The world’s most prestigious tennis tournament gets underway at the beginning of July. While it’s hard to see anyone other than Novak Djokovic winning the men’s title yet again, it’s quite another matter where the ladies are concerned.
Bianca Andreescu has only just turned 22, but she is already Canada’s top player in women’s tennis. In two visits, she has never won a game at Wimbledon, being dispatched both times in the first round. It’s an inauspicious record, yet those in the know believe she could spring a surprise in London SW19 this summer.
Where dark horses thrive
Women’s tennis has seen a succession of dark horses come from nowhere to make and even win finals in recent grand slams. Emma Raducanu shocked the world by winning the US Open and Coco Gauff’s achievement at Roland Garros last month was barely any less astonishing. With so many top players either excluded or choosing not to play, this year’s Wimbledon might well see another dark horse grab the opportunity and if you’re into sports betting you could try sports betting on Unibet Canada, where you will see that Andreescu is has odds of +2200. That’s more than tempting for an each way bet in view of the competition.
Developing on grass
Those two unsuccessful outings at Wimbledon represented 50 percent of her professional experience on grass courts going into this season. She had also played two at Eastbourne last year, defeating world number 231 Christina McHale before being unlucky enough to bump up against Anett Kontaveit in the second round.
This year, things are off to a better start. Berlin was always going to be an important barometer for Wimbledon and Andreescu could just be coming into form at the right time. She beat Kateřina Siniaková convincingly in the first round, and will be frustrated to have missed out on a quarter final place, having had opportunities against another Wimbledon hopeful and last year’s losing finalist, Karolina Pliskova.
A new mindset
Last year, Andreescu took a break from the game to mentally and physically recharge after a challenging two years. When she returned to action in April, after a seven month absence, her ranking had dropped from a career-best 4 to 71. However, she got off on the right foot with a straight sets win over Jule Niemeier in the first round at Stuttgart.
More to the point, she clearly had a new mindset, as well as a new coach – she is now working with Sven Groeneveld, who used to coach Maria Sharapova. It all points to a new and more resilient Bianca Andreescu.
Former coach Sylvain Bruneau stepped aside in order to spend more time in Montreal with his young family and connected Andreescu with Groeneveld. He said he has already noticed differences in her play, including getting to the ball earlier.
That could prove vital at Wimbledon, and plenty will be eyeing the draw with interest on 27 June to see whom she will face in the first round.
