The bottom halves of the respective men’s and women’s draws come to a conclusion on Friday with a place in the final Grand Slam of the year at stake. The women’s draw is guaranteed to have an American finalist with the resurgent Venus Williams taking on Sloane Stephens in what should be a highly entertaining match. The bottom half of the men’s draw has been wide open all week and both Kevin Anderson and Pablo Carreno-Busta will be licking their lips at the prospect of reaching a Grand Slam final.
Here’s our run down the two semi-finals taking place on Thursday:
Men’s Semi Final – Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta
Kevin Anderson is the first South African to reach the last 4 of the US Open in the open era and has been in superb form during the summer swing. His 4 set defeat over Sam Querrey on Tuesday avenged his tight 5-set loss in the last 16 at Wimbledon and has looked solid throughout the tournament. Pablo Carreno-Busta has come of age on the ATP tour this season and this will be the culmination of his season’s work if he can get to his maiden Grand Slam final and is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows this year.
Head to Head
This is the 3rd meeting between these 2 men and it will be interesting to see who handles the occasion better. Anderson leads the head to head 2:0 – with his most recent win coming in straight sets in Montreal last month.
Odds and Predictions
Kevin Anderson starts as the 2/5 favourite with William Hill whilst Carreno-Busta is 2/1with Bet 365 but it should be a very tight affair.
Backing the match to consist of 4 sets or more represents good value at 8/15 with Paddy Power.
Picking a winner is tough but Anderson’s serve has been on fire this week and he’s looking in ominous form.
Kevin Anderson to win by 3 sets to 1 is an outside punt at 14/5 with Sky Bet.
This is a match that looks sure to be decided by fine margins.
The match to have over 38.5 games looks shrewd at 3/4 with Marathon Bet.
Top Bet
Both men had 3 tie-breaks each in their last match and with so much at stake it could be another tight affair.
A tie-break in the match looks inevitable at 4/11 with Bet 365.
Venus Williams vs Sloane Stephens
This match promises to be the highlight of the schedule on Thursday and it could be a ‘changing of the guard’ match within American tennis. Venus Williams has defied her age and physical problems to reach her third Grand Slam semi-final of 2017 at the age of 37. Her win over Petra Kvitova will do lots for her confidence and she would dearly love to make it Grand Slam singles title number 8 come Saturday. Stephens’s recovery from a foot injury that crippled her over the last 2 seasons has been remarkable. Her last 8 win over Sevastova demonstrated her mental strength and resilience which she will need in abundance against Venus Williams.
Head to Head
This will be the second meeting between these 2 ladies with Stephens leading the head to head record 1:0. Their last meeting was over 2 years ago at Roland Garros and shouldn’t have too much baring on proceedings here.
Odds and Predictions
Venus has the pedigree at this level and as such is the 3/5 favourite with Sporting Bet whilst Stephens is sure to fancy her chances at 13/10 with Bet 365.
Both women endured 3 setters in the last round in New York and we could be in for another epic here.
The match to consist of 3 sets looks a good bet at 11/8 with Sky Bet.
Venus Williams looks to have the momentum and for as well as Stephens is playing – Williams should have a bit too much here.
Backing Williams to win by 2 sets to 1 looks good value at 16/5 with William Hill.
Both women came through their last 8 ties in final set tie-breaks.
A tie-break in the match looks great value at 9/4 with Bet 365.
Top Bet
Over 23 games in the match looks a shrewd bet at a generous 5/4 with Bet 365.
Accumulator Bet
We’ve attempted to pick the 2 winners of Thursday’s matches:-
Venus Williams vs Sloane Stephens – Williams to win.
Kevin Anderson vs Pablo Carreno-Busta – Anderson to win.
Backing these 2 players to win pays 2.45/1 with Ladbrokes.