Odds US Open Tennis Winner

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One of the most improbable Grand Slam finals matches has bookmakers breathing a sigh of relief and some bettors nervous about the high stakes on Monday's US Open men's final.

The matchup between Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic represents the first time since the 2005 Australian Open that a Grand Slam final hasn't featured Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic and the pre-tournament odds were reflective of that.

"The Nishikori-Cilic final is about as unlikely as the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars meeting in this season's Super Bowl."

Nishikori's odds to win the US Open, and become the first Asian-born man to win a Grand Slam title, were as high as 250 to 1. The odds to be the last man standing for Cilic, seeded 14th in the men's draw, were also as high as 250 to 1 in July.

A spokesman for TAB, Australia's largest bookmaker, confirmed that one of its bettors has a seven-match tennis parlay, which will be declared a winner if Nishikori wins. The $40 bet ($37.51 U.S.) would turn into $135, 526 ($127, 094.93 U.S.).

"A final very few saw coming, but there will be some happy bettors regardless of the result after huge odds were offered on both players, " said Matt Jenkins, spokesman for TAB, which has 2, 900 betting outlets in Australia.

TAB didn't have odds on a Nishikori-Cilic final, but Jenkins said it would have been about 5, 000 to 1.

"The Nishikori-Cilic final is about as unlikely as the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars meeting in this season's Super Bowl, " Jenkins said.

• Hard to explain exactly what went down during the semifinals, but Greg Garber can tell you this much: We didn't see a Marin Cilic-Kei Nishikori final coming.

Jenkins said the betting outfit had taken in bets during the tournament at varying odds that would pay off handsomely for investors. Some put down $100 ($93.78 U.S.) at 100 to 1 on Nishikori. Jenkins also confirmed a $500 ($468.89 U.S.) bet on Cilic to win it all at 21 to 1 before he beat Federer in the semifinals that would turn into $10, 000 ($9, 377.90 U.S.) if the Croatian wins.