The action at Flushing Meadow moves into week two with just the one Australian hope, women's no.5 Samantha Stosur (19*). To match her breakthrough final appearance at the French Open, she will have to do it the hard way with tournament favourite Kim Clijsters (2.92) next in her path, followed by the winner of Venus Williams (9) or her Roland Garros conqueror, Francesca Schiavone (25) before the small matter of the final.

The market heavily favours Clijsters (2.92), based on her bulletproof form at Flushing Meadows and a 3-0 h2h record. The Belgian has won 18 matches in a row at the US Open, stretching back to 2006, and has dropped only 14 games in four rounds so far. She has stayed fresh and destroyed all her opposition so far.

On the other hand, Stosur saved four match points before defeating Elena Dementieva in a match which finished at 1.30am local time. After coming into the fortnight lacking match practice after a recent bicep injury, the Queenslander is now approaching her best tennis, but whether that is good enough to match a rampaging defending champion is another matter. I'd love to be proved wrong, but with Stosur (19) yet to take a set from Clijsters (2.92), I can't see anything but a 2-0 victory for the favourite. 1.65 sounds right to me.

If the Aussie's task seems a tough one, take a look at the battle ahead for Schiavone (25). She is on the wrong side of a 7-0 h2h record against the elder Williams sister, with only three sets claimed - notably, it has always been the first set claimed by the Italian, and apart from one 7-5 set, every other set won by Williams has been 6-1, 6-2 or 6-3.

They say records are made to be broken though and the Italian has taken the first set off Venus (9) in both encounters this year. She's a far better player after her Paris breakthrough and hasn't dropped a set yet this week. Venus has been stretched to a couple of tiebreakers, but has yet to drop a set. In recent years, this is about as far as she has gone, and with the knee injury that hampered her hardcourt season still in the back of her mind, this one looks to be rather tight. I'm not convinced about Schiavone (25) getting over the line though, Williams' will-to-win can be incredible, so I'd rather lay Venus 2-0 at around 2.14.

For the ladies' title, it appears to be Clijsters' trophy to lose. Wozniacki (2.62) does look a more complete player this year and will be keen to reverse last year's final result.

Men's Tournament

After the fall of Andy Murray, it really does look to be set up for a Nadal-Federer final on the men's side. If both stay fit, it's hard to see past that pairing on Sunday.

David Ferrer (2.6) will face Fernando Verdasco (65) for the 12th time tonight, with the left-handed Verdasco holding a 7-4 lead. His form has appeared a little patchy at times but my spies tell me his racquets have mysteriously been painted black - usually a sign that the player has lost confidence in the brand he is sponsored to use, so it appears he has returned to his old favourites, and the results are getting better. Ferrer's form has been solid too, but the lack of a true test so far might work against him.

Verdasco is the favourite for this one at around 1.75 and rightly so. I can see this one going 3-1 Verdasco.

Tommy Robredo (450) has snuck quietly through the draw so far, to be one of six Spaniards in the final 16. His last two matches have been cut short by his opponents retiring so he hasn't needed to pull out all stops. He faces a red-hot Mikhail Youzhny (70) who is trying to match or better his semi-final effort here in 2006. The Russian is seeing the ball very well, as witnessed by being able to break John Isner four times in their R3 encounter. And the ominous result in their history is the 6-2 6-0 6-1 result here back in 2006 when Youzhny was at his best. Robredo leads the h2h 2-1, but his wins were on other surfaces.

I really was impressed with the Russian's form against Isner, despite the American giant being restricted by an ankle injury. In that form, and with previous history here, this could turn out to be quite one-sided. Youzhny -4.5 games looks tempting here, if he drops a set it is likely to be tight, but he could win his sets cheaply.

Nadal (2.76) should pack too many guns for Lopez (560), although if it turns into a serving battle, Lopez will stay with Nadal for longer. Wawrinka (70) v Querrey (46) could turn out to be a great match, however the Swiss player's niggling injuries against Murray could turn into something bigger or they just fade away - it's a match to sit back and watch.

I'll be back on Friday with a final look at those in line for the silverware.

Scott Ferguson

*Odds taken at 9am 07/09/2010

Roger Federer (3.3) has five titles and has played in the championship match six years running. Rafael Nadal (4.9) needs only this title to complete the 'career Grand Slam'. Andy Murray (4.8) has promise to win a major title for a while now, but is 0-2 on the big occasion. Robin Soderling (25), Tomas Berdych (26) and Marin Cilic (110) are queueing up to win a big one, and then there's Djokovic (15.5), Roddick (32) and Nalbandian (36) who have all been there (or very close) before.

The men's draw is tough to decipher. Nadal should be very comfortable until the quarters where he could face Gulbis or Nalbandian, followed by Murray or Berdych. Late in week two is when you would start worrying about his knees. He hasn't played too many matches in the lead-up events so he'll turn up nice and fresh.

Time is ticking on Roger Federer (3.3). No Wimbledon title this year, but he was apparently injured. Beaten by Murray in Toronto, then won Cincinnati although the draw fell away nicely for him. 29 doesn't sound too old (especially for the author who is about to turn 40!) but in tennis terms, if he's not over the hill yet, he's balancing right on the curved bit at the top.

Andy Murray (4.8) has promised to win one of these for a few years now, and keeps picking off the Masters Series events, the next tier down. He has Berdych in his quarter as well as the American giants Isner and Querrey. The talent is there, but can he get over the final hurdle? I think he can, but I'm not excited by the prices available. If it only comes down to the final three rounds, why take a similar price so early?

Djokovic (15.5) should have the world at his feet but this year has lost to Tsonga, Melzer and Berdych at the Slams. His odds have shot right out compared to previous Slams, his stocks are declining with every major he fails to contend in. He will have a hard time beating Roddick in this quarter, and possibly even Baghdatis or Fish before that.

Soderling (25) battled through his first round last night, needing five sets to beat a qualifier, but he can quickly shake that from his system. Cilic in R4 will be his first proper test, followed by Federer. How will a cool Swede handle the heat and humidity of New York in late summer?

Berdych has made a huge step forward this year and one more run like that will put him into the genuine contender on all surfaces category. He's close, very close and although he hasn't been past R4 of a hardcourt Slam, there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to step up again.

Don't rule out the wily Argentine veteran David Nalbandian (36). He has fought back from a series of injuries which would have sent a lesser man to a relaxing life on the golf course. Won a lot of matches recently in quick succession at Washington and Toronto, and is capable of giving any player on the tour a scare. If there's a shock in the top half of the draw, he's likely to be the one.

From an Aussie angle, now that Hewitt has gone, the cupboard is pretty bare. Carsten Ball (1000) won through the first round and is capable of winning another before facing Cilic.

Not sure who will lift the trophy in a fortnight's time, but three players I would look at trading in the winner market are Cilic, Nalbandian and Roddick. They are all capable, and given the right circumstances, can each beat a top seed. Roddick can win his quarter on merit, the other two will need things to go their way a little.

Women's Tournament

The women's draw has been robbed of the presence of Serena Williams (who, you could argue, should have been banned anyway after last year's behaviour) and Justine Henin. Without the two genuine number ones of the last decade, the title is wide open. So many star players with question marks against their name either in the big events, or for fitness.

Kim Clijsters (4.8) is defending champion and the obvious top pick. She had an injury scare in Montreal recently, but says her hip will be fine. Caroline Wozniacki (8) is top seed despite not winning anything of note. She was runner-up here last year and is knocking on the door. She has a very tricky quarter though, with Sharapova (6.4) R4 and Kuznetsova (27) in the quarters in her path, just to make the final four.

Maria Sharapova (6.4) is a conundrum. She has reached the final at three of her last four events, but lost them all. Her serve is the last part of her game to return after her injury break, how will it fare under Grand Slam pressure. She is second favourite here, but with Wozniacki (8) and Kuznetsova (27) in her path, not forgetting Aussie Jarka Groth (430) in R1, an outright bet needs a lot of confidence in her serve when it really counts.

Sam Stosur (36) has had injury issues of late, but says she's over it (strained bicep) and just needs match practice. She required three sets to beat the handy Vesnina in R1, she will have to improve each time in order to beat Kleybanova (170), Dementieva (21) and Clijsters (4.8) just in her quarter. Tough task ahead and I struggle to see her going too deep, but will be cheering her on regardless.

As always, there are several Russian women with a chance: Vera Zvonareva (19) reached the Wimbledon final and should now have the self-belief that she belongs at that end of the premier events. She has a soft draw and I like her chances. Elena Dementieva is back after missing Wimbledon with a calf injury. She is in the same quarter as Stosur and Clijsters, but won't go home without a massive fight.

Svetlana Kuznetsova (27) has won here before and has been in fine form in recent weeks. The top quarter of the draw is tricky, but at least she only has to meet one of Wozniacki and Sharapova should she get that far. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (60) might be worth 43 pts on a Scrabble board but she is rising with a bullet this year, halving her ranking since January. She'll face Azarenka (10.5) in R3, but apart from that, her quarter is winnable.

The other contenders in the third quarter of the draw are Venus Williams, who hasn't been seen since Wimbledon due to a kneecap injury, and Vika Azarenka, who has long been promising to blow everyone away in one of these events. Venus' record here has been poor for years, and the last time she reached a Slam final away from the grass of Wimbledon was 2003. You have to oppose her on that stat alone. Azarenka has issues with maturity and mental stability, but can match it with any player on the tour when it all clicks.

Backing someone with confidence in this tournament is a tough one, but two players worth looking at for back-to-lay trades at least, are Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova. There should be several rounds at least in both of them, and if the draw opens up elsewhere, their prices could tighten up quickly.

And some remaining R1 match action:

A match with a not-so-obvious Aussie link is the clash between tenth seed David Ferrer (400) and young Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov (730). The Ukrainian has shot up the rankings this year and will be top 25 next year. He is coached by veteran Australian mentor Jack Reader. This kid can really play, and while he might not yet be up to five sets against one of the fittest men on tour, watch him stretch Ferrer to the limits.

Alicia Molik (1000) has struggled this year on her comeback from injury, but she did show strong form earlier in the year at Indian Wells, reaching R4 and losing in a third-set breaker to Zheng (290). She is the outsider against qualifier Mirjana Lucic (1000) who didn't beat that much to get through. On current form, she deserves to be favoured, but not by as much as the market suggests. There's some value in Molik here.

Scott Ferguson

*Odds taken at 12.10pm 31/08/2010