Charles Bricker is a 42-year veteran of the news and sports writing wars with distinguished service at the San Jose Mercury News in California and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He began annually covering the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in 1993. He also went 28-14 dishing daily picks for the 2009 U.S. Open for Covers.com and 29-16 at the 2010 Aussie Open. He's back and making picks for Covers throughout the U.S. Open.
KIM CLIJSTERS (-194) VS. VENUS WILLIAMS (+178)
Clijsters is at 19 wins in a row at the U.S. Open and she would be favored even if the wind died down. If it doesn't, she may not cover as much ground as the long-legged Williams, but her first step is quicker and that means she adjusts to the wind better. Williams continues to do well at big events, but she hasn't won one in a long time. Head to head is tied 6-6 with Kim winning the last four.
Winner: Clijsters
(-344) CAROLINE WOZNIACKI VS. VERA ZVONAREVA (+304)
This is a battle between couple a golden retrievers. Neither of them possesses a big second serve but both are adept at playing defense and tracking down balls. Zvovareva didn't look brilliant in beating Kaia Kanepi to reach the semis with 10 winners and 28 unforced errors. Wozniacki did an admirable job of dealing with the wind (just 18 unforced errors in very difficult conditions). Head-to-head is 2-2 with Wozniacki winning in the Montreal final a few weeks ago.
Winner: Wozniacki