The American has endured her struggles of late, but she’s now available at favorable odds to repeat as champion in New York.

Last year, Coco Gauff won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. The American had the New York crowd eating out of the palm of her hand, and she rode the momentum to a championship. On her way, Gauff beat Mirra Andreeva, Elise Mertens, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko, Karolina Muchova and Aryna Sabalenka. It was a tremendous run that really stamped Gauff as an elite player. However, the defending champion is on an uneven run of form heading into this year’s event. Before arriving in Cincinnati, Gauff had lost four of her previous 10 matches.

With that in mind, is Gauff worth backing to win the US Open at +650? Let’s dive into those FanDuel Sportsbook odds.

The best place to start with this is by noting that it’s best not to overreact to a couple of weeks. While Gauff’s early exits at recent events might seem troubling, zooming out and looking at the entire 2024 season tells a different story.

For the 2023 season, which was the best of Gauff’s career, the American was 51-16 for a winning percentage of 76.1%, her hold percentage was 73.4% and her break percentage was 41.2%. In 2024, Gauff is 38-13 for a 74.5% winning percentage, her hold percentage is 72.0% and her break percentage is up at 46.2%. All in all, she’s statistically not far away from where she was when she won a Grand Slam title last year. She also reached the Australian Open semifinals, where she came the closest to conquering eventual champion Aryna Sabalenka. So, any talk of this being a nightmare season for Gauff is a bit overblown.

Defending champion Coco Gauff will commence her campaign at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday.

The second-round matches at the Cincinnati Open 2024 will commence on Thursday as the top seeds will be in action. From Alexander Zverev to Coco Gauff, top players will aim to start their campaign in the United States with a win.

Thus, with that being said, that’s take a look at the top five matches on Thursday, August 15:

5. Andrey Rublev vs Zhang Zhizhen

The 2024 Canadian Open runner-up Andrey Rublev will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters. Zhang, who won the silver medal in the mixed doubles event at Paris Olympics 2024 alongside Wang Xinyu, defeated France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to secure a spot in the second round.

Rublev defeated 2024 Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in three sets in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open and he was the top favourite to win the title, but he was eventually outclassed by Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. The two have faced each other twice on the tour, with Rublev winning on both occasions. However, Zhang would be aiming to change that.

4. Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov

A contest of raw power awaits as Alexander Zverev faces Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the second round of Cincinnati Open 2024. Khachanov defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-0, 6-3 and stormed into the round of 32, where he will face a tougher opponent, Alexander Zverev.

The two have faced each other six times in the last eight years on the tour. Zverev leads their head-to-head record by 4-2 and they faced each other at the Miami Open earlier this year. However, Khachanov’s current form is an issue of concern for the Russian tennis star. Zverev, also, is not in his best form, but he has faced the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Sebastian Korda recently.

Prediction: Alexander Zverev to win in three sets

3. Arthur Fils vs Brandon Nakashima

Brandon Nakashima defeated two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist Taylor Fritz in three sets to secure a spot in the second round. Meanwhile, Arthur Fils recorded a comfortable victory against Brandon Holt in a one-sided affair. Fils lost to compatriot Ugo Humbert in the first round of the Canadian Open, but he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final of three German Open.

However, Fils as well as Nakashima have gained minimal success on hard courts. The two emerging tennis stars have locked horns against each other twice, winning one match each. Additionally, the result of their encounters has reached the decider. Thus, the match is set to be a thrilling contest.

Prediction: Brandon Nakashima to win in three sets

2. Yulia Putintseva vs Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff has recorded a series of disappointing results in her recent outings, including the 2024 Paris Olympics. As a result, the 2023 US Open winner is keen to gain momentum before she goes to Flushing Meadows as the defending champion. Additionally, Gauff is also the defending champion in Cincinnati, and her only win over Iga Swiatek came in the same arena.

However, Yulia Putintseva broke Iga Swiatek’s 21-match unbeaten streak on the tour in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships in July. However, the Kazakh tennis star’s current form has also been questionable in her recent campaigns.

Prediction: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets

1. Hubert Hurkacz vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Hubert Hurkacz missed the 2024 Paris Olympics due to an injury, but he made his return to the hardcourt season with a win over Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in Montreal. However, he later lost to another Aussie, Popyrin, in the quarterfinals.

The 5th seed will commence his campaign in Cincinnati against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who has made his way into the main draw with an astounding performance in the qualifiers. The Japanese tennis star was going to face Cameron Norrie in the first round, but the Brit has to withdraw from the tournament due to injury concerns. It will be their first meeting on the tour.

Prediction: Hubert Hurkacz to win in straight sets

“This isn’t fair, I’ve been cheated. This always happens to me,” yelled Coco Gauff, as her Paris Olympics dream came crashing. The American sensation was a hot favorite to achieve a podium finish there, but had early exits in each of the three events that she participated in, singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Additionally, a controversy was created when the chair umpire overruled a line call against Gauff during her singles loss against Donna Vekic. This led to growing calls from Gauff to introduce the VAR system in tennis. Looks like the US Open has paid heed to her calls!

Earlier today, the US Open made a historic announcement of expanding the VAR technology after the trials done last year. At the 2023 edition of the tournament, this technology was used on five courts for the main draw matches. However, the US Open is expanding the VAR system to eight courts for the 2024 edition, covering a significant chunk of the matches.

Speaking to SBJ, US Open tournament referee Jake Garner, was hopeful that this move was in the right direction to eliminate controversies due to incorrect line calls. He said, “We assessed the process and the infrastructure needs, and we felt that going to eight courts this year was the right move. It covers about 75% of our singles matches.”

The Olympic Games wasn’t the first time that Coco Gauff had advocated for the VAR system to be used in tennis consistently. During the French Open earlier this season, she was embroiled in a similar controversy following which she pleaded for the VAR technology to be used in tennis.

‘Ridiculous that we don’t have it’ – Coco Gauff on VAR technology

The American sensation was one of the hot favorites to win the French Open title this year. However, her dreams came crashing, just like the Olympic Games, when she lost tamely against Iga Swiatek, albeit in a controversial fashion. During the match, the chair umpire overruled a call in Swiatek’s favor when she was serving, which ignited Gauff as she felt the ball hadn’t touched the line. With technology not being at play at that event, Swiatek was awarded the point, much to Gauff’s agony.

After the match, Gauff pleaded for the introduction of the VAR technology in tennis, saying, “I think tennis is the only sport where not only we don’t have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person. In other sports, there’s usually multiple refs making a decision… I definitely think at this point it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have it. Not only just speaking because that happened to me, but I just think every sport has it.”

With the US Open’s latest move, Gauff would be elated that her calls for the system to be expanded have finally been attended to. Can this be the first step to Gauff’s success at the US Open this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.

Supportive parents can do wonders for their kids. Don’t believe it? Look at Coco Gauff, whose incredible athletic genes brought her a Grand Slam before she could end her teenage. While the majority believes Coco is a prodigy, Corey Gauff would deny that with a suitable answer that screams about Gauff’s hunger to make a statement. But the World No. 2, and USA’s star in the Paris Olympics, delves into how she couldn’t have done it without her father.

Gauff recently embarked as a leading American Tax and Assistance firm Baker Tilly’s brand ambassador. She and the company’s official Instagram handle posted a video in collaboration, where Gauff spoke about many things, from winning the US Open to her favorite childhood tennis memory. Surprisingly, her dad played an important part there, leaving fans surprised with his dedication to his daughter.

“My favorite was like when it rained, my dad was like set the couches up in a row as like a net and we were just like hit back and forth and play in the base pit,” Gauff said. The smile on her face could tell that she has a very supportive family.

Gauff’s father Corey has been a college basketball player at Georgia State University. Needless to say, his and Candi Gauff’s athletic backgrounds have given their kids with the best sports genes. After winning the 2023 US Open, Gauff mentioned she saw her father cry. “Thank you, first, to my parents. Today was the first time I’ve ever seen my dad cry, Thank you guys, you believed in me from the beginning. My dad took me to this tournament. [I watched] Venus and Serena compete, so it’s really incredible to be on this stage,” Gauff said.

On the other side, Corey Gauff is also a proud father. While he never backs out on showing his emotions on his daughter’s victory, he also reveals that his daughter is not a prodigy, but a result of sheer hard work.

Corey Gauff said his daughter is not an “overnight success”

Gauff might not be doing great since the Paris Olympics but she is the world’s number 2 currently. Her performance has made her parents proud incredibly but they know their daughter’s skills cannot be simply reduced to something natural. It’s a product of talent + shedding blood, sweat and tears. “When it comes to something like tennis, [Coco] works hard. This is not an accident. She might be overnight popular, but she’s not an overnight success,” Gauff’s father said.

Corey Gauff has been truthful about his daughter’s talent. He once said, “Coco chose what she wanted to do very early on, Codey played football for a little bit and some basketball, kind of arriving at baseball a little bit later in life than Coco did with tennis, but they both worked really hard growing up.”

Coco Gauff’s childhood memory of his father shows the blessing of having a father like Corey Gauff. Not only did he make Gauff passionate about the sport but he also infused the love for tennis, which is pushing Coco this far in her career.