Serena Williams is odds on favourite to complete the ‘Serena Slam’ for the second time in her career and capture her sixth Wimbledon title.
This would leave the American on 21 Grand Slams, just one behind Steffi Graff and three short of Margaret Court’s all time record.
Williams is in a phenomenal vein of form and I cannot see anyone preventing her from lifting the title, leaving her needing to win the US Open in August to become only the fourth player in ‘Open era’ history to complete a calendar year Grand Slam.
Those who may claim to also have a realistic chance include last year’s champion Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova with Simona Halep, Lucie Safarvova, Victoria Azarenka, Carolina Wozniacki, Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber possibly in the next tier of challengers.
However, if Serena plays her best tennis she will win the title thus ensuring the Williams’ sisters will have won 12 of the last 18 Wimbledon Championships.
Her serve, when on form, on a grass court is virtually unreturnable, while her ferocious groundstrokes suit the Wimbledon surface perfectly, skidding away before her opponents have a chance to react. She also has an incredible record in Slam finals winning 20 of her 24 finals and all 13 doubles finals.
So what hope does the rest of the field have? Her dominance in winning the Australian and French Open was not overwhelming. Five of her seven wins en route to winning in Paris were three set matches and she has had to come from a set down six times this year in Grand Slam matches.
She also hasn’t won a grass court title since winning the London 2012 Olympics, and hasn’t gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon since winning the tournament that same year. She is prone to early stumbles and last year she failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals at the Australian, French or Wimbledon before winning her sixth US Open.
Kvitova, Sharapova and Halep are the players most likely to benefit from a Williams slip-up although none have been in particularly convincing form this year.
Kvitova is the defending champion and Williams’ biggest threat. Her game is ideally suited for grass with a lefty serve which skids away and a big hitting game which can match Serena’s on her day.
She beat the American in Madrid, the only defeat Williams has suffered this year, on her way to winning the title. Against this, Kvitova has had a poor record in Grand Slams this year and has not progressed beyond the fourth round in either competition. She pulled out of Eastbourne this week with an illness but it was only as a precautionary measure.
Sharapova, who won the tournament in 2004 as a 17-year-old, is due a good run at Wimbledon. She has only progressed once beyond the fourth round since 2006 despite having an effective game for grass.
Were she to progress to the second week of the tournament, building confidence, form and momentum, she could be a real threat.
Against this, she has had a mixed season, losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Lucie Safarova. She also has an awful record against Williams, having lost 17 of their 19 encounters and has not beaten her since 2004.
Third seed Simona Halep has had a relatively poor season, despite winning in Indian Wells, especially compared to her breakthrough year last season when she shot up the World rankings and reached the French Open final.
She suffered a poor second round exit at the French Open this year losing to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, while Halep lost in the quarter-finals in Birmingham last week to Kristina Mladenovic.
Halep also has a poor record against Sharapova who she has never beaten in six attempts, and Williams whom she has only beaten once in six matches. I do not expect her to reach the semi-finals.
Safarova will hope to build on her excellent French Open form when she reached the final before losing to Williams in three sets. She reached the semi-final last year at Wimbledon and is a terrific doubles player having won both Grand Slams this year which should help her grass court game.
Safarova is a good outside bet. Victoria Azarenka will also be a threat if she is fully match fit as she showed when taking Serena to three sets at the French Open. The former World No.1 is one of the few players who, on her day, can match Williams for consistency and power. Her return somewhat neutralises the Serena serve, as does her ability to hit winners from anywhere on the court.
Sabine Lisicki is another player who likes grass and reached the 2013 Wimbledon final beating Williams along the way. She is the current world record holder for fastest serve in the ladies game (131 mph) which will be an advantage on grass.
Angelique Kerber won the title in Birmingham last week and is another player whose game suits grass.
Last year’s beaten finalist Eugenie Bouchard, who has had a terrible 2015 and retired during her match at Eastbourne this week, will be hoping a return to Wimbledon will bring about an improvement in her fortunes while Madison Keyes and Sloane Stevens will be looking to build on their early promise and have good tournaments.
Despite the above players’ respective claims, the overwhelming evidence points towards yet another Wimbledon crown for Serena Williams.
