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Kim has been saddled with injuries but is still a threat
WIMBLEDON – Kim Clijsters will retire after the US Open, and has three more big events ahead of her to reestablish her Hall of Fame form: Wimbledon, the Olympics and the US Open. Some see this tournament as the start of a retirement ceremony for Clijsters, but I don
Despite numerous injuries Hewitt is still dangerous on grass
FROM MATT CRONIN AT WIMBLEDON
MEN
JO-WILFRIED TSONGA VS. LLEYTON HEWITT
I am going with an upset here of the No. 5 seed, which is I realize appears to be improbable on paper , but not when you consider that the Frenchman is playing with an injured finger and 2002 champion Hewitt is a fantastic player on grass and has shown over the two years that he can walk into Slams and play well even when he
Berdych, the 2010 finalist, has matured.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC VS. JUAN CARLOS FERRERO This match might be complicated for a while as Ferrero is skilled veteran who can still play well in patches, but Djokovic does everything a little better than he does and will come through in three sets, two of them which will be tight. This might be former NO. 1 JCF’s last Wimby so take glance while you still can.
MARIA SHARAPOVA VS. ANASTASIA RODIONOVA Who would have thought that after Victoria Azarenka thrashed her in the Aussie and Indian Wells finals that the Russian would begin to develop the look of a player that could stay at No.1 for a decent stretch? Rodionova is too inconsistent to stay with Sharapova and will fall quickly, and loudly, given her temper.
TOMAS BERDYCH VS. ERNESTS GULBIS The All England club did a good job of picking this match as the third one on Centre as if Gulbis pays well he can make this a tight and very entertaining contest. Let
Novak is the favorite, but after his RG loss to Nadal, not by much.
Wimbledon will begin on Monday and outside of the Big 3 it doesn’t seem like there are any other real title contenders. Here is a breakdown.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: It cannot be said that the defending Wimbledon champion is back on “his familiar lawns” as it could be about Federer or a Pete Sampras. But what can be said is that he’s back on a faster surface than red clay and one that he does not have to slide into shots on. With his loss to Nadal in the Roland Garros final, he no longer looks impenetrable at the majors, but he played the Spaniard very tough, so until Nadal shows that he can beat him on faster surface again, the Serbian remains the favorite. He will attack more on grass and his bullet of a backhand is still more lethal than the rest of the field’s is. But he sure as heck better play better than he did against Seppi and Tsonga at RG or this time he might not escape a loss prior to the final weekend.
RAFAEL NADAL: As Nadal reminded us time and time again last year, no player can sustain near perfect play forever and that
A young 31, Federer can take inspiration from Connors. MALCOLM TAAM PHOTO
Chris Bowers sees Roger Federer falter in the final of his Wimbledon warm-up tournament, but says the Swiss can take comfort from the role Jimmy Connors played in world tennis 30 years ago.
HALLE – Ever feel like Roger Federer is the new Jimmy Connors? Not an obvious parallel to draw, perhaps, but as he prepares for what sometimes feels like the last Grand Slam tournament he has a realistic chance of winning, Federer could well be playing the same role as Connors played in the early 1980s.
Connors had been the big, brash new kid on the block who had bludgeoned his way past the ageing illustrious names who were tennis
Vika run at No. 1 is over - for now. MAL TAAM
Maria’s Sharapova’s first Roland Garros title and ascension to No. 1 makes her a strong contender for the Wimbledon title and may even give her enough confidence to knock off her nemesis, Serena Williams, should they meet on the grass. Sharapova’s improved movement, recommitment to the swing volley and more consistent serving should aid her on the lawns.
Here’s a look at some of the major players and what’s ahead during the grasscourt season.
VICTORIA AZARENKA: Imagine the amount of steam that came off of Azarenka’s ears when she heard that Sharapova has seized the No. 1 ranking from her. The two are not friendly and are quite competitive with each other. So now after four and a half months in the top spot where the world got a whiff of her forceful personality, Azarenka has been pushed back into Sharapova’s very large celebrity shadow.
Hopefully, it will motivate her to start competing well again, because she did not against Cibulkova at RG. If she can get her head on straight and pick up her first serve percentage she should be a huge threat to win her first Wimbledon title.
AGA RADWANSKA: What mess of a Roland Garros when Svetlana Kuznetsova crushed her. The Pole came into the event after winning Brussels, scored a solid win over a slow moving Venus Williams and then could not figure out how to deal with Kuznetsova’s topspin. Her counterpunching abilities should better serve her at Wimbledon, but she’s lacking confidence at big events.
PETRA KVITOVA: Getting to the semifinals was positive for the struggling Czech, but she didn
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both warmed up for Wimbledon this week by playing on grass in Halle, Germany. It
