Turf Warriors

While the top seed among the men, Novak Djokovic, has never seemed so secure in his position, the same can’t be said for the top seed on the women’s side. Serena Williams is the defending Wimbledon champion, but that’s the only Grand Slam title she currently holds. The question is: Who’s ready to take Serena’s place in the winner’s circle if she stumbles?

Here’s a look ahead at the women’s draw, with a few guesses as to who might go deep in it.

Serena has won Wimbledon six times, but only twice since 2010; that almost qualifies as a drought for her. Her title run last year included an unlikely but serious scare from Heather Watson. So it’s safe to say that a 22nd Grand Slam title is not a lock.

It’s one thing for Serena to be vulnerable; it’s another for an opponent to take advantage of it. She’ll begin against Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic, and could face Watson again in the third round. But glancing farther down the brackets, a few dangerous names do pop out: Svetlana Kuznetsova, who beat Serena in Miami in April; Sloane Stephens, who has challenged her a number of times; Roberta Vinci, who beat her at the U.S. Open last year; Timea Bacsinszky, who nearly beat her at the French; and CoCo Vandeweghe, a grass-loving quarterfinalist here in 2015.

Still, it’s not exactly a murderer’s row of opponents: Kuznetsova has won just one match at Wimbledon since 2011, and Vinci hasn't won at all since 2013.

First-round match to watch: Kuznetsova vs. Caroline Wozniacki

Semifinalist: Bacsinszky

Agnieszka Radwanska and Belinda Bencic are the top seeds in this section, but it’s another woman who we might want to consider first. Tenth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, has been tucked unobtrusively into a middle bracket. So far this year, Kvitova hasn’t given us much reason to anticipate a third title run; she lost two 6-0 sets to Shelby Rogers in Paris, and another to Johanna Konta in Eastbourne. But Kvitova is close to No. 7 seed Belinda Bencic in the draw; the Swiss has been struggling, so that could be an opportunity. Toughest for Petra might be a second-rounder against Ekaterina Makarova.

As for Radwanska, she has also saved some of her best tennis for Wimbledon; she’s 36-10 there, and has reached a final and two semis. While she was beaten this week by Dominika Cibulkova in Eastbourne, Aga should contend. The first seed she could face is No. 30 Caroline Garcia.

First-round matches to watch:

—Johanna Konta vs. Monica Puig. They both had good runs in Eastbourne.

—Bencic vs. Tsvetana Pironkova

Player of Interest: Dominika Cibulkova. She’s in the Eastbourne final.

Semifinalist: Radwanska

Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep are the top seeds here, but as with the section above, another woman comes to mind first. Madison Keys, fresh off her second career title in Birmingham—the win launched her into the Top 10—would seem to be the deepest of sleepers in this draw. By which I mean, it’s tempting to pick the huge-hitting, grass-loving American to win the whole thing. Keys appears to have the draw to make it happen: The closest seed to her is Sara Errani.

As far as Halep and Kerber go, each has been a semifinalist at Wimbledon, but Halep has been the better player of late. She may have done more damage at the French Open if she hadn’t been pushed into the rain during her fourth-round loss to Sam Stosur.

First-round matches to watch:

—Jelena Ostapenko vs. Kiki Bertens

—Kerber vs. Laura Robson

Player of Interest: Irina-Camelia Begu

Semifinalist: Keys

Can Garbiñe Muguruza win two straight Grand Slam titles? It’s a big ask for a 22-year-old who just won her first a few weeks ago at the French Open. We don’t know yet whether she’s destined to be a dominant No. 1 player, or a hit-and-miss type like, say, Kvitova. But she was convincing from start to finish in Paris, and she has already reached a Wimbledon final.

For the most part, Muguruza’s draw should help. She starts against the wildly erratic, occasionally effective Camila Giorgi. Her first meeting with a seed could be against Lucie Safarova; the Czech has been a semifinalist at Wimbledon, but is still finding her form after being sidelined by illness.

More imposing is Muguruza's potential quarterfinal opponent, Venus Williams. Venus, who is always up for Wimbledon, played well at the French and is 3-0 against Muguruza. As with Keys, it’s tempting to believe that Williams, who has a promising draw to the quarters and is rounding into form again before her favorite event of all, the Olympics, can match her sister with a sixth Wimbledon title.

First-round match to watch: Safarova vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, in a battle of doubles partners.

Semifinalist: Muguruza

Semifinals: Radwanska d. Bacsinszky; Muguruza d. Keys

Final: Muguruza d. Radwanska