Serena Williams and Swiatek lose to Halep in unofficial Center Court opening race



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Serena Williams and Swiatek lose to Halep in unofficial Center Court opening race
Serena Williams and Swiatek lose to Halep in unofficial Center Court opening race (Provided by Tennis World USA)

Following a Twitter poll started by The Tennis Podcast on who should play the first match on Wimbledon’s Center Court this year, Simona Halep is the most preferred in public’s opinion, gathering almost half of all the votes, while Iga Swiatek and Serena Williams complete the podium with 28.7% and, respectively, 18.9% of the votes.

The poll’s question was the following: “In the absence of the retired Ash Barty, who should open play on Tuesday on Centre Court at Wimbledon? 2019 champ Simona Halep (who couldn’t do it last time due to injury), World No.

1 Iga Swiatek, 7-time champion Serena Williams or someone else?”

Daren Cahill is all in for Simona Halep

The former coach of Simona Halep, who won Wimbledon in 2019, responded to the poll on Twitter with a strong argument on why Halep should be the first one to play on the Center Court.

“This should be Simona Halep. Covid wiped out the 2020 championships & unable to play last year due to injury so Ash Barty was given the honor. With Ash retired, the privilege and honor should go back to Simo. She has earned it as 2019 champ,” Cahill wrote on Twitter.

However, there is always the possibility for Serena to be drawn against Halep or Swiatek and have a star-studded opening match.

We don’t know what Halep and Swiatek feel about the possibility of meeting Serena at Wimbledon, but Badosa is certainly against. "I think it surprised everyone but it's very good to have her (Serena Williams) back. It really amazes me how she has all this hunger for the game.

It is a great inspiration. It is nice to have her back and I hope she can be back for much more time because I think she does very good for tennis. But on the other side, of course I don't want to play against her! I hope the draw goes for another player because no one wants to play against Serena and less on grass. Let's pray for that!"

Serena Williams