Serena’s seed of doubt could help Wimbledon rivals bloom
American lacking match practice as injury-hit comeback continues
LONDON — All eyes will be on Serena Williams when Wimbledon gets underway next week as the seven-time champion bids to win her first Grand Slam crown since becoming a mother.
Williams’ two-year reign as Wimbledon champion ended 12 months ago when she missed the grasscourt Grand Slam while she prepared for the September birth of her first child.
In the American’s absence, Spain’s Garbine Muguruza won Wimbledon for the first time with a final victory over Serena’s sister Venus.
Winning Wimbledon for the eighth time in her 18th visit — coinciding with the event’s 150th anniversary — would be another memorable moment for Serena on the Centre Court she regards as a second home.
But Williams has made only a tentative return to action following complications during daughter Alexis Olympia’s birth.
The 36-year-old lost to Venus at Indian Wells in March and endured a dismal first-round exit against Naomi Osaka in Miami.
Williams played her first Grand Slam for over a year at the French Open last month, reaching the fourth round before a shoulder injury forced her to quit ahead of her clash with old rival Maria Sharapova.
Not seen on court since Paris, Serena has still loomed large over the tennis world as debate raged over whether she should be seeded at Wimbledon.
Despite being ranked No 183 in the world after her pregnancy absence, organizers on Wednesday revealed Williams had been seeded 25th, ensuring that neither she nor other top players can meet each other until the third round at the earliest.
Some had argued against the 23-time Grand Slam champion being seeded, with Slovakia’s world No 32 Dominika Cibulkova telling the BBC it would be “unfair” as she would be the player to lose out, given that there are 32 seeds.
The All England Club usually follows the WTA ranking list, but reserves the right to make a change if it “is necessary to produce a balanced draw”.
Asked where he would rank his compatriot at Wimbledon, American legend John McEnroe said (before the seedings were announced): “Somewhere between one and 10 — one and 16 at the worst.
“I don’t think there would be a player that would complain, especially the top ones, if she was one of the top eight.”
Muguruza rarin’ to go
Given her wealth of experience and a lethal serve that is especially potent on grass, Williams should be a threat regardless of her seeding.
Muguruza has the power and poise to trouble her, but the 24-year-old’s form comes in fits and starts.
“She’s Serena Williams and she can play incredibly. You can never underestimate a champion like her, even though she didn’t play as much,” Muguruza said.
Muguruza, who also reached the Wimbledon final in 2015, dropped just one set in seven matches in southwest London en route to her second Grand Slam title last year.
“I know it’s going to be so important to go back, it’s going to be an amazing feeling to go on the court again and just remember a little bit the feelings from last year,” added Muguruza, who reached the semifinals at the French Open this year, where she was beaten by eventual champion Simona Halep.
Romanian world No 1 Halep finally won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris, and though her game is much better suited to clay, she has reached two successive Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Sloane Stephens’ record at Wimbledon is mediocre, but she has been inspired since returning from an 11-month absence with a foot injury.
The 25-year-old American won the 2017 US Open and reached this year’s French Open final to climb to fourth in the rankings.
Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, would be a popular winner after battling back into the top 10 following the horrific stabbing that derailed her career in 2016.
Meanwhile, Sharapova, who inflicted one of Serena’s most painful defeats in the 2004 Wimbledon final, has not played a match on grass since 2015 following her doping ban and injury last year.
In Paris, the Russian fell to Muguruza in the last eight.
She’s Serena Williams and she can play incredible. You can never underestimate a champion like her.” Garbine Muguruza, reigning Wimbledon champion