<
>

Super Monday predictions: Serena won't have an easy time

Who will survive Super Monday? Here are our predictions:

No. 1 Serena Williams versus No. 16 Venus Williams (Serena leads the head-to-head series 14-11)

Case for Serena: She is 24-0 in Grand Slam singles matches since she lost at Wimbledon last year. Serena is also battle-tested, thanks to the high number of close matches she has survived.

Case for Venus: A five-time Wimbledon champion, Venus is a master on grass and hasn't lost a set here yet. Venus isn't intimidated by her younger sister and won the last time they played.

Prediction: Serena will survive a tough three-setter.

No. 4 Maria Sharapova versus Zarina Diyas (Sharapova leads 1-0)

Case for Sharapova: Sharapova has hit 11 more winners than unforced errors, and she hasn't lost a set. Clearly her aggressive go-for-broke style is firing on all cylinders.

Case for Diyas: This 21-year-old Kazakh is a cool-headed, consistent, quick counterpuncher capable of exploiting all of those Sharapova unforced errors.

Prediction: Sharapova will prevail, but in three sets.

No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki versus No. 20 Garbine Muguruza (Muguruza leads 2-1)

Case for Wozniacki: Her winner-to-unforced-error ratio is at plus-20, a good number for someone who isn't known for producing many of either.

Case for Muguruza: She'll be confident after surviving a tense first-set tiebreaker (14-12) and the letdown that followed to record a three-set knockout of No. 10 Angelique Kerber, a woman with a terrific record at Wimbledon.

Prediction: Muguruza will help make this a Wimbledon where youth will leave a big impression. She'll take it in two sets.

No. 6 Lucie Safarova versus Coco Vandeweghe (first meeting)

Case for Safarova: The recent French Open finalist has improved her approach-and-volley game, thanks to her doubles success. Safarova looms as a great threat to go deep in the draw.

Case for Vandeweghe: She hit 15 aces in her upset of No. 11 seed Karolina Pliskova and seems to be growing into her big game. This is Vandeweghe's first trip beyond the second round at Wimbledon. She's free to swing from the heels.

Prediction: Too much lefty juju for Coco; Safarova in straight sets.

No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska versus No. 28 Jelena Jankovic (Radwanska leads 5-2)

Case for Radwanska: After a brutal fall from grace, Radwanska appears to have found that tricky, defense-oriented, creative game again. She's lost an average of just four games per match.

Case for Jankovic: This former US Open finalist has been to just one Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2011, but she's still a great athlete, and that counts for a lot on grass. She knocked out defending champ Petra Kvitova, so the Serb's confidence ought to be high.

Prediction: Hard to trust Jankovic given her history of histrionics. Radwanska in three sets.

No. 15 Timea Bacsinszky versus Monica Niculescu (Niculescu leads 4-1)

Case for Bacsinszky: The 26-year-old Swiss left the game for a long spell due to personal reasons three years ago, but she's back -- with a vengeance -- and she'll be going into the fourth round following an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win against Wimbledon high performer and former finalist Sabine Lisicki.

Case for Niculescu: Her eccentric, carve-'em-up style, anchored by a slice forehand that produces a ball that sits down extremely low on grass, drives opponents crazy.

Prediction: Bacsinszky likes pace, so she'll have some anxious moments, but she wins it in three sets.

No. 21 Madison Keys versus Olga Govortsova (Keys leads 1-0)

Case for Keys: With a serve tailor-made for grass and punishing groundstrokes, the 20-year-old from the U.S. has taken advantage of an excellent draw that only got better. On Super Monday, Keys plays Govortsova, who is a qualifier.

Case for Govortsova: Sure she's had a great draw, but any qualifier who gets into the field and survives to play in the second week is playing with house money. That makes the 26-year-old Belarussian dangerous.

Prediction: Govortsova will go bust. Keys in straight sets.

No. 23 Victoria Azarenka versus No. 30 Belinda Bencic (first meeting)

Case for Azarenka: She hasn't dropped a set yet. Azarenka's winner-to-unforced-error ratio over three matches is plus-34, and she's been a semifinalist twice. She's trying to kick her comeback into high gear.

Case for Bencic: The Swiss 18-year-old is extremely mature for her age and recently won the first WTA title of her career on grass at Eastbourne. Things are falling her way quickly.

Prediction: Bencic becomes a Wimbledon sensation with the three-set upset.