Wimbledon: Women's Preview

Defending champion and top seed Serena Williams will try to get her first title since winning the Australian Open earlier this year. It'll be a loud first round match against Michelle Larcher De Brito and her second round against potentially Anna Chakvetadze could be tricky. 25th seed Lucie Safarova or unseeded Dominika Cibulkova awaits her in the third round. After that, she could face 24th seed Daniela Hantuchova, but more likely it'll be a blockbuster match between two former champions as Serena could face 16th seed Maria Sharapova. Winner of that could meet 7th seed Agnieska Radwanska, 9th seed Na Li, or struggling 19th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.

Still trying to heal from a recent injury, third seed Caroline Wozniacki will be tested in the early rounds with dangerous floaters such as Tathiana Garbin and Sybille Bammer lurking. If she reaches the fourth round, she can look out for 14th seed Victoria Azarenka or 23rd seed Jie Zheng. In the quarterfinals, recent French Open finalist and 6th seed Samantha Stosur awaits as well as 10th seed Flavia Pennetta, or 18th seed Aravane Rezai. In this same quarter, superwoman Kimiko Date Krumm will try to win another slam match against a seeded player this year going up against 31st seed Alexandra Dulgheru.

The Belgians commandeer their own quarter in the other side of the draw with a possibility of meeting one in the fourth round. Before that, 8th seed Kim Clijsters might have to get by a few tough qualifiers such as Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Shenay Perry, and Anastasiya Yakimova not to mention 27th seed Maria Kirilenko. 17th seed Justine Henin, whose primary goal for coming back was to win this title, shouldn't face too much of a challenge until the third round with either a meeting with 12th seed Nadia Petrova or unseeded Patty Schnyder. Winner of Clijsters-Henin will have to contend with 4th seed Jelena Jankovic, fellow Belgian 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer, 21st seed Vera Zvonareva, or 28th seed Alona Bondarenko in the quarterfinals.

Finally, five-time Wimbledon champion and second seed Venus Williams look to continue her dominance in this surface. Based on skill and history, she should have little problem until the semifinals even with the winner of the first round duel between 13th seed Shahar Peer and shockingly unseeded Ana Ivanovic as a potential third round opponent as well as 33rd seed Melanie Oudin who reached the fourth round last year. Venus can meet recent French Open champion and 5th seed Francesca Schiavone in the quarterfinals, but the Italian's record at Wimbledon is inconsistent. Venus can also meet former finalist and 11th seed Marion Bartoli.

Quarterfinals
Serena Williams d. Na Li
Samathan Stosur d. Jie Zheng
Justine Henin d. Jelena Jankovic
Venus Williams d. Marion Bartoli

Semifinals
Samantha Stosur d. Serena Williams
Venus Williams d. Justine Henin

Finals
Venus Williams d. Samantha Stosur