The fourth and last Grand Slam of the 2018 Tennis Season will come to a close this weekend and first up is the Women's Final.
This is a match between a veteran in Serena Williams looking to once again move to the top of the women's game and a younger player in Naomi Osaka ready to make her breakthrough on the Tour.
It is a fascinating one and I think it could be a memorable occasion no matter who wins.
Naomi Osaka + 3.5 games v Serena Williams: This is not the first time Naomi Osaka has faced Serena Williams which is surely going to help her mentally, but playing in a maiden Grand Slam Final has seen players either thrive or crumble in the environment.
I favour Osaka to thrive as she looks to make the huge breakthrough on the Tour that her talent clearly will do at some point.
Of course facing someone like Williams is a huge test especially with Serena producing some of her best tennis in the last couple of weeks. The serve has been a constant weapon for Williams but she has been returning very well too and dealt with a big server in Karolina Pliskova in the Quarter Final which makes her the right favourite.
However I do think Osaka has been in strong form both on the return and behind the serve which makes her dangerous. She has won a big title in Indian Wells and followed that up days later by beating Serena Williams in Miami and that makes me believe that she won't crumble mentally.
There is a chance Osaka is simply not able to compete with Williams on the day especially if she is broken very early on in this match. That could make it feel like it is going to be a very tough day in the office and players have crumbled in front of Serena Williams this week which is my biggest concern with the selection I have made.
Even with that in mind, the pure numbers suggest Osaka is playing at a very high level and she has shown she can carry that through to win big titles already in 2018. Neither player displayed great form prior to the US Open so their runs have come in what looked to be an open draw from the moment it was made a couple of weeks ago, but both Osaka and Williams deserve the chance to play for the Grand Slam title.
Whoever serves best on the day is likely to be the winner as both will be looking to attack the second serves they see. I think Osaka is capable of keeping it close as she gives Serena a tough run for her money and I also think the young player has every chance of winning a maiden Slam and being the third female player to do that in the 2018 season.
It would have been nice to have been given one more game in favour of Osaka who played the key points so well in her Semi Final win over Madison Keys, but I will back the Japanese player to keep this competitive.
MY PICKS: Naomi Osaka + 3.5 Games @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
US Open Update: 25-21, + 5.56 Units (82 Units Staked, + 6.78% Yield)
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