Wimbledon women’s preview

Breakdown of the Wimbledon draw 

The WTA enters Wimbledon this year with more unpredictability and story-lines than its seen for much of the last decade, with questions surrounding usual favourites: Serena, Azarenka, Kvitova, Radwanska and Li, all suffering early exits in Paris, or missing it all together. Sharapova comes into the tournament with momentum having just won her 5th Grand Slam, with rising stars like Muguruza, Bouchard, Keys, Petkovic and Halep hot on her heels having proven their Grand Slam mettle this year.

First Quarter:

Headlining the top half of this quarter is world number one Serena Williams, who will be hungry for her sixth Wimbledon title after being ousted in Paris early. She should be able to waltz through her opening couple of rounds with little trouble, but then may face a sterner test in round three, with Cornet, a women who’s already beaten her this year, as well as talented youngsters Shmiedlova and Jaksic also here. Beyond that Williams may face either Bouchard or Petkovic in round four, both of which are full of confidence following Roland Garros, and whose flat games and athleticism should be dangerous on grass.

Sharapova lurks in the bottom half of this quarter, with her just missing out on a top four seed and slated to meet her nemesis Williams in the quarters. However, Sharapova also landed in Serena’s quarter in Paris, so there’s a long way to go before Maria will have to worry about figuring out Serena once again. Kerber is also here, and has been successful on grass in the past and just reached the finals in Eastbourne. Her consistancy, movement and unique lefty strokes put her in good stead to make a strong run here. Also here: Paszek and Flipkens who will meet in the opening round, and both have grass pedigree, although Flipkens is defending semi-final points here and it would be a big ask for her to make a deep run here given her form of late. Big-hitters Giorgi or Pavlyuchenkova could meet Sharapova in the third round, and can play with the best when their games are clicking, and if Sharapova hasn’t found her form early.

QF Predictions: If Williams is sharp no one should come close to stop her from reaching the quarters, but that is much more of an ‘if’ these days, especially with players like Bouchard having the belief that they can beat her. It will be especially hard for Sharapova to bounce back after two long weeks in Paris, where she got through by sheer will, if she gets complacent, she could very well get blown away by Giorgi or broken down by Kerber. I’m going with Serena to bounce back from her French Open loss, and Kerber to sneak through following a Sharapova upset.

Second Quarter:

Halep headlines this section of the draw as world number three, despite never being passed the second round here before. She has a soft section of the draw, and should have little trouble in early rounds, giving her a chance to find her grass game. This part of the draw is especially notable for its young talent, with Bencic, Vekic, Duval and Mladenovic all here; Vekic should have the best shot at making a splash at SW19 having excelled on the grass at Birmingham last year. Another notable face in this section is former finalist here Vera Zvonareva who is still on the comeback trail but faces a passable first round match against Tara Moore. Cirstea, Vinci and Suarez Navarro are the seeds here, but none of them have been in especially good form this and are vulnerable to early upset.

The second portion of this quarter is headlined by Serbian former number ones: Jankovic and Ivanovic. Both have extremely tricky draws and will have to come out swining from the get go. Ivanovic could face former French open champ Schiavone, grass-court veteran Zheng, and then last years finalist Lisicki in the third round. Ivanovic has been in good form this year, and continued that play in Birmingham where she took home the title. She should be able to get by Schiavone and Zheng to set up a blockbuster third round vs Lisicki. The result of that match could very well come down to Lisicki’s fitness, having been hampered by injury and the French Open, but if she’s firing she has a good shot at upsetting yet another seed at the All England Club. Jankovic could face explosive Kanepi and then Shvedova in the first two rounds, both women have gone deep here before and Jankovic isn’t in good form having been dismissed by Madison Keys in Eastbourne last week. Keys may again await her in the third round, she opens against youngster Puig, and could face dynamic Townsend in the second round, which would be a glimpse into the future of American tennis.

QF Predictions: Halep should have little trouble making the quarters given her soft draw and grass-court potential. The second half is harder to predict, as mentioned before it could come down to Lisicki’s fitness and that third round against Ivanovic; Keys should also be primed to make a run here with her big serve should she hold her nerve, but I’m going to go with Ivanovic to reach the quarters here given Lisicki’s questionable fitness, Keys’ inexperience and Jankovic’s patchy history on grass.

Third Quarter:

This section is a good opportunity for players who have struggled over the last month or two, such as Radwanska, Cibulkova and Azarenka who failed to make an impact on the clay-season. Azarenka is returning from injury, and lost her opening match last week against Giorgi, but is gifted with a navigable draw which will help her to shake off the rust. Giant killer Garbine Muguruza is also here, but doesn’t look completely ready to step up on grass, and faces a tricky opening test against big serving Vandeweghe; given this, Azarenka should be able to advance to the fourth round despite her lack of match play. She could face feisty Cibulkova in the fourth round, whose lost some of the momentum she had at the beginning of the year, but who is always dangerous, or big-hitting lefty, Safarova. Safarova hasn’t particularly enjoyed the grass here over the last few years, failing to make a deep run.

Radwanska has always excelled at Wimbledon where the faster surface gives her that much more pop on the ball, and shouldn’t face too stiff an opposition to reach the fourth round, with an ailing Kuznetsova who has never loved grass. Errani opens against Garcia, and could get grass queen Pironkova in the second round, the italian has always struggled on grass and will inevitably struggle passed her capable opening opponents. Date Krumm and Makarova face off in the opening round, in what should be a highly entertaining match; the japanese veteran loves this surface and could prove to be tough opposition with her unique game.

QF Predictions: I see it coming down to Azarenka vs Cibulkova and Pironkova vs Radwanska to reach the quarters. Given Azarenka’s long layoff it may be tough to expect her to subdue the slovak who has found her best tennis this year, and whose never say die attitude makes playing her a gruelling experience. Pironkova has the game to trouble Radwanska, but the former finalist has proven to be resourceful on this surface, whereas Pironkova, no matter how good she has been on the grass in the past always comes in as a question mark. I would have to go with Cibulkova and Radwanska as quarter finalists.

Fourth Quarter:

This is a section where unpredictability reigns, with top seeds Li Na, and Kvitova being prone to inconsistency throughout their careers, and even lower seeds like Venus and Stephens being fairly unknown quantities. Kvitova is a former Wimbledon champion and her explosive game is at is best here, but she hasn’t been able to back up that Wimbledon win over the last three years. She could face the equally streaky Barthel in round two, and 5-time champion Venus Williams in round three. Venus has looked healthier this year, bagging the Dubai title, but often losing tight-three setters to big names, if she could put it together anywhere, it will be here. Despite being underwhelming away from Grand Slams, Stephens has managed to pick up her game at the majors, reaching the second week for the last six slams in a row, but is yet to access her potential fully.

Wozniacki will attempt to comeback from heartbreak on and off the court at Wimbledon, suffering a slide in her rankings over the last year. She has a managable draw given Stosur has struggled so many times on grass before, and has a very good shot at reaching the round of 16. Li also has a favourable draw here and has the game to do well at Wimbledon, but she’ll have to recover her confidence after being dispatched in the opening round of the French Open.

QF Predictions: The key match in this section could prove to be the potential round three match between Venus and Kvitova, both who bring their best to Wimbledon and once either one gets hot, can rip through the draw. Stephens hasn’t shown that she’s willing to take matches into her own hands yet, and be the aggressor. Li and Wozniacki should face off in the fourth round, with Li more likely to triumph given her bigger arsenal of shots. Quarter finalists: Kvitova and Li

QFs:

Serena d. Kerber

Ivanovic d. Halep

Radwanska d. Cibulkova

Kvitova d. Li

SFs:

Serena d. Ivanovic

Kvitova d. Radwanska

F:

Serena d. Kvitova