Wimbledon Betting / Editor / 17 June 2007 /

Justine Henin now faces the task of taking her impressive run of form and her world number one ranking into Wimbledon and aim to come out with the title for the first time.

The way Belgian pulverised the field to take the French Open for a third time this month, shows she has no doubts about her current form. The one question which hangs over her is whether she has the belief to take the grass-court Grand Slam at last.

Henin is such a tough player on clay, probably her best surface, and also on hard courts, that it is something of a mystery that she is not so effective on grass.

Wimbledon's courts are meant to have slowed down a lot and as Henin, trading at 4.4 to win her first title at SW19, usually only plays singles on the two main courts, the potential pace will be easier. She also knows those courts inside out.

On top of that, Henin is extremely happy with her personal life as she demonstrated in Paris, when her immediate family publicly celebrated her win - all that seems to help the world number one.

So what could go wrong? There is always a chance that Henin could run into a supercharged fast court player like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova or defending champion Amelie Mauresmo. She won't have to beat all three at Wimbledon, but a couple of them could stand in her way and present a real challenge.

Sharapova could be in at second seed and will be a popular choice at 6.8 to win her second Wimbledon crown. The Russian has learned a lot since the first title came her way at the age of 17 and even though she has not won for a second time yet, she does know what it takes. It's just a question of putting all of her qualities into the huge effort which is needed to take the title.

Sharapova showed in reaching the semi-finals of the French Open this month that she is in shape for the big Grand Slam tests of the summer. It's really up to her to make sure her concentration is at its best.

Serena Williams is good enough to blast everyone off the court at Wimbledon, if she can regain most of the strengths that made her champion in 2002 and 2003.

The American is extremely powerful and if there is any pace at all to be had from the grass, especially on Centre Court which does not have a roof this year, than she will pick up the benefits.

As Williams showed when she won the Australian title unseeded in January, she doesn't need any fancy labels around her neck. Everyone knows her qualities and if she has worked on her fitness she will be difficult to halt. Betfair punters see her as the lady to beat, with the younger Williams sister the current 4.1 favourite to win the tournament.

It probably meant a lot to Henin to beat Williams in the quarter-finals of the French Open. For Williams it simply meant that she returned home to the USA to work with sister Venus on all the things they needed to do for Wimbledon. Venus might not be in the reckoning for the title any more but can certainly help her little sister.

Mauresmo meanwhile, has struggled with both form and fitness this year and although she looks certain to start off in the top six it is unlikely she will go beyond that point or even reach it. Her third round defeat in the French Open to Czech Lucie Safarova underlined that all is not well at this important stage of the tennis year.

Despite winning her first Wimbledon title last year, the French ace can be backed at 15 due to last of recent form.

Serbia's impact on women's tennis could be considerable at Wimbledon after Ana Ivanovic reached the French final and Jelena Jankovic was a semi-finalist.

Both of them were seen off by Henin in successive rounds, but the fact that they went so far in the tough slow court battles at Roland Garros showed the threat they pose. They will have learned so much from the Paris experience and look a good bet to have a good run at SW19.

Jankovic won the grass-court DFS Classic in Birmingham last weekend, betaing Sharapova in the final, and trades at 11 to win at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, French finalist Ivanovic can be backed at 29.

After player to watch for is Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, a two-time quarter finalist at Wimbledon. She has already won the US Open, so knows the business of taking a major title.

Martina Hingis, the Swiss miss who became Wimbledon's youngest champion in 1997 at 16, might not make the top eight when the seedings are done on Wednesday, but if she can find some of her old form she could be a surprise quarter finalist. No one will relish playing Hingis (100) in the first week because she knows the demands so well.

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