The 2017 Wimbledon Championships are only a few days from now and all eyes will fall on the biggest Slam of the year. The French Open saw a number of upsets with Angelique Kerber being knocked out of the first round and newbie Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia winning the tournament. It is hence fair enough to say that the Wimbledon will witness more than a few upsets.Even though the Men’s tournament will be exciting to watch with Federer and Nadal in terrific form at the moment, the Women’s tournament is bound to be a nail-biting one as well especially with Petra Kvitova back in form and the likes of Kristina Mladenovic and Jelena Ostapenko showing some brilliant performances this year.Here are the Top 5 favorites for the Women’s Singles tournament at Wimbledon.
#5. Angelique Kerber
She may be ranked No.1 at this point but the kind of performances that Kerber has been producing this year have propelled me to put her at No.5. The German has been extremely disappointing this year as she hasn’t put in a single convincing performance so far. Kerber was surprisingly knocked out in the first round of the French Open but was able to cling on to her No.1 ranking just because Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova could not win the title.The only reason why Kerber can be considered a contender for Wimbledon is because of her ability to play well on the grass courts where she can utilize her pace to the best of her abilities.
The two-time Grand Slam champion’s counter-punching abilities and the ability to convert defense into offense can make her a tough opponent and provided Kerber is in good form, she can make a resurgence at Wimbledon.
#4. Jelena Ostapenko
The 20-year old Latvian pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the WTA season by winning the French Open, as a result also becoming Latvia’s first-ever Grand Slam champion. Ostapenko won the tournament by coming back from a set down to defeat Simona Halep, and became the first player to win a first career title at a Grand Slam since Gustavo Kuerten in 1997. She had never won a Tour-level title before this.Known for her aggressive game and the ability to wear down her opponents through her long cross-court shots, Wimbledon was the tournament where Jelena Ostapenko made her Grand Slam main draw debut.
There, she scripted one of THE upsets of the tournament by stunning then World No.9 Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round 6-2, 6-0.
Another one of the Latvian’s notable grass-court victories is her win over Petra Kvitova during last year’s Aegon Classic. The World No.14 will be expected to put up a strong show at Wimbledon, specially after her morale-boosting triumph at the French Open. That makes Ostapenko a definitive player to look out for at Wimbledon.
#3. Petra Kvitova
The two-time Wimbledon champion made her comeback to tennis this year after recuperating from injuries she sustained on her left hand following a robbery at her house last December. Kvitova exited the French Open in the first round but rebounded brilliantly by winning the Birmingham Classic after defeating Ashleigh Barty in the final.This victory will definitely boost the Czech ahead of the Wimbledon which is undoubtedly her favorite slam. Grass has always been Petra Kvitova’s strong suit and she has produced some brilliant performances here in the past.The serve and versatility of the World No. 2 have been her key attributes, and as a result always suited the fast-playing grass courts. There’s no denying that Petra Kvitova will be a prime contender to win the tournament and this could also be a golden opportunity for her to come back in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings.
#2. Karolina Pliskova
The World No.3’s aggressive game and her powerful and accurate serve makes her a dangerous player and a threat to any rival.
Pliskova has been in really good form this year, reaching the semi-finals of the French Open, the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, and the semi-finals of the Indian Wells and Miami Masters. Pliskova’s performances this year has resulted in her attaining a career-high ranking of World No.3.Pliskova has never crossed the second round of the Wimbledon but the kind of form she is in right now, she has a very good chance of actually winning the tournament. Pliskova could not cash in on her opportunity to claim the No.1 ranking at the French Open but now she has a very good possibility to become World No.1 provided she wins the tournament.
#1. Simona Halep
The Romanian had a wonderful clay-court season where she defended her title at the Mutua Madrid Open and reached the final of the Rome Masters. Halep concluded her clay-court season by reaching her second French Open final where she was upset by Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, thus failing to clinch the No.1 ranking.
However, she was able to return to the Top 2 of the ATP rankings.Her pace and agility makes her a fine grass-court player, and she has reached the semi-finals of the Wimbledon once in 2014.
This year, Halep has a golden opportunity to better that and given the kind of form she’s in, there is a very good possibility of that happening. She also has a good chance of dethroning Angelique Kerber as the World No.1 at the end of the tournament although she could even do that before the tournament begins if Kerber underperforms and Halep reaches the latter stages of the tournament – so there is much at stake for the talented ace, especially having got so close to a title already.
