Projected Winners in BOLD Ladies’ Semifinal Predictions Marion Bartoli (FRA) [15] v Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) [20] – Bartoli is one of the most unorthodox players on tour. She also plays well on grass. These two factors have me thinking she will reach her second Wimbledon final. If 007 shows up, forget about it. Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] v Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] –…
Category: Grass Court Tennis
Wimbledon 2013: Gentlemen’s Quarterfinal Predictions
Projected Winners in BOLD Gentlemen’s Quarterfinal Predictions David Ferrer (ESP) [4] v Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) [8] – This match features a major contrast in playing style and stature. Despite all of the differences, this match is nearly a 50-50 proposition. Ferrer’s Grand Slam record over the past 52 weeks is 20-3. JMDP is an underdog, but I…
Wimbledon 2013: Ladies’ Quarterfinal Predictions
Projected Winners in BOLD Ladies’ Quarterfinal Matches Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4] v Na Li (CHN) [6] – This match is a microcosm of this entire round. Plausible cases can be made for either player advancing. Na Li has reached 3 Grand Slam finals including a victory at the 2011 French Open. Radwanska has her near miss at the 2012…
Wimbledon 2013: Gentlemen’s Sweet 16 Predictions
Predicted Winners in BOLD Gentlemen’s Singles Round of 16 Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] v Tommy Haas (GER) [13] – After Novak’s semifinal loss in Roland Garros, I thought he would be hard to stop at Wimbledon. Nothing has changed my perspective on that. Oddly, he does have a tough road to the title as Haas and Berdych have both…
Wimbledon 2013: Ladies’ Sweet 16 Predictions
Predicted Winners in BOLD Ladies’ Singles Round of 16 Serena Williams (USA) [1] v Sabine Lisicki (GER) [23] – Lisicki is a talented grass court player. If she happened to be in the bottom half of the draw, she’d have a decent look at the final. Instead she will likely be beaten in straight sets, but I expect one…
What is at Stake for the Wimbledon Sweet 16
Group 1 – Climbing the All Time Ladder Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is the only member of this group. A second Wimbledon title would give Nole 7 major titles and a good foundation for finishing a third consecutive year ranked number 1 in the world. 7 majors would, to my mind, place Novak ahead of Boris…
Top 10 Gentlemen’s Championship Matches #10-#8
This Top 10 List is Based on Matches I have actually seen. I was four years old and did not see McEnroe vs. Borg in 1980 therefore I can’t rate it. This is also purely subjective as each of these matches have their merit. 10. 2000 Pete Sampras d. Patrick Rafter 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2…
Roger Federer and a Racquet Change
Honest Assessment Roger Federer has had a few stretches in his career in which decline looked to be steep and imminent. 2008 was the first of these patches. Novak Djokovic rolled Roger in the Australian Open semifinal round. Federer was beaten soundly by Mardy Fish in the semifinal round of Indian Wells. Nadal thrashed Federer…
Wimbledon 2013: Day 5 Predictions
Projected Winners in BOLD Mikhail Youzhny (20) vs. Viktor Troicki – Youzhny is slightly more likely to win a very tough match to predict. Jurgen Melzer vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky – Once again, this is hard to predict, but I’ll take Melzer. Ernests Gulbis vs. Fernando Verdasco – This match is like a random number generator. There is no way to even guess what it…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 