30 June,2018 04:37 PM IST | Mumbai | PTI
Serena Williams/AFP
Legendary Chris Evert says since grass is the best surface for Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion will be a top contender for the title at the Wimbledon championships. "Serena, listen it's her best surface. It's the surface that her game is suited for, with the power (and) the big serves. It's going to be easier for her on the grass than it was on the clay, where she had to really grind it out," Evert, a 'Commentator with ESPN' told reporters late last night from the United States.
Serena, who had to retire in the pre-quaters of the French Open will be eyeing her eighth Wimbledon title when she opens her campaign on Monday. Evert, who won 18 singles Grand Slams, including three Wimbledon titles, stressed that the American tennis star can never be counted out of the equation.
"She has embraced motherhood to the maximum. This is Serena and she does the unimaginable, the unpredictable. You can never count her out. If she's healthy, which she obviously wasn't at the French (Open), and if she's focused, she could play her way into this. "I was looking at her first couple of rounds, they are okay. Then she gets (Elina) Svitolina in the third round. She needs matches, win a couple of rounds, get confident, get that serve going, get that movement going. Nothing is for sure," Evert said.
Evert also believes that Czech Petra Kvitova will be dangerous on grass and has to be considered as the one of the top two-three favorites. "She's always going to be dangerous on grass. She's won Wimbledon twice. She has the serve to get you off the court. She's fitter in her career than she has ever been. She has to be considered one of the top two-three favourites, if not the favourite to win," said Evert.
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Evert also admitted that playing on grass was a challenging task for her during her playing days. "Oh Wimbledon, I feel everyone seems to think that my greatest achievement happened on clay a the French (Open), winning seven times. But I feel like grass is (was) such a challenge for my game, my style. Those three wins (at Wimbledon) meant me more than anything," she signed off.
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