Wimbledon preview: analysing the women’s draw

As a Grand Slam tournament looms, few things are more fun than scouring the draw sheet to see how the tournament could potentially unfold.

What might the blockbuster matches be when the seeds meet? Which slightly-less-heralded players represent dangers to the stars? Which opening-round matches have got everyone talking?

We break down the women’s singles draw and look at what might happen over the next fortnight at the All England Club.

Projected quarterfinals

Serena Williams and Roberta Vinci – seeded No.1 and No.6 – could meet in a quarterfinal that would be a rematch of their stunning US Open semifinal of 2015, which Vinci won to deny Serena the Grand Slam. But while Serena’s path to the last eight is comparatively smooth, Vinci has a horror first-round draw against polished grasscourter Alison Riske, while Rosmalen winner Coco Vandeweghe, seeded 27th, looms as a third-round opponent.

Agnieszka Radwanska, seeded third, and Belinda Bencic, seeded seventh, should theoretically progress to a quarterfinal meeting in the second quarter in what would be an attractive battle between two players who flourish on lawns. But this quarter is riddled with landmines. We break it down further below …

Angelique Kerber, the No.4 seed, and Simona Halep, seeded fifth, are projected quarterfinal opponents in the third quarter. But neither are locks to reach the last eight. Halep, once widely tipped as a future major champion, is becoming a perennial Grand Slam disappointment, and No.9 seed Madison Keys could prove too high a hurdle for the Romanian in round four – if they both get that far. Kerber faces a potential fourth-round battle against Nottingham champion and Eastbourne finalist Karolina Pliskova – if the Czech can shake off her reputation for under-performing at Grand Slam events.

The bottom quarter is bookended by No.2 seed Garbine Muguruza and No.8 seed Venus Williams. Health depending, Venus has always been a force on grass and finds seeds in her quarter – Daria Kasatkina, Jelena Jankovic and Carla Suarez Navarro – who are all more comfortable on clay. Muguruza may succumb to a Grand Slam hangover after her winning fortnight in Paris, and opens against the dangerous Camila Giorgi. Lurking in her eighth of the draw are grasscourt dangers such as 28th seed Lucie Safarova and former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki.

Most stacked quarter

It’s undoubtedly the second quarter, headed by Radwanska and seventh seed Bencic. Peppered throughout it are dangerous grasscourters and proven performers – think Bencic is thrilled to see two-time winner Petra Kvitova looming as a possible fourth-round opponent? Or Radwanska at seeing Jo Konta, a recent Eastbourne semifinalist, as the No.16 seed and her projected opponent in the last 16? And that’s not all. Caroline Garcia – a recent winner in Mallorca – could tackle Radwanska in round three. Konta could meet Eastbourne winner Dominika Cibulkova in the third round, a little sliver of the draw containing dangerous names like Daria Gavrilova, Eastbourne semifinalist Monica Puig and 2014 Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard. Kvitova opens against Sorana Cirstea, one of the game’s biggest improvers this season, and could face in round two Ekaterina Makarova, a former top 10 player and Wimbledon quarterfinalist. In round three, Barbora Strycova – the Birmingham finalist – could await. And awaiting Bencic in round one is Tsvetana Pironkova, a semifinalist at the All England Club in 2010 and quarterfinalist in 2011. This quarter is absolutely loaded, wherever you look.

Dark horses

Coco Vandeweghe
Last year’s Wimbledon quarterfinalist picked up where she left off on the lawns, winning the title at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and beating top seed Radwanska on route to the semis in Birmingham. Her huge serve and booming backcourt power are huge weapons on grass.

Dominika Cibulkova
The Slovak comes into the tournament in stellar form, having just hoisted her first career grasscourt title in Eastbourne. The diminutive Cibulkova benefits from the lower-bouncing courts at Wimbledon and her aggressive court positioning and power serve her well on the lawns.

Madison Keys
Widely tipped as a future Wimbledon champion, the newest member of the women’s top 10 continues to bolster her grasscourt reputation, winning the Birmingham title to go with her Eastbourne win in 2014. Everything about her game seems built for grasscourt success, and should she remain healthy, she’s landed in an extremely favourable part of the draw.

Karolina Pliskova
She may not have ever passed the third round of a Grand Slam tournament, but Pliskova’s grasscourt credentials cannot be discounted – and it’s only a matter of time, surely, before she put it together at a major. She won in Nottingham and followed that up with a trip to the final in Eastbourne. Few players arrive at the All England Club in better form.

First round picks

Svetlana Kuznetsova (13) v Caroline Wozniacki
The match of the women’s draw. A former world No.2 against a former world No.1 with a contrast in styles that always seems to produce stellar matches – their US Open battles of previous years among them. Head-to-head, Wozniacki narrowly leads, 6-5.

Belinda Bencic (7) v Tsvetana Pironkova
A rough first-round draw for the Swiss seed. Pironkova has gone deep at the All England Club on more than one occasion, reaching the semis is 2010 and quarters in 2011.

Garbine Muguruza (2) v Camila Giorgi
The Spaniard will have no space for a Grand Slam letdown; the reigning Roland Garros champ opens against the high-octane Giorgi, whose big game, if clicking, can cause anyone serious trouble.

Best of the rest
Johanna Konta (16) v Monica Puig; Petra Kvitova (10) v Sorana Cirstea; Lucie Safarova (28) v Bethanie Mattek-Sands