2019 Tennis Season Betting Preview: More Grand Slams for the big names : Djokovic, Osaka and Federer to keep on winning

Last Updated : 14th May, 2019 By Peter Roberts

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As the football season comes to an end and summer rolls around attention turns to the tennis courts and the start of Grand Slam season. The Australian Open in January saw Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka claim the titles and we can expect both players to lift more silverware over the year, although they might just have to wait a few months to do it. 

French Open: The King of Clay to continue his reign while Muguruza can reclaim her crown

Rafael Nadal may have had some surprisingly underwhelming results at the start of the clay court season, but he is always worth backing when the big one comes around at Roland Garros. Semi-final defeats at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open will have worried a few fans of the Spanish legend, but it is good news for punters as his odds have just drifted a bit as a result.

Whenever Nadal is anything but odds-on at the French Open then he represents excellent value, and at 11/8 with Ladbrokes he is an absolute must to back.

Rafa has won 11 French Open titles in the last 14 years and both of the last two editions of the tournament. He will have strong competition from the likes of Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem but no one else really looks likely to mount a challenge.

Djokovic is clearly always a threat and Thiem is the heir to the King of Clay’s throne, but he is not quite ready to take the mantle just yet. Nadal certainly has one more year on him before passing the baton to the Austrian.

In the women’s tournament, defending champion Simona Halep is the clear favourite, but there is a very appealing punt further down the betting list in former champ Garbine Muguruza.

The Spaniard has not had the best year of her career, but she did win the Monterrey Open in April, her first tournament success of 2019. She won at Roland Garros in 2016 and was back in the semi-finals last year, so she loves this event, and further added to her Grand Slam pedigree by winning Wimbledon in 2018.

It is understandable that Halep is favourite having won last year and making the final in 2017. She may well retain the title, but Muguruza is superb value at a huge 33/1 with Boyle Sports and should be backed each-way. Some bookies have her as short as 9/1, so this generosity should not be turned down.

Wimbledon: One last success for Federer as Kvitova can regain her form in London

Roger Federer might not have long left at the elite level of tennis, but he certainly still has enough left in his game to win one last Wimbledon title this summer.

The 37-year-old is still ranked number three in the world and won in London two years ago. He followed up that success with an Australian Open title in 2018 and clearly still has the ability to win Grand Slams.

Wimbledon is his favourite, where he has won more than at any other (7) and he will be a force to be reckoned with once again in SW19. The Swiss great has actually only won one grass tournament since he last won Wimbledon, but he is managing his career carefully as it nears its end and will be primed and ready to go in south London in July.

Federer looked great over the hard court season, winning the Dubai Championships and Miami Open, while losing in the final at Indian Wells. The clay season may not produce a great deal of success for Federer, but he will come back strong on grass and be ready for Wimbledon.

He knows the end is nigh and Federer can get over the line one more time in west London and looks very decent value at 4/1 with Paddy Power.

There will be another former champion claiming the trophy in the women’s event as well, with Petra Kvitova looking like an excellent bet to get her hands on the title for a third time.

The Czech 29-year-old now seems to be fully recovered from the terrifying knife attack she suffered at the start of 2017 and has had an impressive 2019 so far. She reached the final at the Australian Open and became the first woman to pick up two titles for the season when she won in Stuttgart – which saw her pick up the WTA Player of the Month for April.

Kvitova has had four quiet years at Wimbledon but has a storied past in London, winning in 2011 and ’14, reaching another semi-final and two more quarter-finals. Now back in great form, it is time for the Czech to reassert her dominance on the English grass courts.

Serena Williams is the favourite and is, obviously, always a threat but she has not been impressive this year. She fell in the last eight at the Aussie Open and since then has entered just two events on the WTA tour, losing in the last 32 of both.

Kvitova looks much the more appealing bet at 6/1 with Betfair.

US Open: When Djokovic and Osaka will triumph again

After the Australian Open, both Djokovic and Osaka are coming off multiple major titles, and they will get back to their Grand Slam-winning ways at the US Open, which they both won in 2018.

Novak Djokovic has reached the final at Flushing Meadows on eight of his last 11 visits there. He may have only won three of those finals, but that included the last one, where he cantered to victory against Juan Martin del Potro in the final.

The Serb was not in the best form after winning the Aussie Open, but bounced back at the start of May by winning the Mutua Madrid Open, showing up-and-comers Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas who is boss en route.

If he misses out at Wimbledon, he will not in New York, and even at a short price, Djokovic is good value at 6/4 with Ladbrokes.

Naomi Osaka looks set for a period of dominance in the women’s game, taking over from Serena Williams as she nears the end of her career. Osaka’s victory over Williams at last year’s US Open seemed like a passing of the torch and Naomi’s victory at the Australian Open further confirmed her ascent to the top of the sport.

The 21-year-old has already reached world number one, and while she has plenty of work to do on clay and grass, she could prove to be unstoppable on the hard courts of New York and Melbourne.

She hasn’t quite performed as well as expected since Melbourne, she appears to be built for the big stage and she will be back to her best when the final Grand Slam of the season comes round.

Williams remains the favourite for the US Open, but Osaka is by far the better value with Serena about to turn 38 at the tournament. Osaka is already available at 7/1 with Boyle Sports and that is only going to get shorter and shorter so it is well worth getting a piece of early.