5-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will vie for another title, while two French Open winners – Garbine Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko – look to make inroads at Wimbledon.
Some new faces and some very experienced campaigners will now fight each other for a spot in the semi-finals of the women’s singles at Wimbledon.
Here’s what to expect:
Garbine Muguruza vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Former Wimbledon finalist Muguruza will take on former World No. 1 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-finals. Interestingly, the experienced Kuznetsova, who has two Grand Slam titles under her belt, has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
The last time the Russian ace made the quarter-finals was in 2007, when she was defeated by Venus Williams – who would go on to win the title, so this is a big feat for the 32-year-old.
She has not, however, had the easiest time against 2015 French Open champion Garbine Muguruza despite the fact that the Spanish ace has not been the most successful on grass; the two have met each other 4 times on the professional circuit so far, with Kuznetsova taking just the one win – at their first meeting at the Madrid Masters in 2015. The two have never played each other on grass, so this match surely will have some interesting things to throw up.
Key here will be Kuznetsova’s experience, but Muguruza has had better finishes here – having made the finals in 2015 before losing to Serena Williams.
Two key factors come into play, however. Kuznetsova is hitting big, hard shots that should be aided by the grassy courts of Wimbledon. But Muguruza is moving quickly just as her Russian rival is.
Just on the basis of past results, we’ll likely give this one to Garbine Muguruza, but not without a fight.
Prediction: Garbine Muguruza to win in three sets
Coco Vandeweghe vs Magdalena Rybarikova
American Coco Vandeweghe comes into today’s contest with an upset over Caroline Wozniacki in Round 4. But Rybarikova toppled perhaps the biggest fish of them all in the in-form Karolina Pliskova, the Number 3 seed here and the overwhelming favourite to win the tournament.
For context, Rybarikova is ranked a comparatively lowly 87th in the rankings. Pliskova is currently in the running for World No. 1.
The Slovakian ace has toppled experienced campaigners in Monica Niculescu and Lesia Tsurenko en route to the quarter-finals. Until 2017, she had never made it to the quarter-finals of any Major – so this is perhaps the biggest achievement of her career so far. The 28-year-old, who was a top-40 singles player in 2013, has slowly descended down the rankings since, but has always been best on hard-courts, and strong on grass.
In 2009, Rybarikova defeated former World No. 1 Li Na in straight sets to take her first ever WTA title at the Aegon Classic – but surprisingly did not play another grass-court final since, going on to be more successful on hard surfaces.
Junior US Open winner Coco Vandeweghe on the other hand, although younger than her opponent, is more experienced at Grand Slams. The American made the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year, losing to eventual runner-up Venus Williams.
This is not Vandeweghe’s first time at the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. In 2015, the then- year old took a set off Maria Sharapova before eventually losing in the QF that year.
But one surprising statistic glares out here – Vandeweghe has never defeated Rybarikova, with the Slovakian winning in straight sets both times the two played each other – most recently at the French Open this year.
Vandeweghe also has one of the strongest serves on the women’s tour, always an asset at Wimbledon. Fast on her feet, she’s also a two-time winner at s’-Hertogenbosch, played on outdoor hard-courts, and this should stand her in good stead. That, plus the coaching of 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, should help her move closer towards the title.
Prediction: Coco Vandeweghe to win in three sets
Johanna Konta vs Simona Halep
This match will have perhaps the biggest local following, with British No. 1 Johanna Konta taking to center court against World No. 2 Simona Halep. It is the first time in 44 years since a Briton has made the quarter-finals in both the men’s and women’s singles, making it especially important to local fans.
That said, there is more on the line in this match for Simona Halep than there is for anyone else. The Romanian ace has only to make it to the semi-finals to take the World No. 1 ranking – making her one match win away from taking top spot. That might add pressure, but it will doubtless also inject some firepower into her game.
This is Konta’s first ever quarter-final at Wimbledon.
Halep, on the other hand, has made the semi-finals at the tournament before, and enjoyed a steady ascent – and stay in the higher end of the rankings over the past 5 seasons, no mean feat for sustained talent.
Although Halep is an aggressive baseline player, her big, heavy groundstrokes are powerful and she defends well. Key here will be fast movement across the court – another skill that Halep is adept at.
The Romanian has also flourished especially at Grand Slams, and put up a fierce contest, scrapping a set off rival Maria Sharapova, in the finals of the 2014 French Open – Halep’s first ever Grand Slam final.
Halep and Konta have played each other twice before, with both matches going in the Briton’s favour, but with Halep taking a set each time. Neither, however, was at the Grand Slam level. There might also be some bad blood here, with Konta heckled and verbally harassed by Romanian coach Ilie Nastase at the Fed Cup match between Romania and Great Britain. Nastase was penalised for his behaviour, which saw Konta leave the court for a short period in tears.
Given the pair’s last meeting happened in acrimonious circumstances, the two will bring aggression into today’s game.
Crowd support might spur Konta on, but this one should go Halep’s way.
Prediction: Simona Halep to win in straight sets
Venus Williams vs Jelena Ostapenko
This one is truly the match of tennis’ old guard vs its newcomers. Jelena Ostapenko has been perhaps the revelation of the 2017 season, and defeated French Open veteran Simona Halep for the title this year. Only recently 20-years-old, Latvian Ostapenko had never won a single title on the women’s tour – until the French Open.
Ostapenko has done well on grass too, and in 2016 defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the second round of the Aegon Classic. She has done well at Wimbledon this year, upsetting 4th seed Elina Svitolina en route to the quarter-finals.
She will now take on 10th seed and five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the quarter-finals. The most experienced – and decorated of any player in the women’s draw, Williams is considered among the greatest of all-time and last year returned to form in spectacular fashion.
Despite off-court issues, Venus has managed to maintain her game at top level, dropping only a single set en-route to the quarter-finals. Perhaps her biggest test so far will now be against Ostapenko, but Williams’ experience should see her through.
Prediction: Venus Williams to win in three sets
