courtesy of Sportsbook.com

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