Men and women to watch at Wimbledon
by Matthew Cronin, Special to FOXSports.com
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- Day 12: Women's F | Day 11: Men's SF
- Day 10: Women's SF |
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- Day 6: Women | | | Women
- Day 4: Women | | |
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Analysis:
- Cronin: Nadal makes case for No. 1
- Pierce: Federer shows his mettle
- Cronin: Venus, Serena at their best
Others:
- Draws: Men's singles | Women's singles
- PHOTOS: Men's final | Women's final | Men's SF | Women's SF | Men's QF
- Results: Men Women | Ranks | Schedule
Partners:
Think the icy-cool Bjorn Borg's five straight crowns between 1976 and 1980; the steady-handed Pete Sampras' seven titles between 1993 and 2000; and now No. 1 Roger Federer's five straight crowns from 2003-2007. The women have seen similar trends — nine titles from the serve and volleying Martina Navratilova between 1978 and 1990; seven titles from the ferocious forehand of Steffi Graf between 1988 and 1996; and six combined titles from sister act Venus and Serena Williams between 2000 and 2007.
Wimbledon demands, power, passion, precision and nerves of steel. The possibility does exist that the 2008 tournament will get a new champion, but it more than likely will be from an already established elite player. A select few women and men look quite good for the final four and beyond, while everyone else will be a bit of spoiler. But even the favorites face major questions:
Women
Venus Williams
It becomes more and more difficult with each passing year to pick Venus as the pre-tournament favorite when she comes into the tournament with no titles on the year, but she's also a four-time Wimbledon champion who features the best defensive to offensive attack on this surface on the planet. With Venus, the most important thing is to start the tournament cleanly, get a feel for the ball, try out her vast arsenal against lesser foes, and then to begin to construct massive walls from behind the baseline and on top of the net.
Her draw is by no means simple — possibly Sania Mirza in the third round; savvy Italian Flavia Pennetta (fourth round), who knocked her off at Roland Garros; and world No. 2 Jelena Jankovic (quarters), who knocked her off at Wimbledon in 2006. Then Maria Sharapova, whom she beat last year, could be ready for revenge in the semifinals. But history proves that no player is more capable of knocking out an elite field in England more than Venus.
Serena Williams
Seeded No. 6, Serena is in No. 1 Ana Ivanovic's half of the draw, and after a disastrous French Open, Serena will have to get off to quick start. She has to face hard-hitting Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the first round and might have to face 2006 champ Amelie Mauresmo in the third round. When she's in great form, Serena is the cleanest hitter on tour from the baseline and can dominate with her serve and return. But she hasn't won a Wimbledon title since going back to back in 2002 and 2003 and is no longer feared as she once was. She had a terrific three-title run through the spring before she was stopped cold in Europe, so she's likely to be super-motivated to put her first Grand Slam title of the year on the board. If she's on, no player outside of the able yet mentally inconsistent No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova should be able to stay with her in her quarter. But she'll face a different Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals if they meet, as the Serbian is a whole lot more confident post her Roland Garros title run.
Ana Ivanovic
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| Can Ana Ivanovic maintain her focus after her French Open title? (ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / Getty Images) |
The New No. 1 doesn't have sterling grass-court credentials, but she can rip the ball off the ground, has excellent touch at the net (when she gets there), and did reach the 2007 semifinals. What Ivanovic has yet to show is whether she can emotionally recover from a big title run like she had at the French Open and get back to work. But she's no longer backing down on her abilities, and if she can establish her forehand and serve consistently, a title run is not far fetched.
"The Williams sisters are playing really well on grass and Maria has a game that suits grass very well," Ivanovic said. "But I have a game and I beat most of them before. I would really like to be able to keep the form from Paris and stay here the whole two weeks."
The Pack
Even though her extreme western grip on her forehand will cause her to shank balls on grass, Safina could serve her way into contention. ... Don't count Danish teen Caroline Wozniacki out of an upset of Jankovic in the third round — she's a former Wimbledon junior champ. ... Ivanovic knows she'll get a tussle in the third round against the well-balanced Dominika Cibulkova, French player Gael Monfils' girlfriend. ... Marion Bartoli, a 2007 finalist, has no real title hopes, but played better last week and could make Serena sweat in the fourth round.
Men
Roger Federer
This may not be a career-turning tournament for Federer, but it's certainly a season-turning one. After his brutal beat down at the hands of Nadal in the French Open final, he looks more vulnerable than he ever has coming into the tournament. With that said, he's won 59 matches in a row on grass and is looking to tie William Renshaw — who won six straight titles in the 19th century — for the longest consecutive title streak. After winning Halle last week, Federer said he's forgotten Paris, but the world won't really know where his confidence is until the second week. But one thing is for sure: He does have more weapons on the surface than anyone else, and if he can crank up his serve, take over the net, keep his backhand slice low and hammer his forehand, he's the favorite until someone knocks him off.
His obstacles could include French youngster Gael Monfils (third round), whom he bested in Paris; 2002 champ Lleyton Hewitt (fourth round); and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic (semis), who showed in an extremely tight loss to Nadal in the Queens final that his game is adapting just fine to the lawns. But somewhere deep down inside, Federer wants Nadal for the third straight year in the final to right his French Open wrong in front of the world's eyes.
Rafael Nadal
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| Can Rafa solve Roger Federer on grass? (IAN KINGTON / Getty Images) |
Who would have thought prior to a run-of-the-mill start to the year that the Spaniard would come into Wimbledon as many analysts' favorite to win his first crown? Maybe only Nadal and his camp. After a spectacular French Open run and then an ultra-powerful follow-up title run at the Queens Club, where he chopped down the towering Croatian service bomber Ivo Karlovic, two-time Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick, and Djokovic, Nadal is looking like a headstrong Hercules. He may not have the tour's biggest serve, but he covers the court better than anyone, can dominate from inside the baseline and pass at will. If he doesn't give away a crucial point in the fifth set against Federer like he did in last year's final, he has a terrific chance to win his first major off clay. His potential obstacles include tricky Czech veteran Radek Stepanek in the fourth round, British hopeful Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, and Roddick in the semifinal.
"He feels comfortable on the surface," Roddick said of Nadal. "He's able to create big shots from odd angles, which you get a lot on this surface as well. Everyone acts surprised he's playing well on grass. He made the Wimbledon final the last two years, so I'm not really that surprised.
"Nadal's a different animal than people who you would call dirtballers. He's stronger. He's bigger. He doesn't play kind of soft tennis. He kind of goes after it. He can bully the ball, also."
Andy Roddick
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| Andy Roddick is looking for a breakthrough performance. (Sang Tan / Associated Press) |
The American sees himself as one of the top five picks, and rightfully so. He owns the biggest serve on tour, volleys better than he used to, and firmly believes that if not for Federer, he could have pocketed a couple Wimbledon crowns of his own. His return of serve is his greatest weakness, but if he can hold serve a ton and keeping moving forward on his own terms, the semifinals should be his.
He might have to play fellow American James Blake in the fourth round, but his Davis Cup teammate has never won three rounds in England and is unsure of himself on the surface. Roddick's quarterfinal foe might be No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko, but the Russian is incompetent on grass and won't likely get there. All signs point a Roddick-Nadal semifinal, and by then the American should have enough matches under his belt to make a big push. But if Nadal is cutting loose on his forehand and getting enough returns into play, Roddick's best probably won't be good enough.
The Pack
Andy Murray has developed a bigger serve and a sure-handed volley to go along with an excellent return game. But he has never proved himself at the majors and despite a decent draw that should see him into the quarters against Nadal, he's still likely a year away from primetime. ... Frenchman Michael Llodra and former semifinalist Mario Ancic have the most interesting first-round clash, and either of those net rushers could sneak into the quarters and face Federer.
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