At last year's Wimbledon, No.1 Serena Williams endured a messy third-round exit in singles competition and then pulled out of doubles play after a bizarre scene. Williams appeared sick and clearly wasn't herself on the court, and after only three games with partner and sister Venus removed herself from play. Later Williams would reveal she was dehydrated and feverish.
Now, hoping to erase that memory and build on her stellar performance at the French Open last week, Williams returns to the All England Tennis club as the favorite to claim the 21st slam of her career.
The 33-year-old fought off another illness at Roland Garros to eventually beat No. 13 Lucie Safarova in three sets for her third French title and second slam of the year to move to third on the all-time list.
Williams, who's claimed Wimbledon five times with the last coming in 2012, enters the tournament as a heavy 8/5 favorite by odds makers, according to Sportsbook.ag.
Her overall dominance throughout her career, not her recent play on Wimbledon's grass, make Williams the player to beat this year. In the last two go-rounds Williams was eliminated in the fourth and third round, but her victories at the Australian and French Opens put her well above the competition.
Defending champion and No. 2 Petra Kvitova, hailing from the Czech Republic, holds steady at 7/2 as Williams' biggest threat in the tournament. She suffered a late collapse in the fourth round of the French to No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky, but Kvitova's twice won Wimbledon and she swept Williams in the semifinals in Madrid last month in route to the title.
However, Williams is 5-2 all-time against Kvitova.
Next up is No. 4 Maria Sharapova at 8/1, and No. 25 Victoria Azarenka at 10/1. Eleven years ago Sharapova roared to fame with her first slam victory at Wimbledon, and she made the semifinals in the two subsequent years. But the Russian hasn't advanced beyond the fourth round since her runner-up finish in 2011.
Odds to Win Wimbledon
Serena Williams 8/5
Petra Kvitova 7/2
Maria Sharapova 8/1
Victoria Azarenka 10/1
Simona Halep 12/1
Lucie Safarova 20/1
Madison Keys 20/1
Sabine Lisicki 25/1
Agnieszka Radwanska 25/1
Caroline Wozniacki 30/1
Eugenie Bouchard 30/1
Karolina Pliskova 30/1
Sloane Stephens 30/1
Venus Williams 30/1
Angelique Kerber 40/1
Garbine Muguruza 40/1
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