2018 U.S. Open Tennis Odds: Djokovic Betting Favorite to Win Men's Singles Title

Last year, Novak Djokovic had to withdraw from the U.S. Open due to an elbow injury, keeping the two-time champion from potentially winning a third title at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

This year, Djokovic is back as the +250 favorite (bet $100 to win $250) on the 2018 U.S. Open tennis odds to take the men's draw at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

Before missing out in 2017, the sixth-seeded Djokovic had made it to the men's final in six of the previous seven years, finishing as the runner-up four times. Rafael Nadal took advantage of his absence last year in winning his third U.S. Open title and first since 2013, and he is listed as the +350 second choice on the betting board as the top seed.

The duo has quite a rivalry in this tournament, as Nadal has won two of his U.S. Open titles against Djokovic in the final (2010 and 2013). Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 showpiece.

Each of them has earned a Grand Slam title already this year as well, with Nadal taking the French Open for a record 11th time and Djokovic winning Wimbledon for the fourth time. Nadal won last year's U.S. Open in straight sets over Kevin Anderson, who is the fifth seed this year and a longer shot to win it at +3300 on the ATP tennis odds.

Second-seeded Roger Federer is the third choice on the odds to win the U.S. Open at +400 followed by fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev (+800), Andy Murray (+1200) and third-seeded Juan Martin del Potro (+1200).

Of that group, Federer and Murray are the only former champions. Federer won the U.S. Open five consecutive times between 2004 and 2008 and most recently appeared in the final three years ago when he lost to Djokovic. Three years earlier, Murray beat Djokovic in an epic five-set championship match.

Murray is unseeded this time around as he comes back from hip surgery. He will be competing in his first Grand Slam event since Wimbledon last year when he was the defending champion and made it to the quarterfinals.

Last year's U.S. Open was the first Grand Slam event he missed since 2013, as he withdrew two days before it started.

For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.