“She’s licking her lips,” Greg Rusedski puts Coco Gauff the Wimbledon favorite ahead of Iga Swiatek

World No.1 Iga Swiatek hasn't gone beyond quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

“She’s licking her lips,” Greg Rusedski puts Coco Gauff the Wimbledon favorite ahead of Iga Swiatek

Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek (via Imago), Greg Rusedski (in circle)

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will be coming to SW19 aiming to win her first Wimbledon. She skipped the Berlin Open as a warm-up tournament for the third Grand Slam of the year. Many tennis fans are putting the Polish star as the favorite to win her first Wimbledon title.

However, former Davis Cup champion Greg Rusedski does not belong to that majority. The 50-year-old was talking on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, where he put Coco Gauff ahead of Swiatek as the Wimbledon favorite.

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Well I think, if you look at her (Swiatek), she’s won four French Opens, one US Open. For Coco, let’s be honest, grass against Iga, she’s licking her lips. She’s thinking, ‘That’s my time to start squaring up this rivalry’. She came to the forefront when she beat Venus Williams and announced herself to the world and the British public at Wimbledon [in 2019].
Greg Rusedski said on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast

Swiatek has won five Grand Slams throughout her career. Four of those Grand Slams have come at Roland Garros, including her latest win two weeks ago against Jasmine Paolini. Apart from her success in Paris, she won the US Open title in 2022.

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However, the World No. 1 has never progressed beyond the quarter-final at Wimbledon. Interestingly, Gauff has a worse record than the Pole at SW19. The American’s best Wimbledon result has been a Round of 16 exit in 2019 and 2021.

Was Iga Swiatek’s decision to skip Berlin a good move?

Iga Swiatek‘s choice to skip grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon raised some eyebrows, but her decision seems justified given the struggles of her main rivals at the recent Berlin Ladies Open. Initially, the World No.1 was set to be the top seed at this week’s event, featuring a strong field with top 10 players like Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, and Elena Rybakina.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (via Imago)

However, after a successful clay-court season with three consecutive titles at the Madrid Open, Italian Open, and French Open, Swiatek decided to withdraw from the WTA 500 event.

This move means the Polish star will enter Wimbledon without any grass-court matches, a risky strategy considering that players such as Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina, defending champion Marketa Vondrousova, and two-time finalist Ons Jabeur have been getting experience on the surface. Nonetheless, several players on the WTA Tour have been hit by injuries and illnesses recently.

Sabalenka was another player affected, retiring after just six games against Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-final due to a shoulder injury while trailing 1-5. These issues among Swiatek’s competitors may vindicate her decision to rest and avoid the risks associated with playing additional grass-court events before Wimbledon.

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