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| Rafael Nadal |
The early and surprising exit of No.2 Seed Rafael
Nadal signaled that anything can happen on the Wimbledon grass. But most
of the big guns are still firing, including seven of the top ten seeds.
The Top Ten
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| Novak Djokovic |
No.1 Seed and Defending Champion Novak Djokovic still hasn’t shown his best stuff,
but he is still the man to beat going into the second week of Wimbledon. He has
Viktor
Troicki in the Round of 16.
 |
| Viktor Troicki |
Troicki, a fellow Serb, downed No.15 Seed Juan Monaco
in the previous round in straight sets, but I suspect he won’t be moving past “Da
Djkoka.” Troicki has lost the last 11 times the two have played.
 |
| Roger Federer |
No.3 Seed Roger Federer is still holding onto the hope of
claiming a seventh Wimbledon title, after hanging tough through five sets with Julien
Benneteau. After taking the first two sets, and losing the third, Benneteau
was within points of stymieing Roger’s quest, but Roger gutted out the 8-6, fourth-set
tiebreak, and cruised in the fifth.
 |
| Xavier Malisse |
Federer will face Xavier
Malisse, himself a five-set survivor against No.17 Seed Fernando
Verdasco. Federer holds a 9-1 record over Malisse, and the one loss came 13
years ago. Anything can happen on court, but Roger should make the Quarters.
 |
| Andy Murray |
No.4 Seed Andy Murray
dropped the second set en route to his four-set victory over Marcos
Baghdatis, and will battle No.16 Seed Marin Cilic
next.
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| Marin Cilic |
Cilic outlasted unseeded American Sam Querrey
in the second longest match in Wimbledon history, taking the fifth and final
set 17-15. Murray has won five of the six times the two have played, including the
only one on grass, and should get past Cilic to the Quarters.
 |
| Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
No.5 Seed Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga downed unseeded and 60th-ranked Lukas Lacko
in three straight, but should have quite a bit more work to do in his first
match of Week 2. Tsonga faces No.10 Seed Mardy Fish,
who took out unseeded, French Open crowd favorite David
Goffin in three sets, the final two in tiebreaks.
 |
| Mardy Fish |
Fish gutted out a
five-setter in the previous round against British qualifier James Ward,
and may be more battle tested than Tsonga, who has lost just one set thus far.
This match has Match-of-the-Day potential.
 |
| David Ferrer |
No.7 Seed David
Ferrer continued his march into Week 2 by defeating No.30 Seed Andy
Roddick in four sets. Ferrer dropped the first set and allowed the second
to get to a tiebreak to give the Roddick fans hope. But Ferrer won the tiebreak, and the
final two sets weren’t really in question.
 |
| Juan Martin Del Potro |
Ferrer goes up against No.9 Juan Martin
Del Potro who, without much fanfare, has eased his way into Week 2.
Delpotro dispatched No.19 Kei
Nishikori in straight sets, with the only challenge there a tiebreak in Set
2. Ferrer has won four of the six times the two have met, including the only
time on grass, but that was in 2008. Del Potro is a much different player today
and has the potential to blow anyone off the court if he’s on.
My advice to Ferrer? Win the first set. Del Potro’s win
percentage is over 90% when he wins the first, and under 30% after losing the
first. Ferrer’s record after winning and losing the first set is almost
identical, so that first set is critical for these two. Neither has been past
the Round of 16, although Ferrer has been there three times and Del Potro just
once. This is one of the more intriguing matchups of the next round.
Other Americans
 |
| Brian Baker |
Previously unheralded and unseeded Brian Baker,
ranked 126th in the world at the start of Wimbledon, is the only
American man to join Mardy Fish for Wimbledon’s second week. Baker is surely hoping
to capitalize on Rafael Nadal’s
absence at the bottom of the draw.
 |
| Phillipp Kohlschreiber |
Baker will take on No.27 Seed Philipp
Kohlschreiber in his effort to reach the Quarters. Kohlschreiber will be
the obvious favorite, especially with a win over Nadal in Halle a few weeks
ago.
 |
| Sam Querrey |
As noted above, Sam Querrey
was on the comeback trail but was derailed by No. 16 Seed Marin Cilic.
Querrey had bested No.21 Seed Milos
Raonic in four tough sets in Round 2, but couldn’t outlast the determined
Cilic in that 17-15 final set.
The two played three tiebreaks, with Querrey
winning two. Perhaps at the U.S. Open, where the fifth set goes to a tiebreak,
Querrey might have pulled it off. Instead, he gets the ole “Good try ole boy” and
perhaps a boost of confidence to help him along on his comeback.
Fish and Baker are two American feel good stories remaining on the men's side, but we all know this comes down to Novak, Roger, Murray and Tsonga. I hate to drop the Niles Jinx on the two I think will play for it, soooooo...Game, set, match. T. A.
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