By Chris Oddo | Saturday July 8, 2017
Is the Wimbledon women's singles draw really as wide open as experts say? Here's 10 reasons why the answer is yes.
Photo Source: Shaun Botteril/Getty
The women have concluded their first week at Wimbledon, weeding out 112 singles participants, including No.3-seeded Karolina Pliskova and No.11-seeded Petra Kvitova, considered by many to be favorites before the fortnight began. So who remains, and which of those remaining players have what it takes to actually win the title?
We have 10 ideas about that. Here are our top ten favorites, with No.1 having the greatest chance of winning the title next week.
Favorite No.1: Garbiné Muguruza
There are actually four or five women that I consider on the fast track to this title, but to me Muguruza is the most qualified based on her experience, current form, and grass competency. The Spaniard doesn’t love this surface but she clearly knows how to win on it: She’s a former Wimbledon runner-up. There’s also the fact that Muguruza has been on the cusp of a breakout all season. She has won three matches in a row seven times but only stretched a streak to four once this season. She’s due to explode, and she’s done that in each of the last two seasons at a major.
Favorite No.2: Simona Halep
The Romanian is by no means a conventional grass-courter but she’s moving really well on the surface this season and she’s managing to play her brand of baseline tennis with authority. As a former Wimbledon semifinalist, and a runner-up last year at Roland Garros, Halep’s primed to carry on with her momentum.
Favorite No.3: Johanna Konta
Wow has the British No.1 looked fantastic at Wimbledon. Calm, focused, powerful and clutch—Konta appears to be embracing the Wimbledon experience and does not seem weighed down by the British hype surrounding her at SW19. It will get tougher to block out the pressure, but Konta is not just a world-class ballstriker, she also has a world-class mind. She’s ready for this.
Favorite No.4: Venus Williams
Venus knocked on the door and almost broke through at Melbourne this January, falling in the Australian Open to her sister. But here at Wimbledon Williams is a five-time champion and playing without her sister in the draw. This could be her best—and perhaps her last—chance to win a major.
Favorite No.5: Ana Konjuh
She’s the only teenager remaining at Wimbledon and she is a bona fide powerhouse. Watching her crack 54 winners against Dominika Cibulkova on Day 5 I couldn’t help but think that Konjuh could be the new Ostapenko. She’s that good. Don’t let the big backswing fool you. The Croatian is best on grass because of her flat, vicious groundies and her surprisingly solid movement on the surface. And, perhaps most important, her serve is very strong.
Stat: Konjuh leads the 16 remaining players with 19 return winners in three matches. She leads the field with 39 backhand winners.
Favorite No.6: CoCo Vandeweghe
Speaking of powerhouses, Vandeweghe is into the second week at Wimbledon for the third consecutive year for a reason. She’s a dominant player on this surface and if she executes her game plan by serving well and dictating to her opponent she is virtually impossible to stop on the surface. Through three matches she has won 73 of 83 first-serve points—best among all women.
Stat: Vandeweghe has converted on 16 of her 17 serve-and-volley attempts.
Favorite No.7: Svetlana Kuznetsova
The Russian has won 24 of 26 service games in three rounds, which is a great sign for a player who really doesn’t need to rely on her serve to win. She’s also playing better at Wimbledon as of last season. Kuznetsova has reached the second week in back-to-back weeks at Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Kuznetsova has been knocking at the door at majors regularly of late, having reached the second week at five of the last six majors—perhaps this will be the time she parlays it into a run for the ages.
Favorite No.8: Jelena Ostapenko
Why not? The Latvian has done nothing but impress in the first three rounds at Wimbledon. The 20-year-old has found her way into the second week despite having the lowest percentage of service games won (67) of the sixteen remaining women (poor serving could hurt her in week two, so she better shore that up). Most important, Ostapenko has proven to be impervious to the pressure of backing up a maiden Slam.
Favorite No.9: Agnieszka Radwanska
Former Wimbledon finalist. 42 Wimbledon wins. A game that was made for this surface in a wide-open draw that was made to give players like her a chance at glory.
After saving a pair of match points in the second-round Radwanska is playing with house money. If there was ever a time for the Pole to leave the “best player to never win a Slam” club behind, next week could be it.
Favorite No.10: Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber has caused plenty of eyebrows to raise at SW19 in week one. Much like Novak Djokovic on the men’s side, could she be on the cusp of a return to form here in London? Is three solid rounds enough to get Kerber’s big-match woes turned around? If it is, and her experience kicks in (oh, and she’s also great on grass) Kerber could get it done.
As you might have noticed, we believe there are six players we think have zero chance of winning it. Here’s the reasoning behind the decision to leave each of those six off.
Caroline Wozniacki
Because this is grass and Wozniacki is too prone to being overpowered. What will she do if CoCo Vandeweghe has her “A” Game on Monday?
Petra Matric and Magdalena Rybarikova
One of Petra Martic and Magdalena Rybarikova will make the quarterfinals, which is a remarkable storyline for week two. But that’s the end of the road for whomever wins. Neither has the type of game to stay hot when the competition stiffens in the quarterfinals and beyond.
Victoria Azarenka
Watching her struggle to barely get by Heather Watson convinced us that Vika is simply not ready to win a Grand Slam this soon in her comeback. That said, she’s more than welcome to prove us wrong. Her story has been one of the highlights of the summer and her run to the second week has been a huge inspiration.
Elina Svitolina
We don’t think the No.4-seeded Ukrainian gets the respect she deserves. But on this surface, with her defensive mindset–it’s simply too difficult to imagine that a title run is possible for Svitolina here.
Caroline Garcia
The Frenchwoman has looked amazing at Wimbledon. She’s won 25 of 27 service games to reach the second week for the first time. But we just don’t feel the 23-year-old is good enough as a big-match player to get it done.