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US Open Women’s Singles Semifinals Odds & Betting Preview: Elina Svitolina vs Serena Williams

Hayley Graham

by Hayley Graham in Tennis

Updated Apr 3, 2020 · 10:39 AM PDT

Serena Williams hitting a forehand.
Serena Williams will face off against Elina Svitolina in the semifinals of the 2019 US Open. Photo by Edwin Martinez [CC License].
  • Serena Williams just won her 100th US Open match, blasting Wang Qiang, 6-1, 6-0
  • Elina Svitolina ousted Johanna Konta 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals
  • Svitolina is the first Ukrainian woman to reach the final four at the US Open

A week and a half into the 2019 US Open, many familiar faces have been sent home. The four still standing on the women’s side are no. 8 Serena Williams, no. 5 Elina Svitolina, no. 13 Belinda Bencic, and the winner of the last quarterfinal between no. 15 Bianca Andreescu and no. 25 Elise Mertens.

Williams and Svitolina will face off against each other on Thursday, and Serena is a heavy favorite to reach the finals for the 10th time in her legendary career.

 Serena Williams vs Elina Svitolina Spread, Moneyline & Total

Player Spread* Moneyline Odds Total*
Serena Williams -3.5 (-110) -260 O 21.0 (-105)
Elina Svitolina +3.5 (+110) +210 U 21.0 (-125)

*Odds taken 9/4/19.

Williams’ Upsides

Serena is coming off a quarterfinal win that took all of 44 minutes, so to say she is playing with confidence would be an understatement. She absolutely crushed her opponent, China’s Qiang Wang, 6-1, 6-0.

Granted, this was Wang’s first career Grand Slam quarterfinal match, but she only managed to win four points in the second set.

Right from the start of the tournament, when Serena drew Maria Sharapova in the first round, it seemed like a different tournament for Williams. It forced her to be ready right from the get go. And she was, drubbing Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 and dropping just one set en route to the semis.

Now she enters a spot where she is considerably more comfortable than her opponent.

While Svitolina has put on an impressive display so far, she sometimes freezes up when it comes to Grand Slams. Prior to this year, she had never advanced past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam.

Svitolina’s Upsides

Svitolina is currently ranked No. 5 in the world, and she’s been verging on elite.

She’s won four Premier 5 titles, and has seemed to beat every top player there is, including Serena Williams herself. This tournament, alone, she has beaten Venus Williams, Madison Keys, and Johanna Konta.

 

On the downside, the Ukrainian lacks a big weapon that she can impose on opponents. She doesn’t have the fastest of serves, and she’s not a huge presence at the net.

She is remarkably consistent, though. Case in point, she won the longest rally of the tournament so far (including men’s side) in a 40-shot back-and-forth with Whitney Osuigwe in the first round.

Head to Head

Serena Williams
VS
Elina Svitolina
4 Wins 1
8 Current Ranking 5
Right-Handed (two-handed backhand) Plays Right-Handed (two-handed backhand)
9-1 Last 10 Matches 8-2

Williams and Svitolina have faced each other a five times in the past, but not in recent years. The last time they saw each other was in 2016. The last time they saw each other in a Grand Slam was the 2016 French Open when Serena Williams was ranked No. 1, and beat the then-20-year old Svitolina in the round of 16 in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.

YouTube video

Who’s the Best Bet?

So where should you put your money? You can’t really use their matchup record, where Williams owns Svitolina, because Svitolina was still fairly young, and hadn’t really hit her stride yet. They both have defeated their opponents in the US Open this year pretty easily. And they both have faced their fair share of ranked players and familiar faces.

But Serena is playing like we all know Serena can play, and even though Svitolina will make it tough, I’ll take Williams’ experience to triumph over Svitolina’s youth.

Pick: Williams (-260)

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