Two worthy opponents will contest the 2021 Women’s Wimbledon final. Pliskova vs. Barty promises to be a contrast in styles. Pliskova has a massive serve and hits long, flat, and deep penetrating strokes, while Barty’s game relies on a toolkit of beautiful strokes that can keep opponents guessing. This will make for one of the most interesting Wimbledon finals in a long time.

A title for Pliskova would be sweet redemption given all the negative press she got for having obtained the number one ranking without ever winning a Grand Slam. For Barty, it would solidify her as the undisputed number one player in the world while giving her the title she craves the most. Let’s see who has the edge on this one.

It can be argued that Pliskova had a harder time getting to the final. She had to beat number two and tournament favorite Sabalenka in the semis. Sabalenka was playing some sublime tennis the whole tournament, including in the first set of the semifinal against Pliskova. Then Pliskova flipped the script, proceeded to win the next two sets, and found herself in the Wimbledon final. That win must have given Pliskova immense confidence going into the final.

Barty’s road was a bit bumpier. In the semifinal against past Wimbledon Champion Kerber, Barty was basically down and out, and about to lose the match before Kerber lost her nerve and proceeded to gift Barty the match. This win was not as dominating as the last two sets Pliskova played against Sabalenka.

None of that may matter though, and it could be more about how these two match up. If Barty is able to neutralize the rallies and mix it up as she is capable of, she’s going to give Pliskova fits. Barty will look to use her backhand slice to throw Pliskova off rhythm. This means Pliskova must serve and play her return games with purpose and abandon. She will need to end the points quickly. That will be risky tennis and not a very high percentage. However, it’s the only way past Barty. Given the difficulty of Pliskova pulling that off, I choose Barty to win her first Wimbledon title in two sets.

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