By Liz Kobak
@LizTennis
American female tennis powerhouses are revving their mowers to annihilate their grass court competition at Wimbledon.
With 14 main draw participants, the U.S. women are looking as strong as they have in a decade. Here’s a sneak peak at these women vying for that glistening golden plate.
Roland Garros 2013 champion and world top-ranked Serena Williams is unquestionably favored to repeat as champion at the All England Club, emphasized in her recent Rolling Stone interview in which her on-court tenacity is equated to Kim Jung-Il’s former leadership style.
Sloane Stephens is having one amazing year on tour. The 20-year-old’s most momentous win was over her compatriot and idol, Serena Williams, en route to the prodigy’s first ever semifinal Grand Slam run down under. Fast racket-head speed, footwork and serve all bode well in Stephen’s on-court favor. But her draw is far from ideal.
First up for Stephens is world No. 41 Jamie Hampton, who is bound to make her best grand slam showing yet.
“It’s a bit of a bummer that two Americans have to play first round, but I’m going to treat it just like every other match,” said Hampton in a recent ESPN interview.
This past week Hampton reached her first-ever WTA final, along the way defeating top-seeded Agneiszka Radwanska and former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. Hampton’s fiercely competitive, has an all-court game and is extremely fit. The Alabama-bred up-and-coming star and I have known each other since we were single digits playing USTA tournaments.
Oddly enough, lots of Americans potentially play each other in early rounds. Alexa Glatch and Christina McHale are also to duke it out in round one. Alison Riske and Mallory Burdette play each other should they both win their first round matches. And either of those women could possibly score a third-round date with tour veteran and grass court specialist Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Varvara Lepchenko, seeded 26th, could play Stephens in the round of 16 should both women upend their respective seeding. Lepchenko’s wicked lefty spin is difficult for any player to handle, especially on grass court and other fast surfaces. We played each other in the semifinals of this $10,000 tournament in Harrisonburg, VA back in 2002. Through her solid groundstrokes, desire to win and positive attitude, it was obvious that she was going to succeed on tour as she is now.
There are even some ladies born in the mid ‘90s competing this year. Teenager Madison Keys – who had impressive US Open and Australian Open appearances this past year – plays British hopeful Heath Watson in round one and is the only American in her draw quarter. Lauren Davis, 19, won the Girl’s 16s National Hard Court Championships in 2008 (five years after I did) and has been unstoppable since. The WTA up-and-comer faces 27th seed Lucie Safarova in her opening round.
Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles Champion Vania King has an unquestionably excellent grass court game that’s translatable to singles. It was ten years ago this fall that Vania and I represented Team USA, which defeated Team Great Britain – on grass – claiming Newport, RI’s 2003 Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy.
Melanie Oudin is looking to surpass her incredible 2009 US Open quarterfinal showing. Should Oudin win her first match, she plays 2004 Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova, whom Oudin famously beat in Arthur Ashe Stadium during her 2009 quarterfinal dream run.
Coco Vandeweghe seeks to win her first-ever main draw Wimbledon match against tough odds. Last year Vandeweghe drew No. 5 Sara Errani, and this year she takes on 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
It’s likely that Serena Williams will take two consecutive crowns, but who knows. Given anything can happen on grass, maybe one young and promising American will advance further than imaginable while we eat breakfast across the pond and dream of strawberries and cream.
Liz Kobak is a 2010 graduate of Columbia University and Northwestern University journalism master’s recipient. She is a former WTA ranked pro, #1 ranked United States junior tennis player who rates her 6-4, 6-1 win on Italian clay over Sara Errani as her best victory.
