Defending Champions: Andy Murray, Marion Bartoli
The Championships begin next Monday, the 23rd of June. Many talented players come to the All-England Club with high hopes, but who is a contender, and who are the pretenders?
Pretenders, Men,
John Isner - Can't return serve, which is vital to winning on grass. If you recall it took him 69 service games in the 5th set to finally break Nicholas Mahut in the 5th set a few years ago. With a track record like that, don't expect him to make it past the 3rd round..
Jo-Willifred Tsonga - Doesn't have the mental game to break through vs the top players. Might give you one good upset in the quarters, but ultimately will fold. Prediction: Quarterfinals
David Ferrer - God bless him, he runs fast, tried hard, and puts everything he has into every shot. Unfortunately that's netted him zero slams, and no finals appearances on any surface other than last year's French Open final. Prediction: Quarterfinals
Andy Murray - Got to the Semis of the French coming off back surgery, got crushed by Nadal, then lost his first grass court match to Radek Stepanek. Not a great start to his pairing with Mauresmo. His back right now is the real issue. I don't think he's 100%. Prediction - Quarterfinals
Roger Federer - Yes, he's won 17 majors, including 7 Wimbledons. Unfortunately for you Fed fans, that was when he could still move like lightening and put his serve on dimes. Now he moves slow, and needs dollar bills for his serve. Last year he lost in the 2nd round to a guy ranked around 120. Father time is undefeated, and he's two sets up on Roger. Prediction: A bad loss in 5 by the Round of 16.
Rafael Nadal - The world number one did as I expected at the French, hoisting his 9th French Open trophy in stunningly easy fashion. Nadal has won two Wimbledon titles and been a Finalist 3 times. He's also lost early 3 times in the tournament. He got destroyed in his tune-up tournament at Halle by Dustin Brown 6-4, 6-1. I don't think that really matters in the end, but I do expect someone to make Nadal feel rushed on the grass, and knock him out. May not happen til the Quarters or Semis, but he won't win this tournament. Prediction: Semi-finals.
Grigor Dimitrov - He won Queen's Club, saving match point against Feliciano Lopez. Not exactly an inspiring victory. Dimitrov is now 13 in world and is the trendy pick to win the Slam. Wishful thinking. Maybe him dating Sharapova has people thinking he is better than he really is. Lots of talent - yes. But his physical fitness and mental game just isn't at the level necessary to win a major. Prediction - Round of 16
Rest of the field - Of the rest of the field, the only person that has recently been to a Wimbledon Final is Tomas Berdych. If he happens to find himself playing Nadal, it's curtains for the Czech. Might get to the Quarters. No one else poses any sort of legitimate threat. Of course the tournament may prove me wrong.
Pretenders, Women
Maria Sharapova - Last time she won the French Open, she went out to Sabine Lisicki in the 4th Round in straight sets. Of the 4 Majors she played after winning the previous major, she only made the finals once, and that was a forgettable 6-1,6-2 defeat to Serena Williams in the 2007 Australian Open final. Anytime you are considering if Sharapova is a contender, you first must determine if you think Serena will be in the final or will end up playing Sharapova in the tournament. Sharapova hasn't defeated Serena since the 2004 Wimbledon Final. Serena has beaten her 15 times in a row. I think Serena is going far, so Sharapova is by default a pretender in this tournament. Prediction: Round of 16 or a loss to Serena at some point.
The rest of the field - Name a player and there are at least 10 reasons they won't win or could lose early in the tournament. But, honestly there is only reason that matters, and it is....
Contenders, Women
Serena Williams. Do you remember the last time Serena lost in the 1st round of the French Open? It happened exactly two years ago, in the 2012 French Open. She was devastated, and promised she would do everything necessary for that not to happen again. What happened next? Serena killed everyone at Wimbledon (the final was 3 sets vs Radwanska but wasn't really that close), won the Gold in the Olympics at Wimbledon, crushing Sharapova in the final, followed that up with a dominating US.Open title, then won the French and Us Open last year. If you throw in the fact that Serena lost that 3 set match to Lisicki in the round of 16 last year, I think she is properly motivated for this event. The smart money would be on Serena to hoist her 6th Wimbledon crown. Prediction: Champion
Sabine Lisicki - She made the Finals last year, and has a history of beating the top players at Wimbledon. Her huge serve, and an aggressive game are a perfect fit for the surface. Without seeing the draw, I predict she again makes the final.
Contenders, Men
Novak Djokovic - Did you know this man has lost his last three major finals? He and Boris Becker cannot be pleased. Luckily for them, Novak has made at least the semis the last 3 years, made two finals winning one. No one moves better than Djokovic, and if he can avoid an incredibly physical, long 5 set match like his match in last year's Semi-finals against Del Potro, I expect Novak to be in the final again, this time with a real chance to win. Prediction: Champion.
Milos Raonic - Huge serve, and an aggressive style always lends itself to winning lots of matches at Wimbledon. He is coming off a surprising quarter-final showing at Roland Garros, in which he proved his return of serve and fitness had seriously improved. It looks like his game is beginning to take the jump to the next level. Since I believe the entire field is pretty weak or at best weaker than normal, this just might be the year for a surprise finalist. Again, without seeing the draw, I predict he makes the Final.
A review of my predictions (pre-draws being released)
Men: Champion - Novak Djokovic, Finalist - Milos Raonic
Women: Champion - Serena Williams, Finalist - Sabine Lisicki
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