Wimbledon: A Preview

By: Adam Wilson

It’s that time of the year again! The tennis world has cleaned clay off their shoes and recovered from the slow and bouncy French Open. Once again Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal finished up another major in a Championship match-up. And once again, Nadal defeated Federer on clay to win his 3^rd consecutive French Open. But now the surfaces, and maybe fortunes, reverse.The apex of the grass season is here as the players take to the courts of Wimbledon for a fortnight (this is probably the only time where it is appropriate for me to say fortnight!) The French clay is very slow and benefits defense. The English grass is very fast and is advantageous for the aggressor.

The Men’s Field

Roger Federer is attempting to win his 5^th consecutive Championship. I can’t think of any reason to believe that he won’t. He has not had any significant challenge during his 4-year reign - twice he has beaten Andy Roddick and once Rafael Nadal in the finals. There just isn’t anyone who can beat him on his favorite surface.

Federer’s game is perfect for the grass: he loves to take the ball low and return it low, so the slick grass plays right to his strength; his serve-volley game is as good as we have seen since Pete Sampras’ Wimbledon dominance. Surprisingly though, Federer prefers to hang back around the baseline even on fast surfaces. I guess if it has worked so far, he might as well keep doing it.

Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal are the two guys most likely to upset Federer. Roddick, like other Americans, is miserable on slow surfaces like clay, but the courts here are ideal for his power serves and ground strokes. Unfortunately, if he does play Federer (which would be in the semifinals) it’s hard to see how he would stand a chance. Federer is just too skilled to get beat by a one-dimensional player. Nadal, on the other hand, can be spectacular and gave Federer a run for his money in the 2006 finals. Nadal’s serve has improved vastly over the past 2 years, and he has the athletic ability to keep the balls low. He prefers the slow clay surfaces, but has done well on grass too - simply proving how fantastic he is. Unfortunately, he wears Capri pants on the court… which is, well… unfortunate.

There are a number of other men who could make a decent run to the semis. Lleyton Hewitt generally plays well here, but he has been injured lately. Look for Novak Djokovic - one of the tour’s upcoming stars - to challenge as well, but neither have much of a chance to win. The top three seeds (Federer, Nadal, Roddick) are just too good.

The Women’s Field

On the Women’s side the Championship race is a little more open. Justine Henin is the top seed, but she has never won at Wimbledon - like Nadal, her favorite surface is clay. But also like Nadal, she is talented enough to win anywhere. Amelie Mauresmo, last year’s champion, has been playing well lately, too (apart from her French Open loss). The Williams Sisters are formidable opponents at Wimbledon as well, both having won multiple times. At this point, it’s hard to bet against Serena, who appears to be regaining her confidence.

But Maria Sharapova, a past winner, has a game built for grass and is my pick to win it all. She hits hard and plays good defense, and I think she should make an easy run to the finals before running into any trouble. Apart from being a great tennis player, she will infuriate everyone she plays against (and most who watch her play) by screaming during every swing.

In the end…

The weather will most likely make this event feel a bit rushed, as rain has already delayed first-round action twice. This is an advantage for the more fit players, as they will most likely have to play consecutive days later in the tournament. It should be exciting, especially as we get closer to the finals and the talent level steps up.

If you’re taking notes (or betting advice) go with Federer over Nadal for the men, and in the women’s draw take Sharapova over… well, anybody besides Henin. I’ll be back in a couple weeks (or should I say a fortnight?!) to check my predictions and recap what happened.

Tags: Amelie Mauresmo, Andy Roddick, Justine Henin, Lleyton Hewitt, Maria Sharapova, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis, Venus Williams, Wimbledon

Adam Wilson not only lives in Cincinnati...but is also 87% sure that Jay Bruce can heal the blind. He also is the editor of Letters on Pages, a non-fiction book review website, where you can find the review you just read and many more!

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