Serena Now Seems Unstoppable

Serena Williams is on one of her rolls, and anyone remaining in the women's field of the U.S. Open will be hard pressed to stop her.

Serena's next foe is Simona Halep, and though Halep looked like she had a shot at winning coming into the tournament, her chances look much slimmer now. Here's why:

Last Matches

Halep has played well though all of her fits and spurts, but her consistency is in doubt against Serena. She played her pal Carla Suarez-Navarro on Monday and displayed some hitches that won't play well against Serena. Cruising along in the second set, Halep was serving for the match. She lost a point, threw her racket, made a horrible first serve and let Suarez-Navarro off the hook. Halep recovered well enough to break serve in the next game, and went on to win, 6-2, 7-5. It was a good win against an able opponent, but she's pulled such hijinks before, and her ability to keep her concentration and cool has to be dealt with if she hopes to overcome a player she has lost to in their last three meetings.

Meanwhile, Serena, whose shoulder problems were a question coming into the Open, has shown little problem at all. On Monday she came out with fire in her eyes and dismantled Yaraslava Shvedova in just over an hour. Her serve was on point (she registered 126 mph on one) which indicated that her shoulder is still in good shape after four rounds. It was a record 308th win in majors tennis, and it keeps her on course to break Steffi Graf's record of Grand Slam trophies.

U.S. Open Tennis Betting

Serena is yet to play a seeded opponent in the Open. But I'm thinking Halep won't give her that much of a test. If she plays her best, Halep could take it to three sets. Awaiting on the other side of the bracket is Angelique Kerber, who had been jockeying for the world No. 1 ranking coming into the Open. Kerber has played well in the tournament and has split with Serena in majors finals this year. But I'm seeing Serena as -300 vs. Halep, and -200 vs. Kerber if it comes to that. A better price might be found by watching their next matches and following along in the live betting page.