2012 Men’s US Open Tennis Championship
Monday, August, 27-Sunday, September 9, 2012
TV Coverage: ESPN, ESPN2, CBS
USTA National Tennis Center – Flushing Meadows, New York
Playing Surface: DecoTurf Hard Courts
Defending Champion: Novak Djokovic
All Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Unlike the Women’s side of the draw for the US Open, which has had seven different winners in the last seven grand slams, only three men have won 32 of the 35 Grand Slam events since 2004. The only players not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic to win a major in that time period are Gaston Gaudio (2004 French Open), Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open), and Juan Martin Del Potro (2009 US Open). Perhaps someone can break that stranglehold this year at the US Open because Nadal hasn’t played since a loss at Wimbledon because of a knee injury. Still Federer and Djokovic are in the field so it won’t be easy to beat either one of them.
Let’s take a look at some of the favorites and contenders to win the 2012 US Open with odds courtesy of Bookmaker.
Novak Djokovic (7/5)
Djokovic is 25 from Serbia. He is 54-10 this season with titles at the Australian Open, Miami, and Toronto. He was the runner-up at the French Open, Monte Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati.
Djokovic is a 5 time major champion, and is the defending champion at the US Open. He has made the semifinals of the last 9 Grand Slam events, including Wimbledon this year. Djokovic also made the semifinals at the Olympics this year, held at the All-England Club where Wimbledon is held. He ended up losing in the semifinals at the Olympics to Andy Murray, and the bronze medal match to Juan Martin Del Potro.
Djokovic is the #2 seed at the US Open. Djokovic shouldn’t be tested until the fourth round when he could potentially face #14 Alexandr Dolgopolov or #18 Stanislas Wawrinka. Djokovic could face #7 Del Potro, #20 Andy Roddick, or #10 Juan Monaco in the quarterfinals. Djokovic should make it to the semifinals where he could meet David Ferrer or John Isner. Djokovic should make the final.
Roger Federer (2/1)
Federer just turned 31. As recently as June people were wondering if his rivals Nadal and Djokovic had passed the great Federer by, and if he would ever win another major title. Well that was before he won his seventh Wimbledon title, by beating Djokovic in the semifinals and Andy Murray in the final. Murray would go on to beat Federer in the gold medal match at the Olympics.
For the season, Federer is 56-7 with 5 other titles at Cincinnati, Madrid, Indian Wells, Dubai, and Rotterdam, and a runner-up at Halle. He lost in the semifinals at both the Australian and French Opens. He has won 17 major titles in his career.
Federer is the #1 seed for the US Open. He is a 5 time US Open champion, but hasn’t won since 2008. He has been beaten in the semis here the last two years. Federer could face either #16 Gilles Simon or #23 Mardy Fish in the fourth round. Potential quarterfinal opponents include #6 Tomas Berdych or #11 Nicolas Almagro. He could face Murray or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals.
Andy Murray (5/2)
Murray is 25 from Scotland. Murray is 40-11 with titles at the Olympics and Brisbane. He has runner-ups at Wimbledon, Miami, and Dubai. Though he still doesn’t have the elusive grand slam title he was looking for, an Olympic gold medal won in his own home country was pretty sweet for Murray.
Murray is the 3 seed at the US Open. He was the runner-up here in 2008 and made the semifinals last year. Otherwise, he has never made it past the fourth round any other time at the US Open. Murray shouldn’t be tested until the fourth round when he could face #15 Milos Raonic. Possible quarterfinal opponents include Tsonga or #12 Marin Cilic. I think Murray goes back to the semifinals.
Juan Martin Del Potro (7/2)
Del Potro is 23 from Argentina. He is 48-13 this season with titles at Estoril and Marseille, and a runner up at Rotterdam. He lost in the quarters of the Australian and French Opens, and the fourth at Wimbledon. He made it to the semifinals of the Olympics where he lost in 3 sets to Federer. The 3rd set ended up 19-17 Federer, so Del Potro had his chances. Still, Del Potro upset Djokovic to win the bronze medal. Del Potro won the 2009 US Open, his only major title. However, he hasn’t advanced past the quarters in any slam since then.
Del Potro is the #7 seed in the US Open. He could face Andy Roddick or countryman Juan Monaco in the fourth round, and Djokovic in the quarters.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9/2)
Tsonga is 27 from France. He is 40-16 this season with a title at Doha. He advanced to the fourth round at the Australian Open, the quarters at the French, and the semis at Wimbledon. He lost in the quarters at the Olympics to Djokovic. Tsonga advanced to the final of the 2008 Australian Open, but has never advanced to another since.
Tsonga is the #5 seed at the Open. He has never advanced past the quarterfinals here. Tsonga is in the same section of the draw as Murray. Tsonga should advance at least to the quarters, but I don’t know if he can beat Murray.
Other contenders and their odds to win include Milos Raonic (5/1), David Ferrer (15/2), Tomas Berdych (17/2), John Isner (10/1), Robin Soderling (15/1), Mardy Fish (25/1), and Andy Roddick (35/1).
Our sports handicappers are red hot. Don’t miss out on any more winners from now until the tournament ends.
