A tantalising first-round Wimbledon clash takes place on centre court on Monday, as women's wildcards Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina prepare for battle at SW19.
Still going strong at 43, Williams is set to make her maiden Grand Slam appearance of the 2023 season, while Svitolina enters on the back of her memorable run to the French Open quarter-finals.
Match preview
© Reuters
No stranger to success on the Wimbledon grass with five singles and six doubles crowns to her name, Venus Williams has already won the hearts of the British tennis fanbase ahead of her highly anticipated return to centre court, which will mark just her second Grand Slam singles appearance from the last eight tournaments.
At the same tournament where her beloved sister - and Wimbledon familiar foe - Serena Williams took to the court for the final time, Venus Williams lost in the first round of the 2022 US Open to Alison van Uytvanck, prior to which she had reached the second round of the Wimbledon mixed doubles last year with Jamie Murray.
Following a brief run at the ASB Classic in January, a five-month hiatus awaited Williams, but the 43-year-old rolled back the years at the recent Birmingham Classic, defeating Camila Giorgi in a three-set spectacular before going down to eventual winner Jelena Ostapenko despite an inspiring fightback.
Against the odds, Williams took the 2017 French Open champion to three sets, but Ostapenko's youthful energy ultimately won out, and the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion enters the upcoming major ranked 554th in the world.
Going all the way in the 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008 editions of the tournament, Williams makes her return to Wimbledon territory 26 years after debuting at the 1997 Championships, but Svitolina - seeking her own inspirational success story - will have every intention of spoiling the American's SW19 party.
© Reuters
While Svitolina will undoubtedly enter Monday's first-round match aiming to play the role of pantomime villain, fans ought to possess a similar soft spot for the Ukrainian, who has come back with a bang since taking time off from the tour following the birth of her child.
The world number 75 and fellow tennis professional Gael Monfils welcomed a daughter in October, nine months after Svitolina's Australian Open run came to an end in the third round, and she subsequently missed four successive Grand Slams before triumphing in Strasbourg and taking to the clay at Roland-Garros in May.
An unexpected ninth Grand Slam quarter-final appearance would come Svitolina's way before she lost in straight sets to Aryna Sabalenka - although most headlines centred around the Ukrainian's refusal to shake the Belarusian's hand at the net - as she suffered a seventh defeat from nine last-eight matches at major tournaments.
A Wimbledon and Australian Open semi-finalist from 2019, Svitolina - who was once ranked as high as number three in the world - also entered the Birmingham Classic to prepare for her SW19 comeback, but the 28-year-old was quickly dispatched 2-6 0-6 by Linda Fruhvirtova.
A succession of unforced errors - 22 to be precise - bedevilled Svitolina on the day, and while the Ukrainian will be counting her lucky stars not to be facing Williams in her prime, the latter has already proven capable of giving top-100 players a good run for their money on the grass this season.
Head To Head
Italian Open (2015) - Second round: Williams wins 6-4 6-3
Rogers Cup (2017) - Third round: Svitolina wins 6-2 6-1
French Open (2019) - First round: Svitolina wins 6-3 6-3
US Open (2019) - Second round: Svitolina wins 6-4 6-4
Monday's mouthwatering contest will mark the fifth singles meeting between Williams and Svitolina, who leads the head-to-head column with three wins compared to just one for the American.
The pair first locked horns on the WTA circuit during the 2015 Italian Open, where a 20-year-old Svitolina was defeated by Williams in straight sets in the second round, but the Ukrainian would soon glean a slice of revenge.
During her run to the 2017 Canadian Open crown - then known as the Rogers Cup - Svitolina strolled past an ageing Williams 6-2 6-1, before the duo renewed hostilities twice in Grand Slam tournaments during the 2019 season.
On both occasions, Svitolina would prolong her winning streak against Williams, triumphing 6-3 6-3 in the first round of the 2019 French Open before a 6-4 6-4 success in round two of the US Open a few months later.
We say: Svitolina to win in three sets
Williams's 43-year-old legs are evidently not as mobile as they used to be, and the five-time Wimbledon singles winner was helped by a few Ostapenko mistakes last time out, but a three-setter could still be on the cards with a wall of support behind her.
However, Svitolina's recent spate of successes against Williams cannot be ignored, and the longer the contest goes on, the more it will benefit the youthful Ukrainian, who can extend her winning streak against the American to end her adversary's Wimbledon dream at the first hurdle.
Ben Knapton
