Wimbledon equals Williams on the women’s side. One of the Williams sisters has won in each of the last three years and in four of the last five tournaments in London. The sisters faced off in the final in 2008 and 2009, with each of them winning one title. The two make an appearance in the doubles tournament together as well.
Here is a look the 2010 Wimbledon odds on the women’s side:
THE OBVIOUS
Serena Williams (+225)
The defending champion comes into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and No.1 in the World Rankings. She boasts an 18-4 record and has one singles title this season. Her powerful play is tailored to the grass court at Wimbledon and she will go deep in this tournament again.
She lost to Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinal of the French Open, but won both the singles and doubles title at the Australian Open. The style of play on the hard court in Melbourne is close to the style on grass at Wimbledon.
Williams is in a bracket with sixth seed Agnieszka Radwanska and ninth seed Na Li. Nonetheless, she shouldn’t have a problem advancing to the finals.
Venus Williams (+440)
Venus is ranked second in the world, but has shown ups and downs this year. She has a 25-9 record, and won two singles titles. She took an early out at the French open after a surprising fourth round loss to Nadia Petrova in straight sets. She lost to Na Li in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
She did great at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Fla., but ultimately lost to Kim Clijsters in the final. Italian Francesca Schiavone will be the toughest competition in her bracket, and she is likely to face the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinals.
THE INTERESTING
Justine Henin (+875)
The 28-year-old is making her way back up the ranks in the WTA tour. She boasts a 24-7 record in 2010 and has won two tournaments. She finished first at the WTA Tour Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and the WTA Tour UNICEF Open. She finished runner-up at the Brisbane International and the Australian Open.
The win at the UNICEF Open marked her first tournament win on grass in three years, and boosts her hopes for Wimbledon.
Maria Sharapova (+1400)
The former No. 1 won the tournament in 2004, the US Open in 2006, and the Australian Open in 2008. Her proficiency on grass-courts could help her continue this pattern of winning a major every two years.
Sharapova has a 17-5 record this season and has won two tournaments. She lost early in the French open, but getting eliminated by Justin Henin is no reason to hang your head in shame. She made it to the final at the AEGON Classic, once again showing she can do damage on grass-courts.
Samantha Stosur (+1750)
The 26-year-old Australian finished runner-up at the French open, losing to Francesca Schiavone in a match that was closer than the straight-set defeat makes believe. She had a great start to the Australian Open, but lost to Serena Williams in the fourth round.
She has shown that she can do some damage on the grass-court and made her way to the semifinals at the AEGON International. The sixth seeded Stosur doesn’t face any tough competition until the quarterfinals, where she will most likely face off against Caroline Wozniacki.
Stosur should be able to beat the Dane, and will likely meet Serena Williams in the semifinal.
THE LONG SHOT
Na Li (+5500)
The 28-year-old Chinese is having a great season, boasting a 23-11 singles record. She beat Maria Sharapova to win the AEGON Classic, showing that she can win on grass-courts. She retired from her first-round match at the AEGON International to protect her knee and save energy for Wimbledon.
She has had to battle knee injuries over the last years and most likely was trying to avoid serious problems in the preparation for Wimbledon. Li made it to the semifinal at the Australian Open, beating Venus Williams in the quarterfinals before losing to Serena Williams.
Li will most likely have a chance at revenge against Serena, if both players make it to the semifinals.
