Sneaking Into The Home Stretch

There are only sixteen players left in the singles draw after today's electric fourth round at Wimbledon -- some you'd expect to see and others' names you may have forgotten long ago. And on both the men's and women's sides there are a couple who have gotten to this point with very little fanfare.

Former world #1 Juan Carlos Ferrero is a wildcard in his ninth appearance at the All England Club, and he's very quietly made it to the quarterfinals for the second time. He's had an up-and-down year so far, falling out of the top 100 for a few weeks here and there, but also taking home the trophy in Casablanca -- his first title since 2003! But in London he's beaten four players ranked higher than him, including fan favorite Fabrice Santoro and eighth seed Gilles Simon who, frankly, I didn't expect to make it as far as he did. Next up he's got Andy Murray, who played an amazing match today under the shiny new roof on Centre Court. Juan Carlos lost their only previous meeting a few weeks ago at Queen's Club, but if he can elevate his play to its former level he could stand a chance -- though I don't think he'll be able to do so quite as anonymously as he has so far this tournament!

In the women's bracket it's easy to have missed the ascendancy of Francesca Schiavone. The lowest ranked player still left in that draw hasn't beaten any big names yet, but she has managed to upset three seeded players plus Michelle Larcher De Brito, a Portuguese teenager who had her breakout performance last month at Roland Garros. Schiavone has suffered a couple of early-round losses this year, but did manage a semifinal appearance at 's-Hertogenbosch, where she beat fifth seed Alona Bondarenko. Her win today earns her the right to meet Elena Dementieva, who's playing some of her best tennis at Wimbledon, but the two have evenly split their previous eight meetings. Schiavone has already notched her best appearance at Wimbledon -- one more win would send her to a Grand Slam semi for the first time in her career.

With all the attention being concentrated on a handful of big names and a few small Goliath-killers, both Ferrero and Schiavone might be grateful that they haven't had to deal with too much media pressure -- look what it did to poor Melanie Oudin! But in the last few days of Wimbledon, there's no more hope of avoiding the spotlight. Can't wait to see if these guys do as well on the big stage!

Good luck to them!

By the way, notice my brand new site! I've got all the same great articles at a cool -- and, need I say, very appropriate -- address: http://www.tennisspin.net! And thanks for sticking with me!

A Day of Rest

As is tradition at the All England Club, today, the first Sunday during the Wimbledon fortnight, is not meant to be a day of battle. So at this halfway point I've decided to sit back and reflect on the biggest matches of the past few days and speculate on what's just ahead.

The Surprises

Now I have to admit I didn't expect either Ana Ivanovic or Gilles Simon to make the second week at Wimbledon -- I'd even called for Simon to be upset early and quickly by American Robert Kendrick. Yet somehow, round after round, they've been able to advance, with Ana suggesting she's playing the best tennis of her career.

Former #1 and last year's French Open champ hasn't exactly been having a banner 2009. She made early exits at Miami and Eastbourne and was stoped in her Roland Garros title defense by a strong Victoria Azarenka. She's seen her ranking drop to twelfth in the world and commands an even lower seed in the Wimbledon draw.

But so far at the All England Club, we're seeing signs of the old Ana. Though she lost her very first set to Lucie Hradecka, she quickly rebounded and even survived a long third set, which lasted nearly an hour. Since then, however, she made quick work of strong players like Sara Errani and even this year's French Open standout Samantha Stosur. Her next test, Venus Williams, will clearly be her toughest, but if she plays her best she may be able to pull off the upset.

Simon too had been having a tough year. Though he's largely maintained the ranking he began the year with, he's failed to impress me in recent weeks. He's been defeated by some surprising players -- #44 Mikhail Youzhny at Queen's Club, #54 Ivan Ljubicic in Madrid, #76 Mischa Zverev in Rome -- just to name a few.

But this week he only got behind briefly to Brazil's Thiago Alves and avenged his Roland Garros loss to Victor Hanescu in three easy sets. Next up for him is Juan Carlos Ferrero who's launching his own comeback of sorts. The former #1 was impressive at Queen's Club and even won a title in Casablanca, helping him rebound from his lowest ranking in years. If Simon can get past him he'll mark his best Wimbledon appearance and get himself back on track for the year.

The BIG Surprises

Of course these performances more examples of living up to expectations. There have clearly been some more stunning results.

Fresh off her huge victory at Roland Garros, Svetlana Kuznetsova came to London having one of her best years in quite a while. Yet despite her #5 ranking and two championship titles this year, she couldn't have felt too confident playing on her worst surface. Less than two weeks ago she lost in the first round of Eastbourne against Aleksandra Wozniak and she was taken to a tie break in her opening match here against Akiko Morigami.

Even still no one expected her to lose in the third round to German teenager Sabine Lisicki. While the match was somewhat shaky -- both women traded breaks in the first set and Lisicki lost her serve when she had the chance to take the match -- it was clearly one of the biggest wins in the forty-first ranked player's career. Though she'd beaten Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki on her way to her first title in Charleston, she's never made it past the third round at any Grand Slam -- even losing in the first round at the French. She'll have to win again against Caroline if she wants to move forward, but at least she knows that it's a challenge well within her reach.

Ivo Karlovic is another player you might be surprised to see in the fourth round -- but all evidence suggests you shouldn't be. Though the thirty-sixth ranked Croat has been sent home after just one match for the past four years, he's probably one of the most intimidating players in the draw. At 6'10" he's got a bullet of a serve, averaging 141 miles per hour, and has notched more than a hundred aces in his first three matches.

In spite of his size and strength though, he hasn't had the easiest road to the second week. In his third round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he didn't allow the Frenchman one opportunity to break him, but he also had trouble converting on his own. Three of the four sets went to tiebreaks, none of which were runaways. Ivo was able to earn the one break of the match in the third set, and thankfully for him that was all he needed. After nearly three hours he sent home the ninth seed and matched his best Major appearance. If he wants to continue he still has to get past Fernando Verdasco, a man he has managed to beat twice. But in what will surely be a battle of big servers, this match-up will surely be one to watch.

The Downright Shocker

The most amazing performance of the Championships so far, though, has to have come from a young American who's making her Wimbledon debut.

Seventeen-year-old Melanie Oudin had to make in through three qualifying rounds -- even faced a match point in the second set against her first opponent -- to make the main draw at the All England Club. She was rewarded by an opening round match-up with twenty-ninth seed Sybille Bammer. But her best performance was clearly against world #6 Jelena Jankovic in the third round.

It's not that I expected Jankovic, who's been struggling herself this year, to advance much farther in the tournament, but I didn't think she'd lose to the 124th ranked player in such dramatic style. Oudin came back from a one-set deficit after losing a tight tiebreak and waited out a thirteen-minute medical timeout to earn the biggest win of her young career. Though she's played some strong Fed Cup matches and even won a handful of challenger tournaments, the second week of a Major was certainly not yet on her radar. It is now.

I just hope that all the attention and press she's gotten over the last twenty-four hours doesn't unnerve her. She's got a decent chance to win her next match against Aggie Radwanska as long as she stays focus and isn't distracted by her new-found glory.

I wish her the best!

Still to Come

There are of course other matches that will be attracting all our eyes, especially on Monday when all thirty-two remaining singles players will be in action.

Roger Federer and Robin Soderling will reprise their French Open final and, I think, with pretty much the same result. While Soderling is much stronger on grass than on clay, I can't imagine Roger bowing out quite yet.

Andy Roddick's match against Tomas Berdych could also get interesting -- I don't think a lot of people have paid much attention to the twentieth seed, even as he's easily progressed through the draw. Roddick will probably prevail, but there's no reason this match couldn't go four or five long sets.

On the women's side I'll be watching the all Russian pairing of two Elenas -- Dementieva and Vesnina. The fourth seed has been impressive in her first three matches, dropping only twelve games, and this after what must have been a long and frustrating spring. A win on Monday, I hope, will propel her well into the second week.

And of course top seed Dinara Safina will face former champion Amelie Mauresmo. If there's any match that could produce an upset tomorrow, I think this will be it. Dinara's played a couple of close sets and she hasn't been spectacular enough this tournament to make us take notice of her. And Mauresmo is a powerhouse -- she could easily advance at least one more round.

It's going to be an exciting Monday at the All England Club, as it always is -- and I can't wait to watch it!

The Biggest Beneficiary

Over the last several days a lot of ink has been spilled (and many pixels lit) discussing who was most thankful for Rafael Nadal's pulling out of Wimbledon.

Roger Federer, who so famously lost his place at the top here a year ago, was the obvious first choice -- his win at Roland Garros put him back on the road to acheiving legend, and Rafa's absence here certainly takes some of the pressure off as he goes for his record fifteenth Grand Slam.

Andy Murray also has had a lot of build-up coming into the greatest tournament of the year. Having made the finals at the U.S. Open last year and acheiving his highest career ranking, he's playing some of the best tennis of his life, and after he took home the trophy at Queen's Club a few weeks ago, his first title on a grass court, he reiterated that he was finally ready to win a Major. Rafa was in his half of the draw -- if everything went as predicted by seeds, Murray would have been stalled at the semis. Now he doesn't have to worry about that.

But today it became clear that the one who benefited most from Nadal's withdrawal was Lleyton Hewitt.

The former #1 has been trying to launch a comeback after a hip injury sidelined him for much of 2008 but has been supremely frustrated along the way. He lost in the quarterfinals in Sydney, his hometown, and bowed out in the first round at the Australian Open. While he did manage to win a title in Houston -- his first since 2007 -- he didn't have to beat a single player ranked in the top seventy to do it. In Paris he had the bad luck of meeting Rafa in the third round. What should have been an exciting match turned into a walk in the park -- for Nadal. Hewitt only won five games during the demolition and was sent home after less than two hours. He couldn't have been too happy when the Wimbledon draws were released last Friday morning and showed that he was lined up to face Rafael again, but this time in the second round.



When Nadal pulled out later that afternoon, though, the entire bracket had to be redrawn. And suddenly Hewitt found himself facing the prospect of Juan Martin Del Potro in his second match. DelPo's no slouch, of course -- the twenty-year-old has an impressive resume, ranked fifth in the world, owner of five singles trophies, and he's beaten some serious competitors this year, including Nadal and Murray. Even still, Lleyton had to like his chances against the Argentine, who's much more of a contender on hard or clay courts -- Juan Martin's never made it past the second round at the All England Club.

And his relief proved to be well-justified. DelPo played well, serving bullets at an average of 123 miles per hour (a benefit of being 6'6" -- man, if I just had a couple more inches...), but ultimately fell to the more experienced Hewitt. It wasn't a short match, almost three hours, but taking only three sets, it could be a good omen for Lleyton.



The win sets up a third round meeting with Philipp Petzschner, a doubles specialist who nevertheless pulled off a win over Fernando Verdasco in Halle a few weeks back. If Lleyton survives, as he should, there are a few more obstacles in his path -- David Ferrer, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray to name a few. Then again, Hewitt was the last man to win at Wimbledon before the tsunami of Federer and Nadal took over in 2003. I don't think he'll be able to pull off the ultimate victory, but he's in much better shape to advance than he was just a week ago -- and through no fault of his own.

We'll see if he's able to harness this momentum -- but in any case, the men's draw definitely became a bit more interesting!

A Final Bow & a Final Blow

Most of the headlines covering today's action at Wimbledon focused on the fact that defending champion Venus Williams sailed through her first round in an easy seventy-eight minutes while Britain's best hope for a title, Andy Murray, himself survived a tough four-setter against American Robert Kendrick.

But there were some other results that merited just as much attention -- including a few performances that marked, or could mark, the end of some storied careers.

Former world #1 Marat Safin announced earlier that this would be his last year as a professional tennis player, and so of course, this would be his last Wimbledon. Though he is currently ranked twenty-fourth in the world he was given a generous fourteenth seed, thanks in part to his semifinal appearance here in 2008, and should have had a clear road to at least the fourth round.

His farewell tour hopes, however, were dashed when he met qualifier Jesse Levine in his first round. The twenty-one year old has only played in two non-challenger events this year, failing to make the main draws at Roland Garros or this month's Queen's Club, and had to win three matches just for the right to play Marat at Wimbledon. But that didn't stop him from bringing his A-game today. He kept his first serve percentage high and dominated the veteran Safin in winners. After four sets, Levine had sent the Russian home, his earliest exit since 2004 when he lost to Dmitry Tursonov.

Guess the Safin family's Wimbledon title hopes will have to rest with the younger sister.

Kimiko Date Krumm is another player who's no stranger to the grandeur of the All England Club. She's played in seven Wimbledons during her career -- the last one in 1996. The thirty-eight year old, once ranked fourth in the world, first made headlines this year when she survived three qualifying rounds in Melbourne to make the Grand Slam down under. In London she was pitted against Caroline Wozniacki, a girl who wasn't even born when Kimiko went pro.

Date Krumm held her own against Caroline, less than half her age, even taking the first set, 7-5 and grabbing an early break to lead in the second. But Wozniacki, who's already proven she's no slouch this year, rebounded in the clutch, winning the next five games and ceding only one more in the final set. After less than two hours, Kimiko's Wimbledon comeback was over.

She hasn't made any formal announcement about whether this will be her last appearance at the tournament, and given her obvious perseverance there's no need to believe she won't be back. But at the same time, you can't help but feel she walked off Court 2 for the last time this afternoon.

I worry that wonder if the same might be true of James Blake.

Of course you must know how it pains me to say so, but I fear the best is over for Blake. Yesterday's loss to Andreas Seppi marks his second straight opening round exit at a Grand Slam, and while he keeps raising my hopes by making the finals at Estoril and even advancing to the championship match at Queen's, he hasn't been able to convert where it counts.

It's now been nearly two years since his last title in New Haven. And just a few months away from turning thirty Blake's no spring chicken -- four of the top five players in the world are twenty-three or younger, and James is easily the oldest man in the top twenty, which admittedly says a lot about his staying power. Of course I hope he sticks around much longer and stays a healthy, competitive player. But as for being one of the best and hoping he captures his first Major title -- well, that might be asking too much.

Then again, if Kimiko's story doesn't inspire him to stick around, I don't know what will -- and as we all know, tennis is one sport in which anyone can mount a comeback!

Wimbledon Preview

There may be four official Grand Slam events in tennis, but across the world there's only one we call "The Championships".

It's no wonder, then, that a Wimbledon trophy carries a caché that even other Majors do not -- and that players and fans alike hold the games here in such high regard. There's something dignified, even regal, about this tournament -- and winners can truly be thought of as kings and queens of their sport.

In a tale not unlike the wending history of a European monarchy, last year we witnessed something of an uprising as one long-time ruler was unceremoniously dethroned by a foreign upstart and another staunchly pushed off advances by her wily sister.

But this year's tournament already promises an even more intriguing coup. Last year's king Rafael Nadal, officially -- and very disappointingly -- pulled out of Wimbledon on Friday afternoon, leaving the line of succession all twisted. You might think you know who's next in line, but like in any good revolution, there are bound to be surprises.

Women's Draw

Something seems to take over defending champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon. No matter what she's looked like all year, when she steps on the grass at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club she becomes a different player. She went straight from a third-round loss at the French Open last year to a victory here as the seventh seed. She won in 2007 while ranked thirty-first in the world, pulling off "upsets" over Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Maria Sharapova on her way.

This year she's trying to win her sixth title with a #3 ranking, the highest she's had in the tournament since 2002. And though she's suffered some upsets in recent weeks -- including another third round loss in Paris -- we all should know better than to count her out. Same with sister Sererna, runner-up last year and the number two seed in 2009. In fact there has only been one year this decade when neither of the two played in the final.



But there are plenty of others who want to make this the year the ruling family is unseated.

Top-ranked Dinara Safina has played in two straight Grand Slam championship matches and still hasn't come away with a title, which has to be frustrating. In the Netherlands this past week, she made her way to the semis before falling to veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn. She should have a few easy rounds at Wimbledon, but is lined up to meet former champion Amelie Mauresmo in the quarters fourth round. With her unfortunate tendency to fold under pressure -- sorry, but it's true -- I'm not sure she'll get too much farther.

Speaking of folding, the woman Dinara fell to in Paris -- Kuznetsova -- is in the same quarter of the draw. She was runner up here in 2005, when she lost to Lindsey Davenport, and has an easy first round against the #713 woman in the world, Akiko Morigami. But she could face Eastbourne champ Caroline Wozniacki for the quarters, and it's not easy to look past that Danish teenager.

For her part, Caroline has proven she can be a force on grass and clay, defeating some real competitors in the meantime. Her first opponent in London will be thirty-eight year old Kimiko Date Krumm, who made it all the way to the semifinal round in her last Wimbledon appearance -- in 1996. If Wozniacki survives she could face Safina or Kuznetsova before the semis.

Then there's Maria Sharapova who won her first of three Major titles here in 2004. After a nine-month absence she's proven to be a resilient competitor, making the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the semis at Birmingham. Despite the fact that she hasn't yet made her way back into the top fifty, she was granted the benefit of a 24th seed at Wimbledon. She's set to meet either Anastasiya Yakimova or Nadia Petrova in the third round, but that shouldn't be a problem -- she beat both in Paris. Her biggest threat would come from Serena, runner-up in 2004, who she might have to battle for a spot in the semis.

Men's Draw

As exciting as the women's bracket could get, I think the real fireworks will be reserved for the men.

By now we all know the story about how Rafael Nadal, once largely -- and unfairly -- criticized for being a force only on clay, dethroned Roger Federer, who was going for his sixth straight title at Wimbledon last year. When he followed that up with a victory in Melbourne, we all -- well, I -- started talking about how Rafa was destined to be the new King of Tennis. But then the unthinkable happened in Paris, followed by Nadal's decision to bow out here. (*Tear!*)

(Incidentally, did anyone notice how Rafa's had those four flames on his sneakers in Paris, one for each title he'd won there? Roger had something similar last year at the AELTC. Both lost on their respective homefields. Coincidence?)



It seems now that the path is clear for Roger to reclaim his spot at the top. But with the balance of men's tennis all upset, there's no telling what could happen in 2009. This could be the year Federer puts his record fifteenth Major trophy on his mantle, but it could just as easily be the year someone brand new gets crowned as champion.

Andy Murray is certainly one of the possible contenders. His win at Queen's Club a week ago ended a seventy-one British drought at the event, and gave him his first grass court title. Grudgingly I admit he's probably the best player -- man or woman -- without a Grand Slam title, and playing at home should be to his advantage. At the same time he's got a decent draw, but there could be some thorns in his side. He's got a potential fourth round matchup with Stanislas Wawrinka, who has a decent 3-4 record against Murray. And if he makes the semis, Juan Martin Del Potro -- who pulled off a major upset over the Brit in Madrid just last month -- could be waiting for him.

The other Andy -- Roddick -- could be the other man to watch. He started this year with a lot of hype, having lost some fifteen pounds, getting himself in better shape and getting to at least the quarters of every tournament he's played, except for Roland Garros. Even still he did have his best showing there, advancing to the second week on the clay court tourney for the first time in his career -- and Wimbledon is a surface he's much more comfortable on, making the finals twice before. Unfortunately he did suffer an ankle sprain during the semis in Queen's Club so might not be fully up to form to face Jeremy Chardy in the first round. The Frenchman's no slouch -- he's scored upsets over David Ferrer, Radek Stepanek and Mardy Fish all this year -- so Andy's going to have to be in good shape

Things to Watch

As with any Grand Slam tournament, there are always a few surprise stars who battle their way through to the second week. Dominika Cibulkova and Samantha Stosur did it at the French, but given some of their missteps on grass this past week, they may have to wait 'til clay court season rolls around again before they can make their mark.

On the other hand there have been a couple winners in the last few weeks that could make an impact. Tommy Haas, who took Federer's place as champion at Halle, took out Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Novak Djokovic on his way to the title. Seeded just below him at #25 is Eastbourne champ Dmitry Tursunov. Both should have easy first rounds, but Haas could face Nole again for the semis while Tursunov potentially has DelPo or even Lleyton Hewitt in the third round.

I'm also rooting for some youngsters to show their metal. Slovakian teenager Magdelena Rybarikova took her first title in Birmingham and French Open standout Sorana Cirstea will receive her first ever seeding at a major. But Maggie pulled out of 's-Hertogenbosch with a thigh strain and Sorana lost early to eventual finalist Yanina Wickmayer. It'll definitely be a struggle, but I can't wait to watch them try to pull it off!

And just hours from the start of the greatest tournament in tennis, I'm hoping for a fantastic two weeks as we watch the battle to crown this year's king and queen!

Stay tuned!

The Last Leg

Now that we've all had time to digest the Big News from yesterday, it's time to look past our supreme disappointment that we won't see a repeat of last year's greatest game and remember that there are some people who actually had a thing of two to celebrate this week.

In only the second week of grass court warm-ups before Wimbledon kicks off on Monday, a slew of players turned up at the AEGON International and Ordina Open. While a ton of seeds were eliminated early, a couple did manage to fight their way into the latter part of the week, joined by a couple of newcomers looking to make their names known.

In Eastbourne the Canadian qualifier who took out top-seeded Igor Andreev in the first round, backed up his strong start by making it all the way to the finals. Frank Dancevic made his second career final by beating Fabrice Santoro in the semis on Friday. There he faced the second seed, twenty-seventh ranked Dmitry Tursunov, who'd put together back-to-back wins for only the second time this season. Though the younger Dancevic held his own, he wasn't able to earn himself even one break point on the Russian's serve, and allowed Dmitry his first grass court title.

The women's draw was upset even more, as neither Elena Dementieva nor French Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova made it out of the second round. Dementieva's vanquisher, Virginie Razzano, continued her success by subsequently taking out Aggie Radwanska and Marion Bartoli, while Aleksandra Wozniak, who'd defeated Svets, succumbed to sort-of namesake Caroline Wozniacki. The Danish teenager, who's already won one title and made three finals this year, continued her very successful run and took home championship #4, despite dropping her serve three times.

A little further west in the Netherlands, it looked like last year's winner David Ferrer might have had an easy road to repeat when both Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo lost in the first few rounds. But when he lost in the quarters, it seemed the title was up for grabs. Eventually qualifier Benjamin Becker and wildcard Raemon Sluiter made it to the finals, neither of whom had ever won a tournament. Becker, who originally made a name for himself and distinguished himself from the more-famous Boris when he ousted Andre Agassi from the 2006 U.S. Open, hadn't been able to capitalize on his early success -- until today, when he won his first trophy in straight sets over Sluiter.

The women's final at the Ordina Open was also populated by some surprising names. Though world #1 Dinara Safina advanced easily in her first two rounds, she was shocked by Tamarine Tanasugarn in the semis -- incidentally the same woman who'd beaten her in the finals last year. On the bottom half Estoril champion Yanina Wickmayer, who's had a great two-month run, defeated Roland Garros stand-out Sorana Cirstea and former top-twenty player Francesca Schiavone on her way to the finals. But the more experienced Tanasugarn was too much for Yanina, and she claimed her third career title in straight sets.

All this week's winners will have a tough road at Wimbledon, Rafa or no Rafa. But their break-through wins on grass certainly could give them a lot of encouragement. These days, it doesn't seem anyone's really a favorite -- and anything really can happen.

Congrats to all, and good luck!

Trippin' Up & Steppin' Up

Today I spent the afternoon on a different kind of grass court, the grounds of the U.S. Open golf tournament, which only served to get me more excited for Wimbledon! But I wasn't quite expecting the kind of action we've seen this week -- in the last warm-up tournaments before The Championships begin on Monday, more seeds have dropped than during a windstorm in a field full of dandelions.

First there's the Ordina Open, being held in that place in the Netherlands no one can pronounce -- 's-Hertogenbosch. Clay court specialists Fernando Verdasco and Tommy Robredo took the top spots in the men's draw, but they were respectively defeated by Benjamin Becker and Marcos Baghdatis, both of whom are just barely ranked in double-digits. While the women had slightly better luck -- Dinara Safina and Flavia Pennetta are still alive -- French Open quarterfinalist Sorana Cirstea and semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova weren't as lucky. In Eastbourne top seed Elena Dementieva, Roland Garros champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and former #1 Jelena Jankovic were all eliminated in the first two rounds while Igor Andreev and Paul-Henri Mathieu were both ousted early in the men's draw -- it's just a disappointment after such a disappointing start.



While we could write off some of these performances to nerves leading up to the biggest tournament of the year, others are slightly more disturbing. I'm a huge fan of Dementieva, but after a perfect start to the year and three final appearances in her first four tournaments, she's struggled recently, sneaking past Jelena Dokic in Paris before losing to Samantha Stosur. Jelena Jankovic may have earned a title in Marbella, Spain, but she's also been upset by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Gisela Dulko, and most recently Sorana Cirstea. And after Verdasco's breakthrough performance in Melbourne, he's now only won one match on grass.

I don't mean to say that these stars' careers are over -- far from it! But the pains of these top players will certainly open the door for others who wish to advance at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. The two top seeds at Wimbledon, announced earlier today, Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina are surely feeling a little relieved. Both obviously were disappointed with the outcome in Paris, and any leeway they might be able to secure will surely be appreciated. Rafa certainly wants to make up for the loss on his home turf while Dinara, well, just wants to win one!

Then there's Maria Sharapova, who's climbed her way back to #59 in the world after a nine-month injury-induced absense. Her past performances in London have granted her the twenty-fourth seed in the draw. And Dinara's brother Marat, who's finally announced that this will be his last year on tour, was rewarded with the fifteenth fourteenth seed, eight spots above his ranking. Both of them must be happy with the way things are shaping up.



There are just a few more days before The Championships start, and things are sure to get even more interesting. Be sure to come back to find out my picks to take it all home!