The much anticipated meeting between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the US Open was ultimately not to be as Federer was ousted by a resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro on Wednesday evening. The Argentine dispatched of Federer in 4 sets to set up a meeting with Nadal who comfortably came through his last 8 tie with youngster Andrey Rublev.
In the women’s draw there is guaranteed to be a home-grown winner, with an all-American line-up in the semi-finals after Coco Vandeweghe knocked out number 1 seed Karolina Pliskova and Madison Keys dispatched Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi.
Here’s our run down the two semi-finals taking in the top halves of the respective draws:
Match Betting – Thursday 7/09/17
Women’s Semi Final – Madison Keys vs Coco Vandeweghe
Despite all their promise in recent years, very few would have predicted these two American talents would face-off for a place in the US Open final. Keys has had no form to speak of lately and bombed out early at Wimbledon and Roland Garros. Vandeweghe’s Grand Slam showings are always strong but her defeat to Magdalena Rybarikova in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, raised questions about her big game mentality – that she has answered in style this week in New York.
Head to Head
This is the 3rd meeting between these 2 women and it will be interesting to see who handles the occasion better. Keys leads the head to head 2:0 – with her most recent win coming in three sets in the first round at Cincinnati last month.
Odds and Predictions
Due to her slightly superior ranking, Keys starts as the 4/6 favourite with William Hill whilst Vandeweghe is 13/10 with Bet Victor and this should be a very close one.
With so much on the line – a 3 set match looks inevitable at 11/8 with Sky Bet.
Keys has the winning record over Vandeweghe and she seems to be coming of age on the WTA tour.
Madison Keys to win the match – 4/6 with William Hill.
Provided the match goes the distance, there will be lots of games in the tie.
The match to contain over 22 games looks a smart punt at 19/20 with Sporting Bet.
Top Bet
A maiden Grand Slam final is on the line for both players – so the first set is sure to be cagey.
A tie-break in the first set is a very generous 5/1 with Sky Bet.
Match Betting – Friday 08/09/17
Men’s Semi Final – Juan Martin Del Potro vs Rafael Nadal
Although this isn’t the match the purists wanted in New York, many will feel it’s not a bad replacement. Del Potro last lifted the trophy here in 2009 to claim his only Grand Slam win and he has shown incredible resilience to reach this stage with victories over Roberto Bautista-Agut, Dominic Thiem and of course Federer in the last round. Rafa’s route to the last 4 has been far more comfortable and he’s only dropped 2 sets through the tournament so far.
Head to Head
This is the 14th tour level meeting between these two heavyweights of the men’s game with Nadal leading the head to head 8:5. Their previous US Open meeting came at this stage back in 2009 as Del Potro demolished Rafa in straight sets on his way to lifting the crown.
Odds and Predictions
Rafa’s form and status at the top of the men’s game justify his 2/5 favouritism with Coral whilst Del Potro is more than capable of picking up the win at 12/5 with Paddy Power.
This could well be the tie of the tournament with both men seemingly at the top of their game at present.
The match to consist of 4 sets or more looks a good move at 4/6 with Paddy Power.
Three of their last 5 matches have contained tie-breaks.
A tie-break in the match is a sensible bet at 4/7 with Bet 365.
Top Bet
‘DelPo’ defied the bookies in the last round but this could be one step too far.
Backing Nadal to win and over 4 sets in the match is a smart double at 2.23 with Uni Bet.
Accumulator Bet
We’ve attempted to pick the 2 winners of the semi-final matches:-
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin Del Potro – Nadal to win.
Madison Keys vs Coco Vandeweghe – Keys to win.
Backing both players as a double pays a lucrative 2.40 with Marathon Bet.