The ladies singles event at Wimbledon this year looks particularly wide open and it promises to be a fascinating two weeks as we determine the winner of the third major of 2018. Caroline Wozniacki and Simona Halep have extended the run of first time major champions to three in a row and it would be foolish to rule out that run continuing.
Garbine Muguruza won the title 12 months ago and she is back to defend the title but there are a number of women who are in form and will have the belief to dethrone her, not least one Serena Williams who will be competing in her second Slam of the year.
Recent Winners
2017 – Garbine Muguruza
2016 – Serena Williams
2015 – Serena Williams
2014 – Petra Kvitova
2013 – Marion Bartoli
2012 – Serena Williams
2011 – Petra Kvitova
2010 – Serena Williams
2009 – Serena Williams
2008 – Venus Williams
The Format
As with the men, the 128 players who have made the tournament have been placed into a pre-drawn bracket with the event being a straight knockout right from the beginning. All matches are the best of three sets with the final set having to be won by two clear games rather than a tiebreak. The champion will be determined on the second Saturday of the tournament.
Top Quarter
French Open champion and world number one Simona Halep is the number one seed this week. She has never made the final here though so some may feel she is there for the taking here. Former champion and winner in Birmingham, Petra Kvitova is the other top eight seed in this section. The other seeds are Daria Gavrilova, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Ostapenko, Elise Mertens, Jo Konta and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Heather Watson adds to the British flavour to this quarter as an unseeded player in it while Dominika Cibulkova, Dani Collins, Maria Sakkari, Sam Stosur and Taylor Townsend stands out as potential dangers to the main players in this part of the draw.
Second Quarter
The defending champion Garbine Muguruza is the leading seed in the second quarter. She is seeded to meet Caroline Garcia in the quarter final but a number of players will look to deny them that meeting. Former finalist Angelique Kerber is one of them and she is seeded in this section as are Carla Suarez Navarro, Naomi Osaka, Daria Kasatkina, Ashleigh Barty and Anett Kontaveit.
There are a few unseeded Britons in this part of the draw including Naomi Broady and Georgina Taylor. Eugenie Bouchard is a former finalist here who came through qualifying to be in this section while Belinda Bencic has game too. Ana Konjuh is another who has talent while Katie Boulter completes the British crew in this section.
Third Quarter
US Open champion Sloane Stephens is the top seed in the third section of the draw and she is seeded to face Karolina Pliskova in the quarter final if all goes to plan. Shuai Zhang, Barbora Srtycova, Julia Goerges, Venus Williams, Kiki Bertens and Mihaela Buzarnescu are the seeded players who are in their way in that regard.
There are some big names who aren’t seeded in this quarter. They include Grand Slam champions in Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova while the Eastbourne finalist Aryna Sabalenka is also here. Olympic champion Monica Puig, Andrea Petkovic and Donna Vekic round off a pretty competitive quarter
Bottom Quarter
Caroline Wozniacki is the top seed in the bottom quarter. The Eastbourne champion is seeded to take on Elina Svitolina in the quarter final should both reach that stage of the competition but a certain Serena Williams is in this quarter too and she’s sure to have something to say about that. Magdalena Rybarikova, Madison Keys, Coco Vandeweghe, Anastasija Sevastova and Agnieszka Radwanska are the other seeds in a tough looking part of the draw.
There are some decent unseeded players in this section as well with Ekaterina Makarova and Lucie Safarova having big serves to trouble anyone while Kiki Mladenovic is very talented too. This arguably looks the strongest quarter of the lot it must be said.
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Outright Betting
I can’t get away from Angelique Kerber in this tournament. She warmed up for the event with a run to the semi-final at Eastbourne and she has already made the semis of both Slams this year, losing to Simona Halep in epics on both occasions. She may well run into the same foe again in the last four here but this surface favours the Germans unlike the previous two. Kerber has a wonderful serve and huge groundstrokes and at 12/1 I’m expecting her to go very close to emulating her run of 2016 if not bettering it.
I’ll have a small bet on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova too. She was a quarter finalist here in 2016 when she didn’t do much wrong except run into Serena Williams at her best. She hasn’t had the greatest grass court record since then but in the two events this year she’s run into Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova early doors. Her draw here is a little softer so the Strasbourg champion might surprise one or two at a monster price.
Quarter Betting
I’m always reluctant to take on Serena Williams but it could just be a little early in her comeback for her to compete in a tournament like this one and if she falls early in a competitive section of the draw then the Eastbourne winner and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki may make full use of her new found confidence. She has played great tennis for 12 months or more now and at 7/1 she has to be the value alternative to Serena even allowing for the toughness of this quarter.
Tips
WON – Back A.Kerber to win Wimbledon (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 13.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back her here:
Back A.Pavlyuchenkova to win Wimbledon (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 301.00 with Betfred (1/2 1-2)
Back C.Wozniacki to win 4th Quarter for a 2/10 stake at 8.00 with Bet365
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