1. ANOTHER CLASSIC?: Incredibly the last two Wimbledon men’s finals have produced two of the most memorable matches in tennis history: the 2008 (“where’s my light meter?) “Battle in the Dusk” in which Rafael Nadal finally prevailed over Roger Federer, and last year’s “Marathon for the Masses,” in which Federer prevailed over the (heroic in defeat) Andy Roddick. So this year can Wimbledon possibly pull off a three-peat with another classic final?
2. FUN OR FOLLY FOR FED?: Recently Federer said he was playing just for fun. But, some of his results have been less than joyous as he has suffered losses at the hands of high-ranked or once famous players (Nadal, Robin Soderling, Lleyton Hewitt) or less than iconic troopers (Marcos Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis, Tomas Berdych, Alberto Montanes). So, the once dominant Fed seems to have a bit of a hitch in his giddy-up. Yes, he won that little tournament called the Australian Open and reached the Madrid final, still he suffered relatively early exits in Indian Wells and Miami and his clay court results were, except for reaching the Madrid final, quite modest. Plus, he lost to Hewitt in the grass court warm-up in Halle. Still, with a user friendly draw and all that experience and savvy few contend he can’t defend his “W” at Wimbledon and raise the trophy for a record seventh time to tie Pete Sampras and William Renshaw for the record?
3. RAFA ROCKS?: No other clay-meister since Bjorn Borg has taken so adeptly to the lawns of England. But, coming off his (“take that Monsieur Soderling”) Roland Garros win, Rafa struggled a bit. Similarly, Spain’s beloved World Cup soccer team has been under-achieving in grassy arenas in South Africa. Which begs the question, can Spaniard Nadal again (just slightly) overachieve on England’s greatest grass court?
4. ANDY AT LAST?: Who can forget Roddick’s truly gallant loss last year when he had an open volley on a second set set point to take massive control of the final against Fed. But ‘twas not to be. A-Rod flubbed the not-that-easy high backhand shot. He soldiered on bravely and boldly battled before falling 5-7, 7-6 7-6 3-6, 18-16 to the Swiss. Rarely has a loss in tennis produced more sympathy. But surely the one-time wonder, Austin Andy, wants to at last harvest the Wimbledon trophy, not just good will on July 4th. Too bad to even reach the final he may have to get through the likes of Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic or Hewitt, and a fellow named Fed.
5. THE WILLIAMS FACTOR: The Williams family clearly is a force of tennis nature and grass certainly is Venus’ fave. (She has five Wimbledon titles.) Still, baby sister Serena downed “V” in last year’s final, is now the top seed and has a much more challenging draw then Venus. Serena starts out in what could be the loudest match in tennis history when she plays super shrieker Michelle Larcher De Brito. And, to get to the quarters she may have to pass Maria Sharapova and Li Na or Svetlana Kuznetsova. And yes, she and Venus (whose up and down singles results are more than curious) are prohibitive favorites to win their 5th doubles grand slam in a row.
6. JUSTINE JUSTICE?: Little miss “Impossible is Nothing” Justine Henin un-retired in significant measure in order to try and catch the one fish she wasn’t able to reel in – the Wimbledon title. Her comeback by any standard (except the one set by her Belgian rival – Kim Clijsters) has been just fine, thank you very much. But “just fine” doesn’t cut it with Justine or her critics. She is doing well in the warm-ups but can she heat it up on Centre Court and claim her eighth major and first Wimbledon?
6. TREND BUSTERS: The Wimbledon men’s title is the major title that is most frequently defended. Still there have been some occasional breakthroughs on centre court. Think teen Sharapova in 2004 and Boris Becker in 1985. But, such stunning runs are rare. If there is a break out performance against the prevailing trend will it have a geographic bent to it, like Li of China or Aussie Sam Stosur? Or, will it be generational? In an era increasingly dominated by battle tested vets, will a teen like Caroline Wozniacki, the U.S. Open finalist possibly breakthrough? Or, will we see a reverse in fortune as some very troubled players use the All-England Club courts to reverse, to some degree, their downward spirals. Think: Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka or even James Blake. (Plus, there are plenty of free-form stars to capture our attention. Sharapova may be ready for a long run in a major, if she can get by Serena and Mama Clijsters (and her wonder daughter) are always worth watching, as are the American twin towers Sam Querrey and John Isner.
7. MURRAYMANIA: For the first time ever there is not an English gentlemen (or even an English rogue) in the Wimbledon main draw, but Scot Andy Murray, seeded fourth, will be the focus of the usual (“the hopes of a nation are upon his slim shoulders”) hysteria. Look for Murray to be on Centre Court on Thursday June 24, when the Queen is in the Royal Box. But, can the royal magic rub off on the less-then-confident Murray who has been in a bit of a funk since reaching the Aussie Open final?
9. OF QUEENS AND QUIRKS: No other major has the delightful quirkiness of Wimbledon. Risque costumes, centre court streakers and more idiosyncracies then you could possibly cram into a bowl of strawberries and cream. So what will be the greatest quirk of this year’s (Ascot meets Monty Python) happening and will it relate to the Queen’s appearance?
10. BROTHERLY LOVE: Mike and Bob Bryan have now tied Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde with a record of sixty-one tour doubles titles. Can the No. 2 seeds prevail and claim the most team titles in the Open Era?
