US Open Tennis 2012 Bracket: Bold Predictions for Odds, Upsets and Sleepers

The final grand slam of the tennis season got underway on Monday. After a busy summer due to the added attraction of the Olympics, the game's best players arrived at the U.S. Open looking to use all of their remaining energy to make a deep run in New York.

Let's take a look at some predictions for both the men's and women's tournaments, including some value picks, stars on upset alert during the first week and overlooked players capable of making deep runs. Odds are courtesy of bovada.lv.

Best Value Odds

Juan Martin Del Potro: 10/1

Del Potro is the only player outside of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win a major tournament since 2006, and it came at the U.S. Open three years ago. The courts play to his strengths and he should be close to full health after some nagging injuries held him back.

Angelique Kerber: 20/1

Aside from a potentially tricky matchup against Venus Williams in the second round, Kerber has an extremely favorable draw leading up to the semifinals. She reached the final in the Cincinnati warm-up event and has been in good form all summer.

Upset Alert

Andy Roddick

It's been a season to forget for Roddick. He hasn't advanced beyond the third round in any of the majors and is once again in danger of an early exit. Don't be surprised if Australian Bernard Tomic takes him out in the second round.

Francesca Schiavone

Schiavone hasn't reached the quarterfinals of a grand slam event since losing in the French Open final last year. While she is seemingly on the decline, young American Sloane Stephens is on the rise and has a great chance to pull off the opening round upset.

Sleepers

John Isner

The men's major tournaments have been dominated by the same cast of characters in recent years, but don't completely count out Isner. He won't have to face any of the top three until the semifinals and has looked dangerous in recent weeks during the U.S. Open series.

Ana Ivanovic

It seems like a generation has passed since Ivanovic won the French Open in 2008. She went through plenty of struggles after that, but has steadily improved recently. Thanks to a favorable draw, she has a great opportunity to make her first quarterfinal appearance since that French triumph.