Wimbledon 2013: Experts' picks for the women's draw

4. Champion

Still far ahead of the pack

Haresh Ramchandani: I predicted the law of averages would catch up with Serena Williams in Paris but she took the friggin’ ball and shoved it down my friggin’ throat. In this kind of form and confidence, Serena wins half her matches even before she walks out on court. I’ll play it safe this time and pick her as the winner.

Anand Datla: Indeed the easiest of all the picks, it is difficult to look beyond Serena Williams here. The American is in a tearing rush to add Grand Slam titles to her bulging cabinet. Clearly, her mind is set on tennis this year and when that is the case, there isn’t a woman on the planet who can touch the younger Williams. It might be more appropriate to ask if Serena will drop a set through the fortnight!

Roh: Serena Williams – defending champion, reigning French Open champion. Any surprises there? Don’t think so.

Varun Jog: Yes, I know I should be picking Serena Williams. But I will still stick my neck out and say Maria Sharapova will win it this year. Serena’s dream run has to end sooner rather than later and Sharapova’s love affair with Wimbledon will have yet another chapter, nine years after her first title at the All-England Club.

Ram Narayanan: At 31 years of age, she is playing the best tennis of her life. World No. 1 Serena Williams seems to be the clear favourite to win this year’s Wimbledon, and I am not interested in scratching my head too much to find someone else who is likely to lift the trophy.

Sudeshna Banerjee: Can one even dare to bet against the imperious Serena Williams? This is the place where the Williams sisters have firmly established their hegemony and the defending champion Serena comes in this year on a sizzling 31-match winning streak. Age is just a number for the 31-year-old as she continues to show that insatiable hunger and unwavering will to clinch trophies. Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes Serena can go past legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with her Grand Slam tally. But for the moment, Serena has expressed her desire of matching Roger Federer’s 17, and that is very much an ominous sign for her opponents.

Musab Abid: She may be playing the best tennis of her career (which, by extension, probably implies that she’s playing the best tennis ever seen on a court), but there’s got to be a point where Serena Williams’s amazing run comes to an end. As great a player as she is, it’s not natural for Williams to go so many matches without suffering even a slight lapse in concentration. For that reason alone, I’m picking Maria Sharapova as the favourite to win the Championships this year. And if Sharapova gets hammered 6-0, 6-0 by Williams in the final, then I will try my best to thoroughly erase the memory of ever having made this completely hair-brained prediction.