US Open Tennis 2020: Latest Odds and Predictions for Top Contenders

Upon first glance at the 2020 U.S. Open men's singles draw, there is a massive gap between Novak Djokovic and the rest of the players. 

Djokovic owns 17 Grand Slam championships, while the other 31 seeded players have a single major title between them from Marin Cilic's 2014 U.S. Open triumph. 

Even with a large disparity in major titles, the budding stars of the men's game could challenge the top seed to crown a new Grand Slam winner. 

The women's singles draw is much more crowded, with six Grand Slam champions from the top 17 seeds. 

Twenty-three-time champion Serena Williams has had the most overall success in the women's singles field, but she has not won a Grand Slam since the 2017 Australian Open. 

Williams will certainly be in the mix to win at the USTA National Tennis Center, but she will face a long list of contenders to claim the season's second major crown. 

Odds

Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic (-120; bet $120 to win $100)

Daniil Medvedev (+600; bet $100 to win $600) 

Dominic Thiem (+600)

Stefanos Tsitsipas (+850)

Alexander Zverev (+1600)

Women's Singles

Naomi Osaka (+400)

Serena Williams (+550)

Karolina Pliskova (+1000)

Sofia Kenin (+1100)

Petra Kvitova (+1500)

Full odds can be found at Caesars Palace

Predictions For Top Contenders

Dominic Thiem Causes Most Problems For Novak Djokovic

Dominic Thiem is the player Djokovic should be most scared of in the men's draw. 

The No. 2 seed owns four victories against the top-ranked Serb and pushed him to five sets in the Australian Open final.

Thiem has been most successful against Djokovic on clay courts, as the Austrian has two victories over the No. 1 seed at Roland Garros. 

However, Thiem's most recent triumph over Djokovic occurred on a hard court at the 2019 ATP Tour Finals in London.

Cilic, Andy Murray and Felix Auger-Aliassime could pose challenges to Thiem, but he proved at the Australian Open that he can get past any type of player. 

To reach the final in Melbourne, Thiem outlasted Gael Monfils, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev before fighting with Djokovic.

Given the progress he has made recently and his form against the top seed, Thiem seems like the best candidate to claim his first major title in New York. 

Thiem is likely the biggest threat to Djokovic extending his major dominance to 18 titles, and if chalk holds in the men's draw, we could be in for another terrific final. 

Serena Williams Struggles To Get Out Of Her Section

Williams was not handed an easy draw to advance out of the first week in New York.

The No. 3 seed was drawn alongside No. 15 Maria Sakkari, who beat Williams in three sets at the Western & Southern Open. 

Before Williams can even get to a rematch with the Greek player, she may have to get past Sloane Stephens in the third round. 

Williams owns a 5-1 career mark against her fellow American, but three of those six meetings have gone the distance. 

Williams is not the only women's singles title contender with a tough draw in her section. Aryna Sabalenka may have to face Victoria Azarenka in the second round, while Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva could cause fits for Elise Mertens and Sofia Kenin. 

But Williams' draw is more difficult since Stephens is a U.S. Open champion from 2017 and Sakkari has a fresh game plan in her mind as to how to beat the No. 3 seed. 

If the best Grand Slam player of all time makes it to the quarterfinals, she may run into Madison Keys or Garbine Muguruza in the final eight. 

Williams is more than capable of beating all the top players in her section of the draw, but the string of potentially difficult matches could either wear her down on the way to the final, or make her susceptible to an early-round upset.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from ATPTour.com and WTATennis.com