Wimbledon 2021: Barty, Halep questionable, Osaka out, Swiatek helpless
The women's Wimbledon tournament is more open than ever in 2021. Hardly any conclusions can be drawn from the current preparatory tournaments.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 24, 2021, 09:43 am
So Serena Williams traveled to London from Nice earlier this week. With all the comforts and possibilities that the academy of your coach Patrick Mouratoglou offers: A grass court is not included. The hunt for major title number 24 is at Wimbledon, the chances of big booty are not that bad. Not because Serena was so convincing in Roland Garros last time that she would of course have to be at the top of the list of favorites. Rather, because this list is a very long one, with no clear hierarchy. Because the question marks are piling up again.
After all, it has been clear for a long time: Naomi Osaka will skip the third major of the year. However, the Japanese had not shown anything on grass in the past that would inevitably have qualified her as a hot contender for a championship on Church Road. Which, however, had applied to Simona Halep until 2019. Until the Romanian took advantage of the hour in the final and dumped a very nervous Serena in two sets. Halep, however, has been plagued by an injury since the tournament in Rome, and she had to cancel the performance in Bad Homburg.
Kerber and Kvitova in shape
The next question mark is behind number one in the world. Ashleigh Barty s play unit is predestined for the lawn, but the Australian pinches her hips. The second-round assignment for Roland Garros was the second in as many tournaments, in Rome it was the arm that hurt Barty. The current preparatory events also provide little information about the actual balance of power. Except maybe that Angelique Kerber, Wimbledon winner 2018, still feels very comfortable on grass. Kerber plays like Petra Kvitova in Bad Homburg.
In Eastbourne, however, many of the favorite players stumbled on Wednesday, some radically. Well, Cori Gauff has had problems with Anastasija Sevastova's nifty style of play before. The sets two and three from Iga Swiatek against Daria Kasatkina were then extremely astonishing: Kasatkina only granted one game to the 2020 French Open winner. Bianca Andreescu is also looking for some kind of form, she went down against Anett Kontaveit. After all, Elina Svitolina can claim that she was defeated by one of the best servers on the tour against Elena Rybakina. Still a weapon on the grass that can go far. Also someone like Serena Williams.