The 2018 US Open women's tennis tournament, the final major of the year, begins Monday. Serena Williams, who won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, is the No. 17 seed after taking time off, but is still the favorite among oddsmakers at 5-1. Top-seeded Simona Halep has 13-2 US Open odds and Angelique Kerber, the No. 4 seed and 2016 champion, is 15-2. Defending champion Sloan Stephens is at 10-1, but when she won the championship trophy last year she did so as a 40-1 longshot. Twenty-one players are posted at 40-1 or lower.

Before you lock in any 2018 US Open picks, you have to hear what veteran handicapper Micah Roberts is picking. Roberts has worked in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry for 20 years, including a 13-year run as Station Casinos' book director. Since joining SportsLine in 2016, he's crushed it picking individual games as well as events such as NASCAR and the 2018 World Cup.

Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and potential matchups at the 2018 US Open women's tournament and locked in his picks, which are only available at SportsLine. We can tell you he's not going with Williams, the big favorite.

"The Australian Open was her 23rd major win, but she last won the US Open in 2014, the last of three straight wins there," Roberts told SportsLine. "The rest of the women's field may have caught up, which gives a lot of value to everyone else."

Roberts also isn't looking at a repeat for Stephens, the American who shocked the world with last year's run to the title.

Instead, Roberts is backing a trio of competitors, including a top-tier player Vegas is vastly overlooking. Roberts says all three have considerable value for the price, and all would pay off handsomely.

So who wins the 2018 U.S. Open? And which longshots are worth backing? Visit SportsLine to see Micah Roberts' U.S. Open women's championship picks, all from the acclaimed handicapping expert who has worked in the sportsbook industry for 20 years.