Williams bandwagon keeps rolling on as top seeds fall by the wayside
If the men’s draw is looking a little moth-eaten now that so many seeds have headed for home, the women’s draw looks a plantation after the locusts have descended.
Of the top ten, only Karolina Pliskova, the No 7, is still standing and given that she meets the No 20 seed, Kiki Bertens today, that means another seed will be booking a taxi come Monday night. The first week of Wimbledon has been absolute carnage.
All eyes, of course, will be on the No 25 seed who, on ranking (No 181) should not be seeded at all. But she is Serena Williams, so different rules apply to her. When you have 23 grand slam singles titles to your name, you do tend to get preferential treatment.
So far, Williams has been giving good value for elevated status.
Getting incrementally better with every set, she will not have to meet another seeded player until the semi-finals, should she get that far.
Today she takes on Evgeniya Rodina, a qualifier she has never spoken to much less played before. But should the two find time for a chat, they will have plenty in common. Rodina is also a working mum trying to juggle her job and child care with the endless travel. Her daughter is now five so Rodina has a bit more experience in being-amum-on-the-road department but it does not make it any easier.
“I know how tough it is to come back to tennis after having your first child,” Rodina said in an interview with wtatennis.com. “One of the hardest things about being a mother on the tour is travelling with your child and organising someone to look after them when you’re playing or training.
“But then, I wouldn’t want
before and has to plot a path past the No 31 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece.
Tsitsipas has made a name for himself this past week, flinging himself around the court in pursuit of glory. Still only 19, he has galloped up the rankings in the last 12 months from No 197 to No 35 this week.
As for Federer, he takes on Adrian Mannarino today and, given that he has never lost to the Frenchman in five previous meetings, it is unlikely that he is going to end that run now. So far, Federer has barely broken a sweat. Neither has Nadal.
The seeds may come and the seeds may go but not a lot changes at Wimbledon. to travel without my daughter Anna as then I would miss her so much. So it’s not easy.”
She probably won’t find it particularly easy on court today, either.
If Williams can serve well, she will take an awful lot of stopping. Dominica Cibulkova, as the world No 32, was forced to make way for Williams in the seedings list. And she was anything but happy about it. Yet that fury seems to have translated itself into on-court fire power. She acted as if plugged into the mains to beat Johanna Konta in the second round and then absolutely clattered Elise Mertens, the No 15 seed on Saturday. A former Australian Open finalist, she may be petite at 5ft 3ins but she is fiery.
The top half of the draw looks as if it is Angelique Kerber’s for the taking. A Wimbledon finalist two years ago, she is only one left in that section with any grass court pedigree. But, as was shown in the first three rounds, that counts for nothing this year.
Kerber had the good grace to keep Naomi Osaka on Centre Court just long enough for England to finish off Sweden on Saturday, so allowing the crowd to enjoy the football and then get back to see the start of Kyle Edmund’s match. Timing like that may not be enough to win her Wimbledon this year but it has certainly won more than a few new fans.