'I'd be surprised if she won two': Legend makes prediction for Serena Williams' Grand Slam record
Evert expects Serena to add to her tally at Wimbledon because the grass court best suits her style of play.
Eighteen-time Grand Slam women's single champion Chris Evert expects Serena Williams to win at least one more Grand Slam to match Margaret Court's record. She expects the 23-time winner to add to her tally at Wimbledon because the grass court best suits her style of play.
Serena will restart her tennis career on the WTA tour next week after missing almost a year following the birth of her first child. She'll play an exhibition match on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York, then compete at Indian Wells, California, to get back into proper shape before the French Open.
The 36-year-old has been in brilliant form over the past few years, winning the major tournaments with great pace and is looking good to continue her place at the top following her return.. Williams passed Evert and Martina Navratilova's 18 at the 2015 Australian Open and won four more majors in the next three years.
However, Evert is cognizant of the fact that maintaining family life with tennis is a massive challenge and she would need all the help from the people around her to accomplish both sides of her life porperly.
"I just cannot bet against her. I'd be surprised if she won two; I would bet on her to win one. Who knows how she'll come out of the starting gate. Wimbledon, that would be her best shot because that favors power, rewards power and the rallies aren't long," Evert said, as quoted by Tennis World USA.
"She's got the big serve. The US Open is going to be tough because it's on a hard court, it's hot. She'll have to be moving well and be very, very fit.
"When you have a child, that's an emotional component that you've never experienced before. I keep saying this — whenever anybody doubts Serena, she thrives. That gives her more motivation, more incentive and she always comes out the winner."
"She had a big year last year — got to the finals of two majors, got to the WTA Finals. You can understand why maybe her body didn't recover as quickly. She can still have a great year," Evert added on if Serena's sister Venus can also get her game going after an early exit in Melbourne.