An entirely unscientific straw poll of the media covering The Championships makes Serena Williams the favourite against Simona Halep in the ladies' singles final on Saturday.
Mats Wilander, seven-time Grand Slam winner, three-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist
Pick: Serena Williams
“I think the level of this match is going to be about as high as we’ve ever seen. Serena is the slight favourite, although not by much. Halep is playing better than she ever has, but I think Serena will play even better than she has so far, and serve just like she does anyway, and demolish the second serve of Halep. Serena does have to play really well, but I think she will. It is possible Halep could win playing her normal game, but she would need Serena to be off – and I don’t think she will be off.
“Twelve months ago Serena was also favourite [against Angelique Kerber and lost], but back then I was more surprised that she got there in the first place. I don’t know how she did that – she really wasn’t ready, at that stage of her return post-childbirth. She has prepared so well in the last two months. You can actually see it in her body – in the definition in her legs. She may be as fit as she has ever been.”
Jonathan Overend, BBC radio commentator
Pick: Simona Halep
“Unfashionably, I think Halep will win. She has all the qualities to become champion. Obviously it’s a massive problem who her opponent is but she has the drive, the determination, the physical attributes and the game to do it. I was not thinking that at all at the start of The Championships. Last year, yes, off the back of winning Roland-Garros I thought it was possible. I’m not sure why we overlooked her so much this year. We can see her hunger again. She so desperately wants to win another Slam, specifically this one. She’s grown as the tournament has gone on, helped by going under the radar. If she can stay in control and get off to a strong start without necessarily even winning the first set, she can do it so long as it’s tight. She might have to come from a set down, but I think she’ll do it.”
Gigi Salmon, BBC Radio 5 Live
Pick: Serena Williams
“You have to say Serena. The head-to-head is 9-1 in her favour. If it was the Serena of the first round here, then Simona would have a very good shot. But Serena needed matches and has worked her way in with the help of the mixed doubles – that was huge for her, being able to relax while getting more matches in. She’s serving so well, so aggressively. Serena can beat herself, and that might be possible in the early games with the pressure she could put on herself to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles. It’s the reason she’s still playing. The weight of expectation is huge. But this is a fantastic opportunity to do it.
“In Eastbourne I asked Simona what she thinks of when she thinks of grass, and she replied: 'Picnics'. Grass has been such a difficult surface for her, yet after her quarter-final here she said: 'I love grass.' But it’s still not her best surface. It’s her first Wimbledon final – her fifth in all, yes, but when you speak to players who have won here, they say there is something different about this. She has to do everything at the top of her game. She has to extend the points, move Serena around, be aggressive and positive. She was almost red-lining – playing at her maximum potential – against Elina Svitolina in the semi. Everything she was touching was turning to gold on this of all surfaces. I’ve never seen such determination in Halep. She wanted it so badly, and maybe she translate that into the final.”
Nick McCarvel, The Wimbledon Channel
Pick: Serena Williams
“It’s so hard to predict any women’s match these days, in this case more so because this is not the Serena of 2015 when she was winning everything in sight. That said, I do think she’s played the stronger tennis. Her pathway to the final has featured some exceptional pressure-point tennis, whereas I don’t think Halep has been as tested. Their quarter-final in Australia this January was an exceptional match, so you give her a fighting chance, certainly.
“But Serena said in press that she feels she has learned from the last 12 months, and she doesn’t often say stuff like that out loud. That is what will push her over the finish line. Think how Halep learned from her three Grand Slam final losses before winning Roland-Garros last year; this is Serena going through a different iteration of that. She still hasn’t won a title as a mother, and doing that means so much to her.”
Barry Cowan, British former Davis Cup player
Pick: Serena Williams (maybe)
“I said at the start of the tournament that I didn’t think Serena would win another major, until she won a lead-up event. It’s two-and-a-half years since she won a Grand Slam title. When I look at the history she’s trying to create, the pressure builds so much. In the final last year, her lack of matches up to that point was exposed by playing someone great [Kerber]. Her path this year has been similar, only once playing someone inside the top 30 – Julia Goerges.
“Until the semi-finals, I thought Halep would win the title. But Serena was incredible in her semi against Barbora Strycova – relentless, back to her very best. So I’m teetering on the brink of changing. Halep will win the physical battle of the longer rallies, but if Serena serves as she can, then she takes the racket out of Halep’s hand. Great champions can flick a switch and get that champion’s feeling back, and that was how Serena looked in the semi. She had her game face on. So I’m leaning towards Serena… I think.”
