US Open Tennis 2018: Bracket Predictions, Odds for Top Players, Prize Money Info
One hundred and twenty-eight men and women enter the 2018 U.S. Open with the hopes of becoming the last major winners of the tennis season.
Capturing a major is incredibly hard on the men's side because of the dominance of the sport's top three players, but there's the possibility a surprise champion could emerge thanks to the way draw is laid out.
The women's bracket appears to have many more legitimate contenders, with Serena Williams headlining the field.
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Including Williams, there are close to a dozen women in the U.S. Open draw who could get on a roll and leave the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with hardware.
Odds for Top Players
Men's Draw
Novak Djokovic +250 (bet $100 to win $250)
Rafael Nadal +350
Roger Federer +400
Alexander Zverev +800
Andy Murray +1,200
Juan Martin del Potro +1,200
Marin Cilic +1,800
Nick Kyrgios +2,000
Grigor Dimitrov +2,000
Women's Draw
Serena Williams +500
Simona Halep +700
Angelique Kerber +700
Sloane Stephens +1,000
Garbine Muguruza +1,200
Caroline Wozniacki +1,200
Elina Svitolina +1,200
Karolina Pliskova +1,400
Petra Kvitova +1,400
Madison Keys +1,400
Odds via OddsShark.
Prize Money Info
Winner: $3.8 million
Runner-Up: $1.85 million
Semifinalists: $925,000
Quarterfinalists: $475,000
Round of 16: $266,000
Round of 32: $156,000
Round of 64: $93,000
Round of 128: $54,000
The largest purse in U.S. Open history will be handed out at the 2018 edition of the competition.
Of the $53 million worth of prize money, $3.8 million will be given to the men's and women's singles champions, per the tournament's official website.
Just for qualifying for the tournament, each player is set to receive $54,000. A berth in the final is worth $1.8 million.
Bracket Predictions
Men's Singles
The top 10 seeds in the men's singles bracket are a mixture of major champions and players on the verge of their Grand Slam breakthroughs.
The obvious names to watch are No. 1 Rafael Nadal, No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 6 Novak Djokovic, who have 50 Grand Slam titles between them.
Andy Murray, who entered the men's draw thanks to his protected ranking, and Stanislas Wawrinka, who qualified as a wild-card entry, are the only players outside of the big three to win a Grand Slam title since the start of 2016.
Third-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro and seventh-seeded Marin Cilic won the only majors of their respective careers at the U.S. Open in 2009 and 2014, respectively.
A handful of other top seeds in the men's bracket tried to end the Big Three's stranglehold, but few have been able to conquer Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, with No. 5 Kevin Anderson being the latest to fail versus Djokovic at Wimbledon.
We could witness similar results at the U.S. Open, as Nadal avoids Djokovic and Federer until the final, and there's a small chance the Spaniard might not face either in the final, as Djokovic and Federer are on a collision course for a quarterfinal showdown.
If the Djokovic-Federer quarterfinal goes five sets, a player like Alexander Zverev or Cilic could take an easier path to the semifinals and be fresher for the final four challenge.
Prediction: Novak Djokovic over Rafael Nadal in final.
Women's Singles
Normally, the No. 1 seed receives some type of reward with an easy draw, but that isn't the case for Simona Halep.
The top-seeded Romanian starts out her tournament against Kaia Kanepi, who reached the quarterfinals in New York a year ago.
Awaiting in the fourth round is a potential matchup with either Serena or Venus Williams, and if the bracket goes to chalk, No. 8 Karolina Pliskova or No. 12 Garbine Muguruza could be up in the final eight.
No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki faces a similar situation on her end of the bracket, as she takes on 2011 U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur in her opening contest.
Petra Kvitova, who has the most singles titles on the WTA Tour this season, could line up across from Wozniacki in the quarterfinals.
If most of the top seeds advance into the second week of the competition, we could see four star-studded quarterfinals. But that hasn't been the case recently, as the notable players in the women's draw have gone into survival mode just to get out of first week.
While it's nice to have parity in the sport, having the game's top stars shine all at once at a major helps as well.
If Serena Williams is able to get past her sister and Halep in the third and fourth rounds, respectively, she must be considered a favorite to win it all.
However, don't count out experienced players like Kvitova and Angelique Kerber, who could finish off strong seasons with a victory in New York.
Prediction: Serena Williams over Petra Kvitova in final.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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