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Wimbledon: Ladies
Johnny O’Shea, readaBet.com
Click here for Ladies Wimbledon Best Odds
View Betting Verdict
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2003-06-23
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JUSTINE TIME |
The domination of the Williams sisters is suddenly not as secure as it once was, and this should serve to make for a fascinating Wimbledon. At the French Open last month, neither sister even made it to the final. Instead it was battled out between two Belgians, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. For the time being at least, it seems certain that one of these four will lift any given Grand Slam.
Wimbledon throws up a unique set of circumstances for the players, and the grass court championships traditionally suit the powerful servers and players that can volley. This should play into the hands of the Williams’s who have really taken ladies tennis to a new level in these terms. However, the Belgian pair have huge ability and certainly possess the talent to do well on grass, mainly through touch and finesse than pure grunt. We shall take an in-depth look at these four before seeing if we can identify any players who may cause an upset.
It should also be said that there have been some high profile withdrawals, including Monica Seles, Amelie Mauresmo and Anna Kournikova.
Serena Williams is world number one by some distance, and priced as the 8/11 favourite for the title. Previous to the French Open last month, the last four Grand Slam titles had fallen to her. The Parisian crowd gave her a great deal of abuse that ultimately reduced Serena to tears.
The folk of SW19 are far more gentile though, and she will be given the respect that a champion of her stature demands. She won her first 24 matches of the year and that included the Australian Open. However, she has not won either for the last two events she entered, in Rome and at Roland Garros. In the latter, her conqueror was Justin Henin-Hardenne and this was the second time since April that the Belgian has beaten her.
The two are due to meet in the semi finals, although either Jennifer Capriati or Conchita Martinez could cause some problems in the quarters. The draw has thrown up few other potential banana skins though and it should be plain sailing for the first week at least. With these odds though, we do not feel able to support her.
Most of the spotlight might have been snatched by her younger sister, but Venus Williams is still a force to be reckoned with.
Despite having to swallow the bitter pill of losing to Serena in four straight Grand Slam finals over the past year, she remains her sister's driving inspiration.
But it is at SW19 that the two-time Wimbledon champion has enjoyed some of her greatest success, beating Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin in the 2000 and 2001 finals respectively.
Her 2003 season began with the disappointment of a three-set loss to Serena at the Australian Open - though she has since picked up a title in Antwerp beating Clijsters in the final.
Venus should be able to use the fast grass courts at Wimbledon to exploit her physical prowess to the maximum. Her semi final opponent is likely to be Kim Clijsters, and Williams has won four of their five completed matches. We would fancy her to win that but having lost those four consecutive finals it would be tough to have confidene in her pulling it off.
Over the past six months, Kim Clijsters has emerged as a likely player to upset the Williams sisters' domination of the sport - something she proved by replacing Venus as the world number two.
Having suffered injury and illness in 2002, Clijsters found her form again this season, winning three titles - in Sydney, Indian Wells and Rome.
What is still missing is a Grand Slam trophy, which she narrowly missed out on at this year's French Open when she was beaten by compatriot Henin-Hardenne in the final.
Reaching the quarter-finals in 2001 remains her best performance at SW19, while last year she was sent packing in the second round by unseeded Russian Elena Likhovtseva. This is not exceptional form and so we think she is priced too short at 6/1.
At the WTA Tour Championships in November, Clijsters beat Venus in the semi-finals before battling past Serena in the final in straight sets and so should not be written off. Her overall record against them is not good though, and with the final drubbing by Henin in Paris, her nerve in the latter stages may well be a determining question mark.
Along with Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne has helped put her country on the tennis map, ensuring that two of the top four spots in the world rankings are occupied by Belgians.
Although she was eclipsed by her Clijsters during the latter stages of last year, Henin-Hardenne has stepped up her game this season, culminating in her recent victory at the French Open.
She reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, having overcome cramp and a 4-1 final set deficit against Lindsay Davenport in an earlier round.
Her opening title of the season came in Dubai before she stunned observers by inflicting a first defeat of the year on Serena Williams in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.
She then defeated Clijsters in three sets to defend her title at the German Open before beating her fellow Belgian again in the final at Roland Garros.
Henin-Hardenne boasts an excellent record at Wimbledon, having reached her first Grand Slam final before losing to Venus at Wimbledon in 2001 and making it to the semi-finals before again succumbing to Venus last year. All in all we believe that this is where the money should be going and odds of 8/1 are very attractive. She has the game to beat the best and a fine record at Wimbledon to go with the fact that her confidence must be sky high after Roland Garros.
Others
1999 champion Lindsey Davenport makes a return to Wimbledon after taking two years off with injuries. Of all the surfaces it is grass that should suit her big serving game. However, she has largely struggled to make an impact since the emergence of the Williams sisters, and Venus has accounted for her fellow American on her last two visits to Wimbledon.
Daniela Hantuchova made it to the quarterfinals last year, and will be hoping to go even better this time. However her form has hit a bit of a slump and will probably be beaten by Davenport who is in the same section of the draw.
Jennifer Capriati became the youngest ever seed at Wimbledon twelve years ago, and is seeded at eight this time around. However, her nemesis is Serena Williams to whom she has lost the last seven meetings. With the two of them due to meet in the quarterfinals we cannot see any progression past this point. |
| Betting Verdict |
3 pts Justine Henin-Hardenne at
Coming off a fine win at Roland Garros and into an event where she has an excellent record. These odds look attractive for a lady in the form of her life who now knows how to win a big one.
3 pts Venus Williams at
Has largely happy memories at Wimbledon and very few players will have the game to test her. We fancy her to get the better of Clijsters and despite her poor record in finals, we still believe she has an excellent chance at these odds.
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