Wimbledon women's singles predictions, odds and tennis betting tips: Serena best

Free tennis tips, best bets and analysis for the Wimbledon women's singles, which starts on Monday.

Where to watch

BBC1, BBC2 & BBC red button, 11am Monday

Best bets

Serena Williams to win title
2pts 7-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Maria Sakkari to win fourth quarter
1pt 9-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

Preview

Humphries' best bet

Serena Williams to win title 7-1

There's no Naomi Osaka or Simona Halep to worry about at Wimbledon this year and top seed Ashleigh Barty is a fitness doubt with a hip injury, so Serena Williams may not get a better chance to win her 24th Grand Slam singles title and draw level with record-holder Margaret Court.

It's been four and a half long years since Williams last lifted major singles silverware in the 2017 Australian Open and in that time she has suffered heavy Slam final losses to Osaka and Halep.

That pair aren't competing in London this year, however, and there's a feeling that Wimbledon may offer seven-time champion Williams her best chance of adding to her major haul.

Age and movement have understandably become an issue for the American, who turns 40 in September. But Williams, All England Club champion in 2015 and 2016, made the finals there in 2018 and 2019 and, vying for outright favouritism this year at decent odds, she is worth at least another chance.

A chance can easily be given to Cori Gauff at Wimbledon this year and the US 17-year-old could be a major player at odds of up to 20-1. But Gauff, seeded 20th, and sixth seed Williams could meet in the last 16 on Monday week and wouldn't it be typical of seasoned match-play ace Serena to play a blinder and block her young compatriot's path?

Of course, Gauff is not the only opponent Williams should be wary of. In round three she could meet her friend Angelique Kerber, who upset her in the 2018 final, while Karolina Muchova is a redoubtable rival on most terrain and even Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova could now be more of a threat having reached her maiden senior Slam singles final at Roland Garros recently.

But while the claims of all are respected, many of Williams' finest performances have come on grass, and particularly in recent years as opposed to her formative ones - she won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002.

And for anyone who thinks the major-winning days of Williams, who became a mother in 2017, may be over, there's a form boost too because in February she made the semi-finals of the Australian Open, physically the toughest Slam of all, beating Aryna Sabalenka and Halep before succumbing to Osaka, who went on to take the Melbourne title. And if Williams can get herself up down under, she can definitely do likewise in London.

Next best bet

Maria Sakkari to win fourth quarter 9-1

Garbine Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon heroine, has an obvious chance of coming through the fourth quarter and possibly the bottom half of the draw.

Her chances are helped by the fact that Petra Kvitova, champion in 2011 and 2014, opens against Sloane Stephens, a potential All England Club winner, while it's possible that second seed Aryna Sabalenka and last year's French Open star Iga Swiatek may be a shade overrated on grass.

But while Muguruza's chance is a good one if she finds top gear, there may be one to stop her in the bottom quarter.

Maria Sakkari went close in the French Open recently – she upset Swiatek in the quarter-finals – but the Greek's game could complement the Wimbledon lawns just as well.

Sakkari, seeded 15th in the London Grand Slam tournament, has not played a competitive prep event on grass this year but in 2019 her results were encouraging, with luminaries Jennifer Brady, Naomi Osaka, Johanna Konta and Elina Svitolina denying her in competitive matches in Nottingham, Edgbaston, Eastbourne and Wimbledon respectively.

There is big hope for Sakkari, and French coach Patrick Mouratoglou's decision to get behind Greeks Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sakkari in advance of Roland Garros nearly paid off in both instances.

Mouratoglou will doubtless be focused principally on Serena Williams in the coming fortnight, but Tsitsipas and Sakkari could go deep in the grass-court major too.

In terms of her draw, Sakkari will have to be on the ball from the outset, with Arantxa Rus and possibly Shelby Rogers potentially tough opponents. But the Athenian has innate power which could take her to Slam glory before long and she looks a more complete performer than, say, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur, who won her first title in Edgbaston recently.

Players to note

Clara Tauson

The Danish teenager opens against Barbora Krejcikova, but the French Open champion is by no means guaranteed safe passage. Grass should be right up Tauson's street and, with question marks over Ash Barty's fitness, the 18-year-old can be considered at 40-1 to win the first quarter.

Johanna Konta

The British number one won her only grass tournament this year in Nottingham. That's a positive sign, although she may not have beaten much with the possible exception of Alison van Uytvanck in the quarter-finals. The 27th seed recently turned 30 and doubts over Barty's hip mean there is hope for Konta.

Jessica Pegula

The third quarter could prove a tough one to win, but with Petra Kvitova and Sloane Stephens clashing in round one, there is hope for the others, especially a talented performer like Pegula. The American has been knocking at the door recently and her game could be well suited to grass.

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