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The US Open Championships

29 August – 11 September 2006

The US Open

The US Open is the first of the four Tennis Grand Slam events to be held each year, the others being Wimbledon, The Australian Open and The French Open (also known as The Roland Garros).

Betting on tennis matches is becoming increasingly popular, and The US Open is an ideal place for novices to gamble, as it offers a large number of matches and betting opportunities.

For more about the history of The US Open Championships, visit our History of The US Open page.

Qualifying for The US Open

There are three ways in which a tennis player can qualify to play in the main championship events at The US Open. Firstly, they will automatically qualify if their computerised tennis ranking is high enough.

If they do not have a high enough ranking, they may be lucky enough to qualify automatically as a wild card player. Wild cards are discretionary qualifications and are usually awarded either to players who have performed well in past US Open tournaments, to players who are likely to attract audiences (such as top US players), or players who have won other major tennis tournaments recently.

If a player does not qualify by either of these methods, they must compete in a qualifying competition, which is held during the week before The US Open event itself.

Format of The US Open

The US Open includes five main championships events:

· The Men's Singles

· The Women's Singles

· The Men's Doubles

· The Women's Doubles

· The Mixed Doubles.

The Championships also include The US Open Junior Championships, which are held during the second week.

The US Open – Previous Winners

The US Open Championship events have been won by some of the most famous tennis players in history. Winners of the Men's Singles title include Fred Perry, Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edburg, Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

Winners of the Ladies' Singles titles have included Billie Jean King, Virginia Wade, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Serena Williams and Venus Williams.

The last five winners of The US Open Men's Singles title were:

Year Winner Seed

2005 Roger Federer 1

2004 Roger Federer 1

2003 Andy Roddick 4

2002 Pete Sampras 17

2001 Lleyton Hewitt 4

The last five winners of The US Open Ladies' Singles title were:

Year Winner Seed

2005 Kim Clijsters 4

2004 Svetlana Kuznetsova 9

2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne 2

2002 Serena Williams 1

2001 Venus Williams 4

Betting on The US Open

The US Open offers a wealth of betting opportunities whether you want to bet on the ultimate winners of the Championships or on individual matches.

If you are thinking of placing a bet on one of the many US Open tennis matches, here are a few things to consider:

• The tennis styles of the players: One of the key things to look for when deciding whether or not to back a player in a tennis match at the US Open is whether or not their playing style is suitable for hard-court tennis. Look to see whether they have a history of being successful on hard courts. Hard courts tend to suit players who prefer to stay at the baseline because the play is slower than on grass courts.

• The current form of the players: Another key factor in deciding which US Open player to bet on is the form of each player. If they have recently been injured this may still be affecting their performance. Also, if they have been playing in a lot of tournaments prior to The US Open, and if they have played long matches during previous rounds in the championship they may be suffering from fatigue.

• Head-to-Head records: It's always worth taking a look at the results of previous matches between the two tennis players in the match you are considering betting on, to see if they have been dominated by one player. However, even if one player has won every time the two players have met, this doesn't mean that they will win again – the players' styles and form should still be your main guide when placing a bet on an US Open tennis match.

• The players' US Open seedings: Although the title doesn't always go to the top seed at The US Open Championships, it's rare for unseeded players to win. There have only been three unseeded winners of the Men's Singles event: Mal Anderson in 1957, Fred Stolle in 1966 and Andre Agassi in 1994. No unseeded player had won the Women's Singles event.

It's also important to bear in mind the home advantage – American players have tended to do extremely well in the US Open, winning 85 of the 125 Men's Singles titles and 89 of the 119 Women's Singles titles.

Some bookmakers offer you the chance to bet on which players will win The US Open titles well in advance of the event itself, so you don't need to wait in order to bet on it. For the latest odds on the 2006 US Open Tennis Championships from a range of bookmakers and betting exchanges, visit our Latest Odds section.

The US Open is only one of many events in the tennis calendar. Check out other tennis events!

If you are new to betting and want to place a bet on The US Open, be sure to check out our Tennis - How To Bet and Tennis Betting Strategy sections for some betting hints and tips.

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