Serena Williams kicked off her Wimbledon title defense in resounding fashion, beating Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Now the 21-time Grand Slam champion shall take on fellow American Christina McHale in the second round of the 2016 Wimbledon Championship. How will things unfold this time around? Will Williams continue her domination, or will McHale shock us with an upset?
Read on below for more about this matchup. And for more Wimbledon action, click here to check out our preview of Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Tara Moore.
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Serena Williams vs. Christina McHale Betting Preview
Where: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London
When: Thursday, June 30, 2016
Line: Serena Williams (-2,500) vs. Christina McHale (+1,200) – view all Wimbledon Women’s Singles lines
Betting on Serena Williams (-2,500)
Williams, needless to say, better find her full form when she gears up for a second-round date with Christina McHale today. The 24-year-old American is a far more talented and proven player compared to Amra Sadikovic, who was Serena’s first-round opponent, and the World No. 1 would be smart to not waste any time in dispatching McHale as early as possible.
Speaking of which, Williams has beaten McHale in their only two head-to-head meetings. Both happened this year. The latest one happened at the Rome Masters, where the 34-year-old veteran won convincingly, 7-6(7), 6-1.
Ultimately though, there’s no question that Williams, who is priced at +140 to retain her title in London, has a lot going on her side. She’s stronger, battle-tested and is arguably still the best women’s tennis player right now. The 21 Grand Slam titles that she currently owns are more than enough to prove this.
Williams has never lost in the second round at Wimbledon. She’s also 12-1 in her previous 13 matches.
Betting on Christina McHale (+1,200)
There’s not much to say about Christina McHale. She hasn’t really taken a big leap throughout this year thus far. In short, the 24-year-old American has played decently, winning matches that she’s supposed to win and losing the ones that she’s expected to lose.
The most notable moments of her 2016 campaign were probably her semifinals appearance at Acapulco, and when she notched her second career ITF singles title in Maui. Other than that, though, McHale never even reached the quarterfinals in all of the tournaments that she’s participated in.
Don’t underestimate McHale, though. She can be a pretty fearsome and resilient opponent at times, and her relatively solid performance in the first round against Slovenian Daniela Hantuchova could attest to it.
In that match, the World No. 65 fired in 16 winners, converted on 50% of her second serve points and managed to capitalize on seven out of her 13 break point opportunities. She also did a splendid job in limiting herself to just 11 unforced errors compared to Hantuchova’s 37.
However, playing it safe won’t be enough to beat Serena Williams later. McHale will probably have to delve away from her usual style of play by taking an aggressive approach to (hopefully) catch the always-animated defending champion off guard.
McHale is 6-2 overall on grass this year.
Writer’s Prediction
Serena (-2,500) should win this one again.
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