Wimbledon 2013: Serena Williams is as close as you get to invincible

Greg Rusedski says that Serena Williams is happier than she’s ever been and still getting better
25 June 2013

Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are the only two players who can come close to challenging Serena Williams at Wimbledon, according to former British No1 Greg Rusedski, who believes Williams will be virtually impossible to beat en route to her sixth Wimbledon title in the ensuing weeks.

Williams won her 16th career Grand Slam at the French Open earlier this month and, as defending champion in London, is the hot favourite at SW19.

“I can’t look past Serena Williams in the women’s draw,” admitted Rusedski. “Teaming up with Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach since last year but also her partner in life has been excellent for her. She clearly enjoys Parisian life, the training and her game.

“You only have to look at her to see how much work she’s put in in training. She’s decided to break records and, when she’s that committed, she’s very difficult to beat. I wouldn’t say impossible but not far off.”

Williams, at 31, is still some way off Margaret Court’s record of 24 career Grand Slam titles but Rusedski is confident she will face very few obstacles as she bids to edge closer to that tally with title No17.

“The only girls I can see challenging her are Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka but I can’t see anyone else knocking her off her stride,” he said. “But I guess you never know, really. Take the 2011 US Open, for example. You would have banked on Serena winning that final comfortably but Sam Stosur blew her off the court.

“But I think Serena’s taken her game to a new level since then. She was just phenomenal at the French Open.”

Britain has seven entries in the women’s singles draw, although home hopes rest predominantly on the shoulders of Laura Robson and Heather Watson, who had enjoyed battling for the accolade of British No1 before Watson was struck down by glandular fever.

Despite that setback, Rusedski believes that both Brits can aspire to have ambitions to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon this time around.

“It’s great to have Heather back after her battle with glandular fever,” he added. “And it’s not just good news for Heather but for Laura as well as it’s great to see them pushing each other on to get the British No1 spot. But I’d say the expectations aren’t as high on Heather because of her health circumstances more recently.”

Rusedski, a former world No4, believes Robson can have aspirations to move into the top 10 in the world before the season’s end. “Much of that and how she does in Wimbledon rests on her serve,” he added. “It can be both a strength and weakness for her and getting consistency is the key.

“She seems to be enjoying the change of coach to Miles Maclagan. He and she know that she can beat some of the best players in the world but it’s now about doing that consistently.

“She needs to aim for the top 30, then top 20 and after that the top 10. I think she can realistically think about winning Grand Slams in the near future.”

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