2015 ATP US Open Tennis Preview – Will Marin Cilic upset the odds to retain his title?

2015 ATP US Open Preview

The final Grand Slam of the tennis season begins at the end of the week as Flushing Meadows hosts the 2015 US Open amid a period of upheaval at this tournament as the last four competitions in Queens, New York have seen four different winners. Last season saw Croatian Marin Cilic claim his first ever Grand Slam win by defeating Kei Nishikori in the final, but can the world number nine become the first man to retain this title since Roger Federer won his fifth straight US Open tennis title in 2008?

We take a look at the favourites for the title as well as some of the better priced dark horse picks competing over the next fortnight in the Big Apple with online sportsbook William Hill.

Novak Djokovic – Odds of 2.20 to win the 2015 US Open with WilliamHill.com.

The Serbian world number one may have won nine Grand Slam titles in his career, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year, but his performances at Flushing Meadows have not been the best as he has won just one title in New York. That came in 2011 and although he is always in the running, with three semi final appearances and three losses in the final on top of his win since 2007, his luck seems to run out at the death. He was beaten by Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal in the 2012 and 2013 finals as well as suffering a four set defeat at the final four stage last year to beaten finalist Kei Nishikori. This kind of luck has is well and truly in swing for the Serb right now too as, since taking the Wimbledon title, he has reached the finals of the Rogers Cup and Western & Southern Open only to suffer defeats to Andy Murray and Roger Federer respectively. Will he be able to kick on from here and take just his second US Open title with these two players breathing down his neck?

Andy Murray – 4.33 in the William Hill Sportsbook to take the 2015 US Open title.

The Scottish winner of the 2012 running of the US Open is the second only to the world number one in the outright market to claim his second title, being ahead even of the world number two Roger Federer. His triumph over Djokovic in the final of the Rogers Cup recently will have him filled with confidence, but having suffered four other defeats to the top seed already this year will he be able to claim back to back wins against the Serb when they are due to meet at the semi final or final stage? Murray has made at least the final four stage in each of the first three Grand Slam events this year and despite falling at the quarter finals on his last two visits to Flushing Meadows 2015 could see Murray claim his third ever Grand Slam title.

Roger Federer – 5.00 with William Hill to win at Flushing Meadows.

The 34 year old 17 time Grand Slam winner comes to New York this month looking for his sixth US Open title having lifted the trophy on five successive occasions between 2004 and 2008. The Swiss player has returned to second in the ATP rankings in recent times and he arrives in Queens having played just a single tournament since losing the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic. That was the Western & Southern Open where he eliminated the two players ahead of him in the betting market for the 2015 US Open at the final four and final stages to claim the title and make his first final since 2009.

Dark Horses:

There are a number of outsiders who are more than capable of toppling the dominant three in the betting market, with Stan Wawrinka (13.00) at the head of the pack. He has already shown what he can do over the last 18 months with victory at the 2014 Australian Open and at Roland Garros this year as he saw off Novak Djokovic at the start of the summer. Last year’s US Open finalist and world number four Kei Nishikori is available at odds of 17.00 just behind the Swiss world number five and the Japanese player knows what it takes to succeed at Flushing Meadows. He triumphed at the Citi Open and reached the semi finals at the Rogers Cup where he was eliminated by Andy Murray after seeing off Rafael Nadal.

Last year’s champion Marin Cilic can be backed at a price of 34.00 to retain his title and break the pattern of recent years in Flushing Meadows, but the world number nine from Croatia has not played much this year with just 31 matches under his belt, losing 13 of them. He struggled with a shoulder injury for much of the first half of the year but he still bettered his performance at the French Open and matched his quarter final appearance at Wimbledon from last year. He is unlikely to challenge for the title this time around, but we would not be surprised to see him make the last eight stage this September.

Final Thoughts:

The field for the 2015 US Open is one of the most open group of entrants we have seen in a long time, including the shock final last time around, but we feel that the big three in the betting market are likely to be the ones who challenge for the title. It would not surprise us to see Wawrinka in the final four with them, but he is likely to be drawn against Djokovic while the Federer v Murray semi final will decide who takes the title. Despite his recent win against Novak, we cannot see Murray defeating the Serbian world number one in a Grand Slam final but if Federer can see off the Scot we believe that we’re in for another fantastic final that could see the Swiss player take an 18th Grand Slam title.

With Djokovic’s struggles at Flushing Meadows our money is on Roger Federer to win the 2015 US Open at odds of 5.00 with WilliamHill.com.