Serena Williams has lost three straight grand slam finals since becoming a mother but is fancied to buck that trend when facing Bianca Andreescu at the US Open.
The 37-year-old is a six-time champion at Flushing Meadows and has looked somewhere near back to her incredible best over the past fortnight in New York.
We think she will overpower her teenage opponent and 87/100 for a 2-0 triumph is our opening Williams vs Andreescu prediction.
A Look At Serena Williams’ Betting Odds
Williams remains one short of Margaret Court’s record tally of 24 grand slams after losing an acrimonious match with Naomi Osaka here 12 months ago and tasting defeat in the last two Wimbledon deciders.
However, on those occasions, there were worrying signs of a lack of peak fitness heading into the finals.
This time, there have only been good vibes, with the sole set dropped coming in round two.
Qiang Wang, seeded 18th, was demolished 6-1 6-0 in the quarters before number five Elina Svitolina was brushed aside 6-3 6-1.
“I felt more prepared this tournament,” declared Williams, after describing her latest success as simply “solid”.
“Wimbledon, I probably had a week to prepare, so that was amazing. Australia, I was super prepared. I did great, then rolled my ankle. I shouldn’t have even played the French Open.
“I just feel like I actually had time to train this time. I just had a really tough year with injuries, mostly bad luck. I just needed to get injury-free.”
With all of her amazing experience to draw on, we reckon Evens for Serena to win five more games than her opponent is fair value from the Williams vs Andreescu odds.
A Look At Bianca Andreescu’s Betting Odds
It is incredible to think that Andreescu was born six months after Williams secured her first US Open title back in 1999 and the young Canadian faces a formidable test in her maiden grand slam final.
The 19-year-old showed great spirit to get past Belinda Bencic 7-6 7-5 in a tight semi, surviving six break points before shading the first set on a tiebreak.
She again fought back bravely from being a double break down in the second, rattling off five straight games.
Andreescu, making her debut in the main draw at Flushing Meadows, said: “If someone told me a year ago I’d be in the final this year I would have said you were crazy.
“It’s just surreal. It’s a dream come true playing against Serena in the final of the US Open. It’s crazy.”
A superb record of 43 wins against just four defeats in 2019 warrants respect, while she was 3-1 up against Williams in a recent Toronto final before the American was forced to retire with a back problem.
However, Andreescu is expecting to face a fired-up foe here, stating: “I’m sure she’s going to bring her A-game. I’m going to try to bring my A-game, too.”
It may be competitive early on, but we’re siding with Serena to take the first set 6-3 at 9/2 to complete our Williams vs Andreescu betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
WILLIAMS bt Svitolina 6-3 6-1
ANDREESCU bt Bencic 7-6 7-5
Head-to-head record: Williams 0-1 Andreescu
