Serena Williams’ chase of that elusive 24th record-tying Grand Slam sees her once again in the semifinals, while Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Barbora Strycova all aim to reach their first final at the All-England club.
Covers Experts’ Tennis Insiders dissect the Wimbledon betting odds and give their predictions, picks and best bets for Thursday’s semifinal showdowns.
Serena Williams (-368) vs. Barbora Strycova (+320)
Serena Williams has certainly seen her level rise and dip throughout this tournament, and at one stage on Tuesday she was down a break in the deciding set. Her ability to perform and play her best tennis under pressure shows once again why she has 23 major titles to her name.
She was forced to problem solve against Alison Riske, who without doubt played the best tournament of her career. Serena’s serve is renowned as being the best the women’s game has ever seen but her defense, her creation of angles and recognizing where Riske was hitting certain shots at crucial times showed how strong her tennis IQ is.
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At 33-years-old, Barbora Strycova is the oldest first-time Grand Slam semifinalist in the Open Era and she’s certainly playing her best tennis in the latter stages of her career. She’s only won two singles titles but her variety and fantastic net play (26 doubles titles) suit the grass perfectly.
She trailed Elise Mertens 4-6/2-5 on Monday before rallying back to record an incredible victory and she erased a 1-4 first set deficit to beat home hope Johanna Konta 7-6/6-1 on Tuesday.
Williams has won all three previous meetings - one of them coming at Wimbledon seven years ago. She’s never dropped a set against Strycova and it’s difficult to see how the Czech will hurt her.
This is new ground for Strycova, whose mental game has often let her down in the past. It’s difficult to rate her chances against a player who has experienced these moments so many times. Expect Williams to produce her best tennis when it matters once again.
Elina Svitolina (+187) vs. Simona Halep (-209)
We have two extremely solid and battle-hardened WTA Tour players with 31 titles between them. Yet only one of these is a major, won by Halep in Paris last year.
Svitolina entered this tournament having won just one match since March as she battled a knee injury. She’s had her share of luck though, saving match points against Gasparyan before her opponent suffered a recurring injury. She also beat an injured Petra Martic and her quarterfinal opponent was playing less than 24 hours after a 13-11 final set victory against Karolina Pliskova.
Grass has never been Halep’s favorite surface, but this will be her second semifinal in SW19 and with Center and No.1 Court playing slower than the outside courts, her movement and defensive skills are firmly on display.
Her draw hasn’t been overly difficult though, beating Buzarenscu, an erratic Azarenka and 15-year-old Cori Gauff - a player with huge potential but one who certainly isn’t ready to consistently win long rallies against a player of Halep’s ability from the baseline.
Neither of these players have huge weapons and both will be happy to trade from the baseline. Both players are extremely solid ball strikers off both wings and on the run and are excellent returners of serve, who will be ready to attack any weak second serves in order to take control off the point.
Expect plenty of service breaks, especially given the occasion and likelihood of nerves in the big moments. Our recommended best bet is Svitolina +1.5 Sets
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