Serena Williams may be playing only her fourth tournament since becoming a mother for the first time but she is favourite to win Wimbledon for an eighth time.
Thursday 12 July 2018 11:57, UK
Serena Williams is bidding for an eighth Wimbledon title and is favourite to claim it after reaching the Ladies' semi-finals. Sky Sports' Raz Mirza has been asking the tennis legends if she can walk away with a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam crown.
Williams is preparing for her 35th Grand Slam semi-final with German 13th seed Julia Goerges on Thursday and could be on the verge of a 10th Wimbledon final appearance and 30th in all four Grand Slams.
Serena hasn't won a Grand Slam since the birth of daughter Olympia in September with her last trophy coming at the 2017 Australian Open.
But the 36-year-old American is heavily favoured to end her wait this week and move level with Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24 majors.
Angelique Kerber, beaten by Serena in the 2016 Wimbledon final, faces former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the other semi-final.
Here's what the tennis legends have been predicting...
The women's tournament is much more open than the men's but I would be surprised if Serena would not be able to take it home this year.
She is feeling more comfortable on the court, so I would be surprised if someone would be able to take her out at this stage.
It's amazing what she has done and it just shows us that anyone can win in the women's game. And especially when Serena is gone, anyone can win.
I was a little bit surprised with all the upsets with Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Caroline Wozniacki, but as it is now, Serena is playing better and better. She is feeling more comfortable on the court, so I would be surprised if someone would be able to take her out at this stage.
It's not Serena's to lose, no. But it would be a phenomenal effort if she does go and win it. Another great achievement in a career of great achievements, but it's been exciting to watch how many ladies have come and gone and who is going to step up and take the opportunity.
With Serena's mentality with the way that she is playing, she's the favourite, but I'm fancying that the other ladies left in the draw will think that they've still got a good chance against her.
She's the story in the women's draw and the other story is that nobody from the top 10 is in the quarter-finals.
But hang on a minute, Ostapenko was a teenage Grand Slam winner, Kerber is a former world No 1, so it's not like there's nobody around to challenge Serena.
Everyone who is in the semi-finals deserves to be and Serena is not going to beat herself. She is here to win and that story is the most compelling.
Ostapenko was a teenage Grand Slam winner, Kerber is a former world No 1, so it's not like there's nobody around to challenge Serena.
Before the tournament the question was should Serena be seeded or not? She was seeded No 25 and after 10 days, the question is is there any player in the ladies draw that can beat Serena? So it's a big change in 10 days.
She could win the tournament. She is definitely a big favourite. Serena is under control so far and in the semi-finals she will play even better because she knows how to improve her game in a Grand Slam tournament.
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Our next tennis action comes from the German Open in Hamburg. Watch the action live on Sky Sports Arena from Monday, July 23 from 10am.
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