Serena Williams US Open Betting Odds: After Her Most Lopsided Defeat, Is She The Favorite?

There are certain things in sports that fans and observers have grown to expect over the years. They include the Cleveland Browns failing to reach the playoffs, Clayton Kershaw as a Cy Young candidate and Charles Barkley making a bold comment.

And another has been seeing Serena Williams as one of the favorites to win a Grand Slam. It kind of comes with the territory for a tennis legend like Williams, who has captured 23 Grand Slam titles since making her professional debut in 1995.

But there might be some doubts cast upon Williams, who had returned to the court in March following the birth of her first child.

After reaching the Wimbledon final, Williams on Tuesday suffered the most convincing loss of her career. Johanna Konta defeated Williams in the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California, 6-1 6-0.

Then on Saturday, the 36-year-old officially withdrew from the Canadian Open, citing personal issues.

Still, oddsmakers like her chances of winning this month's U.S. Open. Williams is a 7/2 favorite to win at Flushing Meadows and well ahead of her closest competition, Angelique Kerber, who is listed at 8/1.

Rounding out the top four are Simona Halep (9/1) and Garbine Muguruza (11/1). Five players, including defending champion Sloane Stephens, have 14/1 odds.

The New York spotlight will no doubt be on Williams. She didn't compete in the tournament in 2017 and was defeated in the semifinals in 2015 and 2016 after winning three straight titles.

How Williams responds in the Big Apple may be a sign of how determined she is to remain an elite tennis player. After the loss to Konta, Williams seemed to dismiss any suggestion that she's done competing at a high level.

"I know I can play a zillion times better so that kind of helps out, too. I have so many things on my mind; I don’t have time to be shocked about a loss that clearly wasn’t at my best right now," Williams said. "When I was out there, was fighting. That’s the only thing I can say. I wasn’t just like giving it away and I was moving a lot better. So I’m just trying to take the positives out of it."

The U.S. Open starts on Aug. 27.