Ahead of Wimbledon 2016, the tennis writers of Vavel USA discuss key points to this year's tournament.
Who is the favorite? After looking at the draw, who are they most likely to lose to and why?
James Froud: Chasing Steffi Graf’s 22 Grand Slam titles, Serena Williams is yet again the favorite at Wimbledon, despite losing her last two Grand Slam finals and not winning one since the last event at SW19 12 months ago. If she and Petra Kvitova were to advance to a last-four meeting, the two-time champion has the powerful game to beat Serena if she is at her best, but her inconsistency means it’s always doubtful how far she can go. Before that, a tasty fourth round meeting with close friend Caroline Wozniacki would be interesting, but the Dane has been struggling with injuries as of late. Sloane Stephens could challenge the top seed also at the same stage.
Quentin Gaspard: Even though she lost her last two Grand Slam finals, Serena is still the big favorite, especially on grass. The American has not an easy draw; a lot of dangerous players could cause her some problems in early rounds. For instance, she could face, in the second round, Christina McHale who snatched her a set in Miami earlier this year. Mladenovic, Stephens, and Bacsinszky are also in her part of the draw and they all had great results this year. Another threat present in her section is Coco Vandeweghe. The young American reached the quarterfinals last year and had a very solid grass court season this year, winning s’Hertogenbosch and reaching the semifinals of Birmingham too. Serena thus has a very tricky draw and could encounter her first problems before the second week.
Tevon King: Serena is the favorite to win at Wimbledon, her serve works perfectly on grass and she could lose to Kvitova in the semis or her sister Venus in the final.
Moran Noyman: The favorite is the defending champion, Serena Williams. If she was to lose, it would probably be in the finals to Garbine Muguruza. The Spaniard beat her in the French Open final to win her first Grand Slam and that will give her confidence in her ability to get revenge for last year's defeat in the Wimbledon's final. If anyone can beat the American number one on grass, it's Muguruza.
Jake Best: Despite her loss in the finals at the French Open, I still consider Serena Williams to be the favorite. Even on an off day, she can beat 99 percent of the players on the WTA tour. She is, in fact, the defending Wimbledon champion. Over the past few years, she hasn’t exactly been dominant on the grass. She still is the favorite in my mind, however. Looking at her draw, Serena has many tough potential matchups. She could face fellow American Christina McHale, who played her well in Miami recently, in the second round. If she were to lose, look out for Svetlana Kuznetsova in the round of 16. Kuznetsova defeated Serena in Miami this year. She has the firepower to give Serena a tough match.
Paul Choi: Serena Williams. Kristina Mladenovic could be a threat in the third round, who played her tough at Roland Garros. If Sloane Stephens makes it to the round of 16, she could be another potential threat.
Pavitra Ganesan: Serena Williams is always going to be a favorite where she has won six times. Looking at her draw, she may be troubled in the third round where she could face either Heather Watson or Kristina Mladenovic. Watson gave her a tough time last year and Mladenovic pushed her just recently at the French Open. Williams could also wobble in the fourth round if she comes up against fellow American, Sloane Stephens. Other than that don't see her losing until at least the finals.
Who is the dark horse for the title and why?
JF: After winning the recent title in Birmingham, ninth-seed Madison Keys is one to avoid, and the projected draw she may face has further improved her chances. Laura Siegemund is a challenging first round opponent, but her opposition could have been much worse, despite having Kirsten Flipkens and Alize Cornet in her section. Both of her career titles have come on grass, and it would be very surprising to see her not make at least the second week.
QG: Madison Keys will be a serious contender for the title. She has just entered the top 10 this week and is in a great shape. She has had a wonderful year so far and looks even more dangerous on grass courts. She won Birmingham one week ago and she will hence enter the tournament with a lot of confidence. Madison will start her tournament against Laura Siegemund and could potentially face Simona Halep in the last 16. The American is in the bottom half of the draw, which means that she is not in the draw section of Serena. Her powerful game could trouble a lot of top players, especially on this surface which fits her game pretty well.
TK: Pliskova this is the slam she finally reaches in the second week of a major and her game is looking solid on the grass and she won the title in Nottingham, doubles champion in Birmingham and finalist in Eastbourne.
MN: The dark horse is Venus Williams. The eighth seed has won the title on five previous occasions and although it's been seven years since she last made the final at the All England Club, she's still a force to be reckoned with and with her big serve and the offensive game she can take out anyone on this surface on any given day.
JB: My dark horse is ninth-seeded Madison Keys. Keys has played very good tennis as of late. Keys could run into Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals and then French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the semis. Those would be difficult matches for the young American, but she has the potential to beat them. She could then meet Serena in the finals
PC: Sabine Lisicki is a player you never hear about until Wimbledon. She has proven that she is capable of beating anyone on the grass, defeating both Sharapova and Williams at the All England Club. Although having a horrible 2016 so far, she is in a weak section of the draw, with Sam Stosur being the highest seed, an awful player on grass. If Muguruza is upset before the round of 16, I would pick her as the favorite to make it to the semifinals.
PG: Dark house for me would be Karolina Pliskova. She has been stringing some decent runs on grass already this season. Making two finals and winning one of those has got to be a great boost coming into Wimbledon. And her game is well suited for grass.
Which non-seeded player could make a run into the second week and why?
JF: Former runner-up Sabine Lisicki after looking at her draw. She could face Samantha Stosur in the second round, but boasts a win at Wimbledon over the Australian back in 2013. She loves the place, and could improve her poor form shown recently to make yet another run into the second week.
QG: A lot of unseeded players could make it to the second week of Wimbledon. Tsvetana Pironkova is always dangerous on this surface. What’s more, she reached her first French Open quarterfinal one month ago. She is thus playing great tennis at the moment. I predict that she will reach the second week quite easily. She will meet Belinda Bencic in the first round, who is just coming back from an injury. She could hence clear up her draw with a win over the Swiss player. Moreover, Tsvetana shares a love story with this tournament: she reached her sole Grand Slam semifinal here six years ago and has already vanquished top players here like Venus Williams or Marion Bartoli, both Wimbledon champions. The Bulgarian could be a threat for the players of her draw.
TK: Lisicki has Stosur in the second round who hates the grass, she can get passed Muguruza in the fourth round, Venus in the quarterfinals and she loves the grass.
MN: Caroline Wozniacki is a non-seeded player who can make it into the second week. The former world number one has made it through to the fourth round in the past two years and her draw this week suggests she can do it again; She's got the 13th seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round which would be a difficult match but the Russian has never excelled on grass and the Danish player has a good chance of taking her out. In the second round she could face Alison Van Uytvanck from Belgium, ranked 132 in the world, or Tara Moore from Great Britain ranked 229. In the third round she's likely to meet the 18th seed Sloane Stephens from the United States but like Kuznetsova, she's not very dangerous on grass based on her results in previous years and Wozniacki can beat too.
JB: For me, former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard has the best shot to make the second week based off of her draw. If she can turn back the clock and play at the level that propelled her into the 2014 finals, she should easily make the second week. She could draw Johanna Konta in the second round and Dominika Cibulkova in the third round. Should the Canadian advance that far, she would bump into third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the round of 16.
PC: Sabine Lisicki.
PG: Sabine Lisicki could make a run into the second week. The former finalist plays great on grass and her draw is pretty decent for the first few rounds.
Which first round matchup intrigues you the most and why?
JF: Caroline Wozniacki - Svetlana Kuznetsova – Their head-to-head record reads at 6-5 to the Dane, but her recent injury problems mean she’s not seeded at the event making her a dangerous floater. Both have produced decent results at Wimbledon without pulling up trees, making this clash one to watch in the opening round.
QG: A very intriguing and interesting first round matchup is the one between Garbine Muguruza and Camila Giorgi. It is well-known that the weeks following a first Grand Slam triumph are often very rough. Muguruza demonstrated it when she lost her first match following her French Open victory against Kirsten Flipkens in the first round of Mallorca. The Spanish player lost in straight sets. Besides, she has a final to defend here and will have a lot of pressure. Her first opponent, Camila Giorgi, is not in a good shape but she has a very powerful game and grass can fit her game very well. I’m really curious to see how Muguruza will cope with the Italian player.
TK: Kerber vs Robson. The match could be on Centre Court and Robson beat Kerber in the first round in 2011 and the German is vulnerable in the earlier rounds.
MN: Caroline Wozniacki versus Svetlana Kuznetsova is my 'first round match to watch'. The former world number one Wozniacki and the former world number two and two-time Grand Slam winner Kuznetsova, have an almost opposite style of play with the Danish player playing a defensive game based on getting every ball back while the Russian looks to attack and finish points quickly with her powerful serve and groundstrokes. That matchup is likely to create a great first round match.
JB: I am looking forward to Svetlana Kuznetsova taking on Caroline Wozniacki. Wozniacki is not seeded this year, as she has missed many tournaments due to injury. The former world number one has reached as far as the round of 16 at Wimbledon. Kuznetsova, the former U.S. Open, and French Open champion is a very streaky player. She can play extremely well, or can fall in early rounds. This could be an incredible opening round match.
PC: Belinda Bencic vs Tsvetana Pironkova. Pironkova is a grass-court specialist, and another player you only ever hear about at Wimbledon, having reached the semifinals before. It will be a tough match for both players, but I see Bencic coming out on top in three tight sets.
PG: The matchup between Bencic and Pironkova intrigues me the most. The Bulgarian plays well on grass, recently reaching the quarterfinals at Birmingham and has notched decent results a few years back at Wimbledon. Definitely, would be interesting to see how Bencic, the seventh seed would fare against her.
Which young gun/rising star puts their name on the map or proves they’re the real deal and why? Note: Must be 23 or younger
JF: Mentioned as a potential dark-horse for the title, Keys is still only 21 years-old and a deep run here to back up her quarterfinal showing last year would make people start to take her seriously heading into her home slam later in the year. She has the game for the surface and looks to be in form after her success in Birmingham.
QG: Jelena Ostapenko could confirm her status of rising star during this tournament. She is one of the revelations of 2016 and has already beaten some top players this year too. What’s more, she won Wimbledon in juniors two years ago. She loves playing on this surface and doesn’t seem to be feeling pressure very often. Ostapenko will open up her Wimbledon campaign against Kiki Bertens, who is coming back from an injury. In the third round, she could encounter Simona Halep who is far from playing her best tennis at the moment. The 19-year-old rising star could hence make a deep run in the tournament.
TK: Bencic to have a good run, she has a nice draw. Petkovic potentially in the third round and Kvitova in the fourth round.
MN: Caroline Garcia, the 30th seed from France who won Mallorca a week ago, will prove during this tournament that she's the real deal. She's confident and fearless and highly talented and a threat against anyone on tour. She's got a very tough draw in the form of the third seed Polish Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round but I believe she has a real chance against her, following her terrific run in Mallorca. If she passes Radwanska, the highest seed she could face in the fourth round is the home favorite Johanna Konta, seeded 16th, so Garcia has a chance of making it into the quarterfinals.
JB: I expect a good tournament from reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza. She reached the final last year, losing to Serena Williams. Having just won her first Grand Slam title, it will be important for the 22-year-old Spaniard to play well, proving that she is the real deal. As the number two seed, she has a pretty favorable draw. She does face a tricky opponent in Camila Giorgi in the opening round.
PC: Monica Puig. The 22-year-old from Puerto Rico is a tough player on the grass, with flat, hard strokes. I can see her upsetting Johanna Konta in the first round.
PG: Winning Birmingham, for her second title and second on grass, Madison Keys proves she is the real deal. She has a decent season thus far despite injuries and with a title added to it, Keys who is also in the top 10 looks set to keep improving and make a deep run at Wimbledon.
Which top 10 seed gets upset first and why?
JF: Sixth-seed Roberta Vinci arrives in Wimbledon in poor form, whilst her first round opponent Alison Riske recently went all the way to the final in Nottingham before falling to Karolina Pliskova in two tight sets. This eighth of the draw is arguably the weakest in the field.
QG: Roberta Vinci has never had great results in Wimbledon. She hasn’t won a match in singles in this tournament since 2013. To make matters worse, she will play Alison Riske in her opening round. This American player is well-known to play great tennis on grass. This year, she won a 50,000-dollar ITF in Eastbourne and went on to reach a WTA final in Nottingham. Riske has already won nine matches on this surface this year compared to Vinci who has not won any yet. Alison Riske will thus enter the tournament will a lot of confidence and is likely to upset Vinci in her first round match.
TK: Vinci cannot play on the grass, can't remember the last time she won a match and she's only in the top 10 because of her run to the US Open final last year. Riske is a good grass court player who made the final in Nottingham.
MN: Roberta Vinci, the sixth seed from Italy will be the first top-10 seed to get upset. She's never made it beyond the third round at Wimbledon and has lost in the second round in Eastbourne this week. The grass is just not her surface.
JB: Looking at the draw, I see the sixth seed, Roberta Vinci, losing first out of all of the top ten seeded women. Her game has never translated extremely well to the grass and she faces some tough players early on.
PC: Roberta Vinci. The Italian's counterpunching style is simply not made for the grass, and could be upset by Alison Riske in the first round.
PG: I think Roberta Vinci might get the first upset as early as in the first round where she is up against Alison Riske. Riske is good on grass and proved that when she reached the Nottingham final recently. As for Vinci, she struggled and was knocked out in the first round at Eastbourne, clearly evident grass is not her strongest surface. She did exit in the first round last year at Wimbledon as well and I predict a similar upset is on the cards.
Who are your finalists and champion? Why?
JF: I’m going for a repeat of the recent French Open final, where Serena Williams met Garbine Muguruza, with the Spaniard overcoming her on that occasion. Serena is so hard to beat anywhere, but particularly Wimbledon, whilst Muguruza reached the final 12 months ago. This time, Serena will finally match Graf’s number of Grand Slams and overcome Muguruza in three sets.
QG: My finalists are Serena Williams and Madison Keys. Serena has always been very solid in Grand Slams for the past few years and is likely to reach a new Grand Slam final in Wimbledon. As for Madison, she gained a lot of confidence during the past weeks and like I said before, grass fits her game pretty well. I think it is a good time for her to reach her maiden Grand Slam final. My champion is Serena Williams. After her last three losses in Grand Slams, I think that it is high time for her to win a new one. If she doesn’t get affected by the pressure in this potential final, she should be able to snatch her 22nd Grand Slam title.
TK: Serena will win Wimbledon this year she hasn't won a slam since winning here last year and she is due to a victory. Pliskova could make the final but I think it will be a rematch of last year's finalist.
MN: My finalists are the top two seeds, Serena Williams, and Garbine Muguruza. They are simply the best at the moment and they proved it in Roland Garros. They have also made the final in Wimbledon last year and I see no reason why we won't get a rematch this year.
JB: I am predicting an all-American final this year, between Madison Keys and Serena Williams. Both players have a similar-styled game. They put on a great show at the Australian Open a few years ago. I have Serena winning this matchup, tying Steffi Graf for 22 major titles.
PC: Serena Williams defeats Garbine Muguruza. A repeat of last year's final and this year's final at Roland Garros, the two strongest players on the tour by far with battle it out, with Serena grabbing the title in three sets.
PG: My finalists are Keys and Serena. Keys will be full of confidence coming into this one and I feel she can make a deep run and reach the finals. As for Serena, her draw is quite manageable and most possibly would make the finals. If they do meet, it may be a tough one even though Serena hasn't lost to her before, butI think Serena is going to nab her 22nd title.