Wimbledon 2015: Women's singles preview - Can Serena Williams win her sixth Wimbledon title?
With only a couple of days left for Wimbledon, let us look at women’s draw for the tournament and analyse the prospects of players who could have a good run on the lawns of SW19.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams is in the form of her life, yet again! The World No. 1 is 32-1 this season so far and is poised to win second Serena Slam (holding all four Grand Slams at the same time). She did it for the first time between the 2002 French Open to 2003 Australian Open.
Grand Slam glory is not easy with other top contenders looking to make a mark as well. The likes of Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur,who have tasted Grand Slam success in the past, are in Serena’s half this Wimbledon.
All of them have the games and match temperament to trouble Serena during the tournament. The American hasn’t exactly dominated at the two Grand Slams that she has won this year. Seven of the fourteen matches she has played at this level have gone to three sets and she has come back from a set down in six of them.
Serena’s last tournamnet win on grass came at the 2012 London Olympics, where she clinched a gold medal. The 33-year-old hasn’t gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon since then. However, with the chance of entering history books in her sight, expect Serena to give it her all come Wimbledon.
Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova can challenge Serena on the grass courts of Wimbledon. The Czech is the only player to have beaten Serena this year – in Madrid Masters. The defending champion has reached quarterfinals or better in each of her last five appearances here.
She lost in the third and fourth rounds at the Australian and French Open respectively, and is looking to make a mence at her favorite Grand Slam. The last time Kvitova attempted to defend her title in 2012, she lost to eventual champion Serena in the last eight. However, the two can meet only in the finals this year.
Simona Halep
After a spectacular 2014 in which she reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open, Simona Halep hasn’t had a memorable 2015. Sh lost in the quaerterfinals at the Australian Open in January and lost a lot of points after falling to MIrjana Lucic-Baroni in the second round of Roland Garros.
The Romanian could drop out of the top four if she fails to defend her semifinal points from last year, depending on how Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki perform at Wimbledon.
Maria Sharapova
Sharapova started off the year with a title in Brisbane. Her dream of winning a second Australian Open title was cut short by Serena in the final, with the American winning for the 16th consecutive time against the Russian.
Her French Open defense came to an end when she lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Lucie Safarova. She is slated to meet Safarova again, this time in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. If she gets past the Czech, a semifinal against Serena awaits and going by the past results, it doesn’t look too rosy for the Russian.
Other contenders to the crown
Wozniacki has had a horrendous run in Grand Slams this year, having lost in the second round at both the Australian and French Open. The Dane could be tested by No. 10 seed Angelique Kerber as early as the fourth round.
Eugenie Bouchard is having a nightmare 2015 season to say the least. She has won just two matches since the Australian Open. The Canadian lost to Kristina Mladenovic in the first round of French Open. An early loss at Wimbledon can take her out of the Top 20 in the WTA rankings as she was a finalist here last year. Bouchard could face Madison Keys in the third round.
Venus Williams, who has won five titles at Wimbledon in the past will look to shrug off her poor showing in the French Open by doing well in London. A fourth round against her sister Serena is on the cards.
Lucie Safarova is another player to watch out for. Will she maintain her consistency that saw her reach her first Grand Slam final at the French Open?
Will one of the above players go on to win Wimbledon or a new player goes on to write her name in the history books?
We will know the answer on the evening of July 11.