Andy Roddick has given his verdict on the potential blockbuster clash between Serena Williams and Alexandra Eala at Wimbledon this year.
Serena Williams could play Eala in the second round of Wimbledon this year, as she plays her first singles tournament since 2022.
Eala recently played doubles with Venus Williams at the Bad Homburg Open, but she now could be on the other side of the court against her younger sister Serena.
As anticipation grows ahead of the potential second round match at Wimbledon, former world number one Roddick has predicted who will win out of Eala and Serena Williams.
Andy Roddick predicts Serena Williams to beat Alexandra Eala
Eala has enjoyed a lot of success during this grass court season, having won her first title on the surface at the WTA 125 tournament in Birmingham, as well as reaching the semi-finals at the Berlin Open.
As a result, this has enabled Eala to become seeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon this year.
When discussing the potential match-up between Eala on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast, Roddick pointed out the issues that she could cause Serena Williams.
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“This is a tough one, because Eala switches directions really well,” said Roddick. “The one thing that I’m worried about with Serena is someone hitting behind her when she’s moving, like movement is going to be everything for her, that’s what we don’t know.
“We can’t see that during doubles, like you don’t really move during doubles, certainly not the way you do on a singles court.
“Serve looks good, ball-striking looks good, haven’t heard a ton of reports, people are keeping it pretty locked up. Eala can spread the court, she can play in both directions, this is a really hard one. She can expose Serena, but she doesn’t serve that well.”
Despite this, after initially choosing Eala to win the potential second round match, Roddick changed his mind to back Williams instead.
Greg Rusedski says if he thinks Serena Williams will beat Maya Joint
While many are already looking ahead to the Williams and Eala matchup, they both have first round matches to come through first.
Williams will play Australian Maya Joint in the first round, while Eala will play against Mexico’s Renata Zarazua.
With many eyes on how Williams fares in her return to the singles court, former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has also predicted the matchup to happen between the 23-time Grand Slam champion and Eala.
“I think Serena’s going to get through Joint, I think Eala’s going to win her opener as well, so that’s going to be Serena and Eala in the second round, that’s going to be another Centre Court matchup,” Rusedski said on his ‘Off Court with Greg Rusedski‘ podcast. “Then you’ve got [Iga] Swiatek in that section, it is so fascinating.”
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Rusedski did not offer a prediction for what would happen in that potential match between Eala and Williams, which would take place on Thursday, July 2 if it were to happen.
First, Eala and Williams will play their first round matches against Zarazua and Joint, respectively, on Tuesday, June 30.
