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Maria Sharapova is favourite to win Wimbledon title

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Wally Masur says Maria Sharapova is favourite to win Wimbledon title; no pressure on Sam Stosur

By Ben Glover and Antony Pinshaw FOX SPORTS June 22, 2012 1:25PM

The women's side of the Wimbledon draw is one of the most open in years, says Fox Sports tennis expert Wally Masur.

While the Williams sisters have dominated the tournament over the past decade, their decline has seen a new generation of stars who all have the potential to take home the title.

Here, Masur casts his eye over the main contenders for the women’s title, assesses the hopes of Australia’s Samantha Stosur, and gives his prediction for who will grab the glory at the All England Club.

THE FAVOURITES

MARIA SHARAPOVA

"The surface suits Sharapova, but then last year Kvitova pops up and nails it in the final. So you know, stuff like that can happen, but if I had to put money on it I'd put money on Sharapova."

PETRA KVITOVA

"It will be interesting to see how Kvitova goes as defending champion.

"Whilst she's ranked around four or five in the world and she didn't play badly at the French - grass just suits her game style and her mentality ridiculously well, she just shoots from the hip pretty much every ball so if she gets hot she's almost unplayable. Being a leftie also gives her a nice advantage on the grass. 

"She’s a bit of a story - can she recapture what she found last year at Wimbledon, that sort of innocence and free hitting, can she do that again? Because if she can, she can back it up."

SERENA WILLIAMS

"Serena dips in and out of the tour, she's injured a lot - obviously if she was fit and had a lot of matches under her belt you'd say someone like Serena would obviously threaten.

"But it's hard to say that with any confidence because she's always injured and hasn't played a lot."

CAROLINE WOZNIACKI

"Wozniacki lacks a bit of firepower. She's got great retrieval skills but I think they're nullified a bit by the grass. But maybe she could fly a little bit under the radar.

"Could she win it? I don't think so."

THE AUSSIES

SAMANTHA STOSUR

"Strange thing is, despite poor results, you'd think Sam's got a great game on grass.

"But for the girls, a lot comes down to footwork and footwork patterns on grass, a very different surface to clay.

"The height of the bounce is problematic. Girls normally hit it flat and hard to get it back to her backhand quickly in the rally on the grass.

"She also doesn’t have the luxury of hitting it on her forehand, and her serve is less effective on grass.

"There’s a range of reasons why she hasn’t had that success, but you know what, she probably will breathe a great sigh of relief and there’s no pressure on her and has a great run.

"There’s no pressure on her. She’s more than capable of making a run."

VERDICT

"We talk about the top three and how dominant they've been in the men's game but I think the women's French Open has had five different winners in the last five years. So look, you'd have to say Sharapova's the favourite wouldn't you?"

 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/tennis/wally-masur-says-maria-sharapova-is-favourite-to-win-wimbledon-title-no-pressure-on-sam-stosur/story-e6frf4mu-1226405361152

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