Tennis
2008-07-05 - Wimbledon Womens Opn vs
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Background
At the risk of sounding like I dont rate the WTA Tour as much as I do the ATP, the Womens game does not have the same strength in depth as the mens and as such there are a lot less shocking results and my preview will not be so detailed either.
I must say the Womens games get as interesting as the Mens the later we go in a tournament but an overall preview is detailed at looking at potential winners after the draw has been made.
First Quarter
Ana Ivanovic, the reigning French Open Champion and the current World Number 1 is the top seed for the tournament and has received a favourable draw. She has been given a route to a Quarter Final berth with not too many obstacles in the way and I would be extremely surprised if she fails to make it there.
In the bottom half of the quarter, we see the likes of Anna Chakvetadze and Nicole Vaidisova but neither player has played their best tennis this year and I would not be shocked if neither player made it to a Quarter Final match with Ivanovic.
We could see a surprise Quarter Finalist come out of this section with Samantha Stosur as a decent choice after she made her comeback to tennis in a recent grass court tournament. However she has never really performed at Wimbledon so perhaps we should look to Patty Schnyder to be Ivanovic's Quarter Final opponent especially if she can overcome a tough 1st round opponent in Casey Dellacqua.
Ivanovic v *Not Sure*
Second Quarter
Svetlana Kuznetsova is the top seed in this quarter but has received a really hard draw with the Bondarenko sisters, Kateryna and Alona, and Agnieszka Radwanska in her half of the section. Kateryna Bondarenko and Radwanska have both won tournaments on grass in the last 2 weeks, while Alona Bondarenko has a QF and a SF on her recent grass court record.
The section also includes French sensation Alize Cornet and I would not be surprised if Kuznetsova fails to make the QF. I think my favourite to come out of this section is Radwanska although she could be pushed very close by Alona Bondarenko and I would not be surprised if that turns out to be a 4th round clash.
The bottom half of the section sees one of the favourites in Serena Williams. She has received a fairly nice draw although could meet former Champion Amelie Mauresmo in round 3. Mauresmo has not really hit the heights she is capable of this season and Williams would be the big favourite.
She could also meet last years runner up, Marian Bartoli, in round 4, but Bartoli is another who is not having a great year and I would expect Serena to come through.
Radwanska v Serena Williams QF
Third Quarter
This quarter, particularly the top half of it, is probably the toughest one to predict of the entire draw. We are blessed to see Elena Dementieva, Lindsay Davenport as well as Dinara Safina in this section and I expect one of these three girls to come through for a Quarter Final berth.
Davenport is the enigma out of the three as she only returned to the tour last year after giving birth while missing some of the clay court season through injury, but she is also an ex-Champion on this surface and could cause a surprise.
I think of the 3, Safina is the one in blistering form of late and could come through to make one of the QF berths.
The bottom half of the section includes Maria Sharapova, the current favourite for the tournament after avoiding Serena Williams and Ivanovic until the final. She has very few threats before the QF and I think it would be the surprise of the entire Championships if she was knocked out before that point.
Safina v Sharapova QF
Fourth Quarter
The reigning Womens Champion, Venus Williams, has been given a strong draw until the QFs with the only potential threat coming from Daniela Hantuchova in round 4, but Hantuchova is only returning from a 2 month lay off.
I very much expect Venus to make one of the Quarter Final spots, but keep a close eye on Yinana Wickmayer from Belgium, a player tipped for stardom. She could quite easily take advatage of Hantuchova's injury and set up a round 4 clash with Venus herself.
The bottom half of this section sees the number 2 seed Jelena Jankovic given a tough path to the Quarter Finals. She has had lingering arm problems which puts me off backing her and she also faces potentially tough matches with Caroline Wozniacki in round 3 and Vera Zvonereva in round 4.
While she has never met Wozniacki in competition, Jankovic is tied at 3 wins each against Zvonereva and it was actually Zvonereva that won their last meeting albeit on clay.
Venus Williams v Jankovic
Quarter Finals and beyond
Ana Ivanovic should be almost guaranteed to make the Semi Finals here as the draw could not be much kinder.
There I would expect her to face her toughest test in the tournament in Serena Williams and I believe that Williams would start as the favourite on this surface.
The other side of the draw is likely to see Sharapova meet Venus Williams, although Jankovic has won 4 of her last 5 meetings with Venus, including at this event in 2006. I think Sharapova would beat Jankovic on this surface but would have a lot tougher time with Venus Williams. Sharapova may hold the head to head edge over Williams, but her 2 losses have both come here at Wimbledon.
The Williams Sisters have dominated this tournament in the new century with 6 wins combined from 8 Championships played here since 2000. There doesnt seem to be a lot of value in the Womens side of the tournament at the moment so ill just take Venus from the off as her odds are high for a 4 time winner of this tournament with a kind draw until the later stages.
