US Open Tennis 2017: Sleepers to Watch and Latest Odds to Win Championship

A wacky and wild year in the world of professional tennis winds its way back to New York City for the 2017 U.S. Open this week. 

Where once Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were thought to be cooked as top competitors, with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in control and Stan Wawrinka on the come-up, the tables have since flipped.

Djokovic has been out on account of elbow problems since his shortfall in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Wawrinka, too, will be absent from the courts in Flushing Meadows while he recovers from a knee injury. Murray is slated to play in the U.S. Open, though he's been slipping of late with hip troubles.

That's left the door wide open for Federer and Nadal to resume their rightful places atop the ATP hierarchy. This year, Federer won his fifth Australian Open and his eighth Wimbledon title, while Nadal took home his record-extending 10th French Open trophy and reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in men's tennis for the first time in over three years.

Finding sleepers in the City That Never Sleeps is no easy feat, but any such search in this year's field begins with the young guns.

The highest-ranked among the bunch is Alexander Zverev. OddsShark has the 20-year-old German pegged at +700, and for good reason. He has five tournament victories on tour this year, including the Italian Open (over Djokovic) and Canadian Open (over Federer), making him the youngest player to take consecutive Masters 1000 titles since Nadal, at 18, claimed titles in Monte Carlo and Rome in 2005.

Not far behind Zverev, at +1400, is Nick Kyrgios. The 22-year-old Australian brings plenty of charisma to the court, along with an accurate serve, a powerful forehand and a reliable backhand.

Dominic Thiem, who checks in at +2500, is no slouch among his peer group. The soon-to-be 24-year-old Austrian claimed the ATP Rio Open title back in February and has advanced to the semifinals or further in four tournaments since then, with three losses to Nadal therein.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Odds to Win 2017 U.S. Open

• Roger Federer, +125
• Rafael Nadal, +260
• Alexander Zverev, +700
• Andy Murray, +700
• Nick Kyrgios, +1400
• Marin Cilic, +1600
• Grigor Dimitrov, +1600
• Milos Raonic, +2000
• Dominic Thiem, +2500
• Juan Martin del Potro, +2800

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

The youth movement aside, the spate of injuries and withdrawals among the old guard should open up opportunities for some venerable names hungry for a piece of the Grand Slam.

Marin Cilic (+1600) and Juan Martin del Potro (+2800) will both be searching for their second U.S. Open titles. Grigor Dimitrov (+1600) is seeking his first Major championship of any kind since he turned pro in 2008.

But if there's any veteran in the field who's overdue for a title taste, it's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At 32, the powerful Frenchman has played in just one Grand Slam final (at the 2008 Australian Open, where he lost to Djokovic) over his 14 ATP campaigns. With Djokovic out of the running entirely, perhaps 2017 will be Tsonga's time to strike—and it's your time to take him at +8000.