Wimbledon Women's Draw Breakdown: Andy Roddick predicts an American upsetting Swiatek in semis and an early exit for Jabeur

Andy Roddick predicted the Wimbledon women's draw without major surprises in the early rounds, although with an unprecedented finalist and some upsets in the quarterfinals. The former world No. 1 recognized Swiatek as the favorite on paper, though he believes SW19 is the ideal stage for other players to give her an upset.

The first seed Iga Swiatek is the main favorite for the title as the first seed, following a spectacular clay streak with 19 consecutive wins and 5 titles this season (45-4 record).

However, Swiatek has not shown the same dominance in her previous participations at SW19. Roddick argued that Swiatek's game is naturally suited for clay and that she needs to make several adjustments to compete on grass, such as her forehand shots and the way she moves, as well as her second serves.

"You combine Iga’s style and then you bring in the other players who… there are six or seven here in the top-15 that you could argue grass is their best surface. So those factors combined are why we talk about Iga like we do at these tournaments, not as if we’ve forgotten she’s great, we haven’t."

Swiatek's debut will be against the 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who a year ago already caused a big upset by defeating Coco Gauff in the first round at Wimbledon and is one of the most dangerous unseeded players. Nonetheless, Roddick expects the Pole to manage to advance to the second week, leaving behind Kenin, Petra Martic, and Katerina Siniakova according to his prediction.

In the fourth round, she could face the 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who would need to overcome Alja Tomljanovic, Oceane Dodin, and Anastasia Potapova on the way to the fourth round, where Roddick predicts the Pole would secure the victory leading her to the quarterfinals.

The American believes that in the same section of the draw, the favorites Danielle Collins (11th seed) and Marketa Vondrousova (7th seed) will advance to a fourth-round duel, where the defending champion will defeat Collins and secure a quarterfinal clash against world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

The second quarter is led by world No. 4 Elena Rybakina, who should also advance to the quarterfinals according to Roddick. On the way, she would leave behind players like Laura Siegemund and Leylah Fernandez, while Roddick expects a fourth-round matchup against Anna Kalinskaya: "It’s just so hard, Rybakina… you don’t know what you’re going to get but you can’t bet against her on this surface."

Further down the draw, Roddick predicted a third-round duel between Ons Jabeur and Elina Svitolina, where the Ukrainian would claim victory, eliminating the 2-time runner-up in the first week. However, Roddick predicted that Svitolina's journey would end in the fourth round against Jessica Pegula: "I'm taking Pegula to the quarters, and maybe that’s my heart, but I just… I mean tons of it, is just Pegula is five in the world and is really good on grass."

Roddick also stated that he has high expectations for the 8th seed Zheng Qinwen, who he sees reaching an eventual fourth round against Ekaterina Alexandrova. The Russian will have a tough draw, and according to Roddick's prediction, she will leave behind Emma Raducanu, Elise Mertens, and Maria Sakkari to reach the second week, where the Chinese Zheng would advance to the quarterfinals for the third time in her career.

In the same quarter, world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka is Roddick's favorite to reach the quarterfinals, emerging from a challenging position in the draw with rivals like Dayana Yastremska and Daria Kasatkina along the way.

Roddick expects one of the tournament's big surprises to be the 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, who would have to eliminate players like Linda Noskova and recent French Open runner-up Jasmine Paolini to ensure her place in the tournament's second week.

In the fourth round, her potential rival would be the American Madison Keys, a 2023 semifinalist, but who Roddick predicts will not be able to repeat last year's feat and will fall to Andreescu in the fourth round: “I want to pencil her (Madison Keys) in potentially to the quarters, I just don’t know if her body can take that many matches,” he said before putting Andreescu in the quarterfinals.

Another former Grand Slam champion who Roddick predicts will have a good run is Japan’s Naomi Osaka, overcoming players like Emma Navarro and Victoria Azarenka before meeting world No. 2 Coco Gauff in the fourth round. However, the 2001 US Open champion predicts Gauff will secure the victory and ensure her passage to the quarterfinals.

Andy Roddick expects fewer surprises on the women's side than on the men's, with the presence of 7 of the top-8 seeds in the tournament's quarterfinals. Here the surprises in the predictions begin, as Roddick predicted that Pegula would defeat Rybakina and Swiatek before reaching the final.

On the other hand, Gauff would eliminate Andreescu, while Sabalenka would again end Zheng's streak in a Grand Slam after defeating her in the Australian Open final and in the past US Open quarterfinals. The Belarusian would then successively defeat Americans Gauff and Pegula before claiming the Wimbledon title, her third Grand Slam.