Once again, Serena Williams can make history at Wimbledon. But will things really be different this time?
Williams has been stuck on 21 Grand Slam singles titles, one shy of Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era, since last year’s Wimbledon. Since then, Williams lost in stunning fashion in the U.S. Open semifinals and in back-to-back finals at the Australian Open and French Open.
Williams undoubtedly is the best women’s tennis player in the world, and it would be a shock if she didn’t at least make the semifinals. But getting over the hump has proven to be a challenge for her, and Garbine Muguruza and Angelique Kerber both would love to pull off another upset.
Can Williams finally win No. 22?
Absolutely she can. Her ability never has been in question. But she still has struggled for almost a year now to win the big match.
It’s been a down year for Williams when it comes to wins, as her lone victory came at Rome leading up to the French Open. But she still has the best record among her fellow competitors at the last three Grand Slams.
And if you think pressure might prevent her from winning, think again.
“This year, I don’t feel as much tension as I usually do,” Williams said Sunday, via ESPN.com. “Well, there’s some years I haven’t felt any tension either. I’m feeling pretty good. I don’t feel any pressure or stress.”
Can Muguruza continue to challenge Williams?
While Williams is the clear favorite, the woman with the next best chance to win is Muguruza.
The No. 2 seed denied Williams’ third chance at making history at the French Open. The 22-year-old Spaniard-Venezuelan tennis player also was the runner-up at Wimbledon last year, when she lost to Williams in straight sets.
Muguruza instantly became one of the faces of women’s tennis, although grass is far from her favorite surface. Muguruza used to hate grass, and she lost her only Wimbledon tune-up. Still, she did make the final here last year, so hate might be a strong word now.
Americans to watch out for
Unlike on the men’s side, American women always are in the running to win Grand Slams, and we’re not just talking about Williams. Her sister, Venus Williams, hasn’t won a Grand Slam since 2008, but she has the ability to make some noise as the No. 8 seed.
Then there’s the women who are considered the future of American tennis — Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Shelby Rogers, Christina McHale and Coco Vandeweghe.
Vandeweghe has excelled on grass so far this year, with a semifinal appearance at Birmingham and a win at the Ricoh Open. Unfortunately for her, she’s in the same quarter as Williams, as well as both McHale and Stephens. Rogers was the surprise of the French Open, as she made the quarterfinals before losing to Muguruza, whom she theoretically could face again in the fourth round.
Perhaps the American woman not named Serena Williams with the best chance to make the semifinals, though, is Keys. She is in the same quarter as Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber, but she has worked her way up to No. 9 in the world and is fresh off a grass court win at Birmingham.
Best of rest
Usually we would go with dark horses here, but many of those are the American women listed above. However, there’s still plenty of other women who could win.
Petra Kvitova (who won Wimbledon in 2014), Sam Stosur, Agnieszka Radwanska, Dominika Cibulkova and Angelique Kerber are some of the other names you should keep an eye out for over the next two weeks.
Prediction
Serena Williams. Look, as with the men, we’d love to pick an upset here, and there’s more recent history to suggest that Williams could slip up than Novak Djokovic. But Wimbledon usually is one of her best tournaments, and she is the defending champion. So expect the wait for Grand Slam No. 22 to finally end.
Thumbnail photo via Susan Mullane/USA TODAY Sports Images
