Even though she's at the end of her professional tennis road, it's hard to find true value betting on Serena Williams to win the US Open.
Williams is about to hang 'em up, and her final playing stop at Flushing was supposed to be more of a celebration of her career than it was a chance for her to win her 24th career grand slam title.
However, Williams has apparently decided she's not quite ready to just roll over and accept the praise, at least not without making one more final run. Williams has people believing after a borderline stunning win Wednesday night over No. 2 Anett Kontaveit at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams turned back the hands of time and upset Kontaveit as a +200 underdog.
Williams now moves on to the third round where she'll take on Australia's Ajla Tomljanovi?. DraftKings Sportsbook has made Williams a -160 favorite to win the match and advance to the fourth round. It's one of five matches Williams would still have to win in order to be crowned champion.
With this early surge of momentum and an opening path to the later rounds of the tournament, DraftKings has adjusted Williams' price to win it all, making her 12-1. Is that a valuable number? Not particularly, at least not for a 40-year-old everyone more or less assumed was playing out the string. It's not surprising either. Williams was as high as a 50-1 long shot at the Westgate SuperBook when the tournament began.
Bettors are likely to stay rushing to the window to bet her, too. Anyone who believes she actually will win and wants to fire on Williams better do it now. The number goes down with every win she has and more recognition the story gets.
So, can she do it? Betting against Williams obviously hasn't served many well throughout her legendary career. If there's anyone who can have a Billy Chapel "push the sun back up in the sky and give us one more day of summer" moment, it's Williams. And if there's ever going to be any sort of home-field advantage for a supposedly neutral playing venue, it's going to be Williams in New York. We saw Wednesday night how a rabid crowd -- led by the likes of Tiger freakin' Woods -- was able to lift her to another level.
Can it continue for another week? The odds, as short as they may be, are against her. It certainly won't be easy, but it would be one of the best sports stories of the year. For some, that might be too much to pass up even if "the value" isn't quite there.
