Well with the draw only a few days away I thought it would be interesting to see who people fancy for the title.

The Favourite -

Venus Williams - Got to be really hasn't it. Like Henin at the French Wimbledon is where we see Venus at her most focused. She played her best tennis in years to win last year and there's no reason to believe she can't do the same again. She's even had a much better run in to the Championships this year. My only concern is the way she let winning positions slip away in Rome & Paris. If she's on form though it's hers to lose.

Next Favourites -

Maria Sharapova - Well her mighty Birmingham streak just came to an end but really she's still a major contender. She may not have played much recently but grass is her natural home & is much more forgiving of the limitations of her game. Like Venus though letting that big lead in Paris slip away is a worrying sign.

Justine Henin-Hardenne - Looking to complete her career slam & coming in to the Championships healthy for the first time since 2003 Justine probably starts third favourite - she has the best grass court record of the non Wimbledon winners in the draw. We know grass isn't her best surface but it's certainly not as much of a problem for her as clay is for Sharapova. Certainly has the game to win here but can she beat Venus or Maria on grass - that's the big question.

Amelie Mauresmo - Paris did nothing to dispel the feeling that despite the AO win Amelie is still not tough enough in the pressure situations. She's lost tight semi finals in the last few years from winning positions to Lindsay & Serena but they're not here this year and her records against Venus & Maria are better so this could be her chance.

Kim Clijsters - Despite her Eastbourne win i'm not convinced that grass really is a great surface for her. She looked out of her depth against Lindsay last year despite managing to take a set off her & her performance here have been patchy in the past. She's too good a player to ignore though.

Has a outside shot

Svetlana Kuznetsova - Likes grass & is definitely a contender - perhaps should be considered one of the favourites but i'm just not convinced.
Martina Hingis - Can't ignore a former champion but her record since 1997 has been patchy and when you consider how long it's been since she played on grass it's unlikely.
Nadia Petrova - Has played well on grass in the past but with injury worries it's unlikely

No Chance
Elena Dementieva - Never been past the 4th round and doesn't like grass.
Patty Schynder - HA!
Vaidisova - Too soon after Paris I think - she'll have to deal with the extra pressure & expectations.

Wow I'm surprised Justine is ahead I must say! :D

I don't know at the mo and I have nto voted yet. I woudl nto dismiss Vaidisova, I knwo what you mean but she looke dhungry and determined. we will see though. I will be watchign her to see hwo she does on grass. One thign I can tell you is that it won't be Myskina, or I will NEVER watch tennis again! roflmao

Hey i hope Myskina has a nice outfit like last year too... :P

I certainly won't be watching her for her grass court prowess! roflmao

Me neither! The most unconvincing player i have ever seen! roflmao

The attire she had last year wan't that unconvincing, but anyway...

She got to the Quarter final last year of course, in a dramatic run!

Great analysis GS :D

Yeh, I'd agree that Venus is the favourite - she's a phenomenal grass court player. The key will be her serve; it hasn't been too impressive of late (her forehand has been excellent though), and of course she needs it to get a bunch of free points. Her game tends to flow better when the serve is working too.

Maria is the red hot favourite with the bookies, at 2/1 with several agencies. She's certainly a top contender, but not so far above the field.

Mauresmo has a great chance to do well here, but even with her better records against Venus and Maria I still see her losing to the pair on grass. However, if she serves well, she will go far. The problem is her forehand; it sits up on the surface, asking to be thwacked away...

Her serve is always a bit shaky on clay LDF, i think she's always aware she cant serve that many aces and get free points off it and it does prey on her somewhat. However on grass, Venus's serve is leagues above several in the field. Last year it was really Davenport and Venus setting the serving standard at wimbledon. I feel her serve will be firing at Wimbledon, its one of her strongest assets on the grass.

Also Venus is probably the best athlete on grass, noone really moves as well as she does on grass since Steffi Graf really. She also has amazing defence into attack where she gets a lot of balls back deep and hard that gives her a lot of options in long rallies. Venus also has quite a complete net game as well, with the drive-volley and the more convetional low-volleys that will only do her good on the grass.

I think you mean clay in the first sentence dl ;)

Nice post :D

I was in two minds LDF! roflmao

:lol:

Just seen that the bookies have Vaidisova as 5th favourite for Wimby, after Maria, Kim, Justine and Venus :o

They really do over-hype that girl dont they :rolleyes:

Also i cant believe Kim is rated that high either with that huge swing on her groundstrokes on grass.

:ok:

It'll be interesting to see how Kim plays at Eastbourne this week; she was not particularly impressive in her route to the QFs at RG...

I know :o

Kim ahead of Venus? :wacko:

Her serve can sometimes break down too, but that can be the case on any surface...

I dont think she's been particulary impressive all year really LDF to be honest. In Australia she was incredibly error-strewn, in Hingis wasnt so lacking match activity she could've for sure beaten Clijsters. In Antwerp she toiled through to the final, before producing more errors against Mauresmo in the final. She then commited 78 unforced errors against Jill craybas, and then produced some glimpses of form in Warsaw but still looked generally uninspiring. Rome was another error-strewn match with Safina, and her semi against Justine at the French :yikes:

I do generally believe Kim's serve is the weakest within the top 5. It lacks real depth. Lindsay occasionally last year pelted Clijsters serve like it was nothing, and battered it even more impressively in 2001 where she sent kim packing in 45 minutes.