Day 12 sees the men’s singles semi-finals take centre-stage at the US Open and the sports.bwin.com/en/news tip squad have got your betting slip marked ahead of the extravaganza.
Novak Djokovic v Gael Monfils
Djokovic is 3/25 favourite for victory against the mercurial Monfils thanks to a combination of having to play just two full matches in five rounds en route to the last four and his 14-0 head-to-head record against the Frenchman.
However, there may value in following the hunch that playing limited tennis to get this far may not have been the best preparation for the Serb, who was dealing with a wrist injury after the Olympics and issues with his right arm against Jerzy Janowicz in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
Monfils, for so long characterised as a showman more than a winner, hasn’t progressed this far in a Grand Slam since the French Open of 2008 and is displaying levels of consistency that have seldom been seen in his game in the interim, beating all five of his opponents in straight sets.
He’s 5/1 to surprise Djokovic, surely less tuned up than he might be, with his newfound composure, but the odds of 17/20 about him taking at least a set off the world number one look to be a more sure-fire bet.
The Frenchman won one against the Serb in four of five encounters between 2004 and 2009 and again between 2011 and 2014 – he looks in the form to do at least that again.
Stan Wawrinka v Kei Nishikori
A far more delicately-poised spectacle than the other semi so far as the betting is concerned, with Nishikori 3/4 favourite and Wawrinka 21/20 outsider. The Swiss leads their career-clash ledger 3-2, but his opponent has won two of their three tussles inside the last two years, including at this tournament in 2014 and in Toronto last month.
The latter victory came in straight sets and offers a persuasive reason to back the jolly. Those after a less blindingly-obvious wager might like to take a peep at the 17/4 about a straight sets win for the Japanese.
Of his five past duels with Stan the Man, only their 2014 US Open clash wasn’t decided within the minimum distance.
