RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT THE 2016 WIMBLEDON DRAW FOR 10SBALLS – SERENA WILLIAMS, MUGURUZA, KVITOVA TOP LIST OF FAVORITES FOR LADIES’ SINGLES TITLE AT WIMBLEDON

Written by: Staff on 24th June 2016

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT THE 2016 WIMBLEDON DRAW FOR 10SBALLS - SERENA WILLIAMS, MUGURUZA, KVITOVA TOP LIST OF FAVORITES FOR LADIES' SINGLES TITLE AT WIMBLEDON

epa05325183 Garbine Muguruza of Spain in action against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia during their women's single first round match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 23 May 2016. EPA/ROBERT GHEMENT |

Will the third time be the charm for Serena Williams in 2016? So far this season, the world No. 1 has lost major finals at both the Australian Open (to Angelique Kerber) and French Open (to Garbine Muguruza). She is a heavy favorite to get back on track at repeat at the All-England Club, but the title would be completely up for grabs if Serena stumbles along the way. Muguruza and a handful of other contenders will have to be ready to capitalize if such a situation comes to fruition.

Top five title favorites

Serena Williams: 3 to 2

Serena beat Muguruza in last year’s Wimbledon final, putting her a U.S. Open triumph away from capturing the calendar-year Grand Slam. Roberto Vinci derailed those plans in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows and Serena has not won a major since. But there are more than a few reasons to think the 34-year-old will get back on track on the lawn of London. She is 79-10 lifetime at this event with six titles, including four since 2009. The American surrendered only two total sets on her way to lifting the trophy last summer. She is 24-4 overall this season and 13-1 in her last 14 matches.

US tennis player Serena Williams is followed by media people after a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships in Wimbledon, London, Tuesday, June 21, 2016. The Wimbledon Tennis Championships 2016 will be held in London from 27 June to 10 July. EPA/PETER KLAUNZER

Garbine Muguruza: 5 to 1

Just because Muguruza is a Spaniard who recently won at Roland Garros does not mean she is a clay-court specialist. Anyone who followed Wimbledon last year knows that is not the case. The current world No. 2 went all the way to final before succumbing to Serena 6-4, 6-4. Muguruza’s trek through the draw included defeats of Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwanska. The 22-year-old lost her first and only grass-court match during her Wimbledon preparation, but that opening-round exit in Mallorca can be chalked up to mental and physical fatigue following the French Open.

Petra Kvitova: 7 to 1

To a greater extent than perhaps everyone else on the WTA Tour, Kvitova knows her results are predicated on surfaces. The 11th-ranked Czech is mediocre on clay, good on hard courts, and awesome on grass. Each of her two Grand Slam titles has come at Wimbledon (2011 and 2014). Since the start of this tournament in 2012, she has reached major quarterfinals four times–three at Wimbledon. In the same time span, the 26-year-old has been ousted in the fourth round or earlier 12 times–only once at Wimbledon. A return to grass may be just what the doctor ordered for a struggling Kvitova.

Madison Keys: 12 to 1

Keys is not yet the standard-bearer of women’s tennis in the United States, but she offers plenty of hope whenever Serena and Venus Williams decide to hang ‘em up. At just 21 years old, Keys is already in the top 10. She accomplished that career milestone by winning the Birmingham title last week. Such grass-court success should come as no surprise, because Keys is a massive hitter of the ball who strikes it flat and wields a scary-good serve. She is not on the same side of the draw as Serena, so that certainly helps her chances.

Agnieszka Radwanska: 18 to 1

Radwanska may be considered the best current play on the women’s side to have never won a major. She has, however, come close. The third-ranked Pole advanced to the Wimbledon final in 2012 only to bow out at the hands of her nemesis Serena (Radwanska is 0-10 lifetime in the head-to-head series). In addition to that performance, the 27-year-old has two quarterfinal finishes at the All-England Club and a pair of semifinal showings (2013 and 2015). Radwanska is not setting the world on fire in 2016, but she has at least reached semifinals at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Agniezka Radwanska of Poland plays a backhand return to Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia during their quarter final round match at the Eastbourne International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Britain, 23 June 2016. EPA/GERRY PENNY

Topics: 10sballs.com, Agnieszka Radwanska, Garbine Muguruza, Madison Keys, Petra Kvitova, Ricky Dimon, Serena Williams, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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