Daniil Medvedev, Iga Swiatek heavy US Open favorites

Top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek were heavy favorites to claim their respective titles as play began at the U.S. Open on Monday.

Medvedev was the +260 favorite at BetMGM to defend the men's title ahead of Spaniards Rafael Nadal (+400) and Carlos Alcaraz (+550). Medvedev claimed his first career Grand Slam title at last year's U.S. Open, where he denied Novak Djokovic from winning the "Calendar Slam."

Djokovic is not in this year's event because of COVID-19 vaccination requirements. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, who was a U.S. Open finalist in 2020, also withdrew due to ankle surgery.

Medvedev opened as the +225 favorite at BetMGM but has seen his odds lengthen slightly despite the absence of two of his top threats. He has had a rollercoaster 2022 since falling to Nadal in the Australian Open final.

He has risen to No. 1 in the world despite missing two months following hernia surgery. Medvedev also missed out on Wimbledon due to the tournament's decision not to allow players from Russia to compete because of his country's ongoing war against Ukraine.

Medvedev is 34-12 in 2022 entering Monday's first-round match against unseeded American Stefan Kozlov. He also leads BetMGM with 21.0 per cent of the total bets to win the men's title along with 41.9 per cent of the handle.

That makes Medvedev the second-biggest liability in the men's draw behind Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios opened as a +3300 but began the tournament at +800 as he has been backed by 15.0 and 13.3 per cent of the action, respectively.

Nadal is the third-biggest liability as the 36-year-old chases his 23rd Grand Slam title and third of the year after also winning the French Open for a 14th time. He has drawn 15.8 per cent of the total bets and