The US Open gets under way at Flushing Meadow in New York and while Hurricane Irene may have left its mark, it won’t be stopping the players from trying to leave theirs. Britain’s Andy Murray comes into this tournament in reasonably good form having won the lead-in event, the Cincinnati Masters. He can also lay claim to being only the second player this year to stop Novak Djokovic, albeit because of an injury to Djokovic – however, the score sheet shows a victory to Murray, and a win is a win.

For Andy Murray, former champ John McEnroe’s assessment could be spot on. Roger Federer is on the wane and is not playing anywhere near his best; Rafael Nadal is also down on form and hasn’t won a decent event in quite sometime; while Djokovic comes into this event as the world number one, he is suffering from a shoulder problem, and the US Open can be a tough two weeks of tennis when you’re carrying an injury. That leaves Murray as fourth in line, and he does have some history at Flushing Meadow. He was the junior champion here in 2004 and his first Grand Slam final appearance was also here. Against Murray is his inconsistent form in this event, having exited in early stages several times.

Bookmakers have made Djokovic the short-priced favourite in US Open tennis betting with the his best odds around 8/5. Nadal is second pick for bookies at 9/2 with Murray next best at 5/1. Federer is the only other player under 20/1 with bookmakers having him an easing 13/2. Considering the current state of the competition, Murray might just be good value at 5/1 to win. You can still find good odds of 5/2 for Murray to make the final as well – that is certainly worth consideration.

We’ll be back regularly over the next two weeks reviewing the current state of the competition along with any value betting options we come across. Today’s tip – Philipp Kohlschreiber at 8/5 to defeat Radek Stepanek (3/5) in the first round (today).