Former British No 1 Dan Evans has given his verdict on this year’s Wimbledon Ladies’ singles final – and he is backing the underdog to come out on top.
Iga Swiatek heads into her first Wimbledon final looking to win her sixth Grand Slam title, with her thrilling return to form on a surface she has struggled on before this year, earning her the tag of favourite heading into her showdown with America’s Amanda Anisimova.
Yet in an exclusive interview with Tennis365 as he prepares to join the TNT Sports team for their live coverage of finals weekend at Wimbledon, Evans has told us that he is backing Anisimova to claim her first Grand Slam title.
“We’ve seen so many shocks in the women’s event this year, but you could say the cream has risen to the top here to give us a final between Swiatek and Anisimova,” said Evans, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.
“You’ve got one of the best players in the world over the last few years in Swiatek, who maybe wasn’t in the best form coming into Wimbledon. So her story has been great to watch as she has got back on top.
“Then you’ve got probably the best player on grass this year in Anisimova. She made the final at Queen’s and I watched that match when she was beaten by Tatjana Maria. That was an interesting match as Maria was using tactics we don’t always see and Anisimova didn’t have her best day.
“Now she has done so well to get through to the final at Wimbledon and I have her down as my favourite. I think she’s going to win it.”
Surprise results have dominated the women’s event at Wimbledon, with Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula among the big names to crash out in the opening round.
Evans suggests those shocks have allowed tennis fans around the world to get to know players they were less familiar with.
“I’ve really enjoyed the women’s event,” he added. “It’s been good that so many seeds have lost and you can see the press coverage of the shock results and they have stirred up the interest.
“It’s also been good for people to see some of the other players showing what they can do. We’ve see the strength in depth in the women’s game.
“We’ve seen a few different winners at Wimbledon in recent years in the women’s event and that’s different to the men’s, where we’ve tended to have the same players winning most years. I think it’s good to have some new names in there.”
Watch both singles’ finals from Wimbledon live on TNT Sports and its streaming platform discovery+ this weekend with Nick Kyrgios, CoCo Vandeweghe and Dan Evans offering their own insights and analysis during both matches. Coverage for the ladies’ and the gentlemen’s singles finals begins at 3:30pm.
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