NOTE: This is my own version of draw analysis on 2010 Wimbledon. In this self-version of draw analysis, I will pick who I think will be 2010 Wimbledon Women's Champion.
The third Grand Slam event at All England Club is commencing. And going into fortnight, we will be all thrilled of great matches and stunning upsets. Of course, the spectators are excited to witness what Wimbledon has to offer in this year's competition.
With top seed and world No.1 Serena Williams is back to defend her crown after beating her elder sister Venus Williams in the finals last year. The first week will be tricky for each and every player in the draw as they will try to came on out on top to be able to progress until they claim the most coveted crown in the tour.
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| Serena Williams 2009 Wimbledon Ladies' Champion |
The women's field currently dominated by the Williams sisters is overwhelmingly favorite for the crown. They compiled eight Wimbledon singles crown, five for Venus (three times runner-up) and three for Serena (two times runner-up). They contested for the title four times since 2002. Also, they reached the finals since 2000, except for 2006, where Justine Henin was defeated by now-retired Amelie Mauresmo in three sets. With such kind of records, it is indeed that the Williams sisters dominated the grass court at All England Club for almost 10 years.
There are numerous of hopefuls who will try to break such achievement. Though, the women's field is currently dominated by the veterans, the breakthrough for the youngsters are within their reach if they are capable to be tough mentally. The Belgians are coming back for specific purpose, that is, to capture the Wimbledon crown that eluding them. So do they have a shot for the Wimbledon title?
The Quarters - Part 1
The top seed S.Williams opens her title defense against teen phenom Michelle Larcher de Brito. Can Larcher de Brito match Serena's power? Maybe. Maybe not. How about the high-pitched shriek? Well, hoping there will be no controversy that will arise. Serena may avoid an upset going into third round with a little challenge from possible encounter with 2010 Unicef Open finalist Andrea Petkovic, former world No.5 Anna Chakvetadze, 2008 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tamarine Tanasugarn, Japanese Ayumi Morita, 2009 French Open semifinalist Dominika Cibulkova, and No.25 seed Lucie Safarova.
The real battle may start in the fourth round where the defending champion could meet former No.1 and Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, who opens her match against lucky loser Anastasia Pivovarova. Before a potential meeting with Serena, Sharapova could have a possible encounter with No.24 seed Daniela Hantuchova, who opens her match against American Vania King.
In the bottom half of this quarter, No.9 seed Li Na, the 2010 AEGON Classic champion, who is seeking for her maiden Grand Slam title, plays her opening match against South African wildcard Chanelle Scheepers. Li could possibly meet No.19 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round. Kuznetsova, whose been out of the top ten after failing to defend her 2009 French Open title, plays her first round match against Akgul Amanmuradova. If she advanced, she could take on British hopeful Anne Keothavong in the second round. The winner of Li and Kuznetsova matchup will have a possible encounter with No.7 seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who opens her match against Hungarian Melinda Czink.
Sharapova is trailing 5-2 in career meeting against Serena and hasn't scored a win over the American since 2004. This will be an exciting match and Sharapova will try to replicate the victory that lift her to the pinnacle of women's tennis. If the No.16 seed progresses, she could meet Li, her conqueror at Queen's Club where she was downed in straight sets, for the place in the semifinals. Surely, Serena have a tough task to be done against Sharapova and it's all done after that. Anyone who can spoil the party?
Semifinalist: S.Williams
Player to watch: Scheepers, a wildcard awardee who plays her first round match against Li. Can she do another dream run at All England Club as what she did at Roland Garros where she reach fourth round?
Player to watch: Scheepers, a wildcard awardee who plays her first round match against Li. Can she do another dream run at All England Club as what she did at Roland Garros where she reach fourth round?
The Quarters - Part 2
Caroline Wozniacki, the No.3 seed, has been doing better at the Grand Slam event since 2007 where she entered the main draw. At the start of 2010 WTA season, she's on a roll to collect more titles until she injured her ankle at 2010 Family Circle Cup. Since then, she's been producing mediocre results but it doesn't hindered her to reach quarterfinals at 2010 French Open where she lost to eventual champion Francesca Schiavone.
This part of the draw is wide open and whoever produced consistent results will secure the semifinal spot. No.3 seed Wozniacki will play her opening match against Italian Tathiana Garbin. If Wozniacki holds, she will meet the winner of the clash of the teens between Kai-chen Chang of Taipei and Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. For the place in the fourth round, a possible encounter with teen Russian and No.29 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who is 0-3 against the Dane and plays her opening match against Czech Iveta Benesova.
In the fourth round, the anticipated match between close friends Wozniacki and No.14 seed Victoria Azarenka, with head-to-head record tied at 2-2, is looming. Azarenka is in hot form after reaching finals at 2010 AEGON International where she was defeated by Ekaterina Makarova, as she opens her campaign against doubles specialist Mirjana Lucic and where she could meet No.23 seed and 2008 Wimbledon semifinalist Jie Zheng in the third round.
Meanwhile, 2010 French Open finalist and No.6 seed Samantha Stosur plays her opening round against Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi. Stosur, who never past beyond third round, will most likely get better of her results. A potential third round encounter with either British wildcard Heather Watson, who plays her first round match agaisnt Italian qualifier Romina Sarina Oprandi, or No.31 seed Alexandra Dulgheru, who plays 1996 Wimbledon semifinalist Kimiko Date Krumm in the opening round. Date Krumm, who shocked former world No.1 Dinara Safina, who withdrew in this event due to injury, in the first round of this year's French Open, is the oldest player in the draw.
Stosur's will need to work hard if she faces either No.18 seed Aravane Rezai, who plays Magdalena Rybarikova in the first round, or No.10 seed Flavia Pennetta, who plays against Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues in her opening match, for a place in the fourth round. The potential meeting between Rezai and Pennetta in the third round could be spoiled by Argentine Gisela Dulko.
In the quarterfinals, Stosur could potentially meet either No.3 seed Wozniacki with a draw head-to-head record at 2-2, or No.14 seed Azarenka, where Stosur yet to score a win over Azarenka in three meetings. But considering the forms of these three, the two youngsters are just recovered from injury, while Stosur is in red-hot form. Given that, Stosur will high likely turn the tables around and progress.
Semifinalist: Stosur
Player to watch: Watson, a wildcard from Great Britain who plays her opening match against Italian qualifier Oprandi. British has the reason to hope and cheer for.
Player to watch: Watson, a wildcard from Great Britain who plays her opening match against Italian qualifier Oprandi. British has the reason to hope and cheer for.
The Quarters - Part 3
The Belgians are back at All England Club. Coming out from retirement, they already produced good results. Kim Clijsters, won her second Grand Slam title at US Open in 2009, while Henin reached 2010 Australian Open final losing to Serena. Though, these results are not consistent enough, it still shows that they can still compete at the highest level.
The potential fourth round meeting between Clijsters and Henin is much anticipated in the quarter of the draw. Clijsters, who is defeated by Henin in the semifinals in 2006, is seeking her first Wimbledon crown.
The No.8 seed, who opens her campaign against unseeded Italian Maria Elena Camerin, is looking forward to set up a potential third round clash with No.27 seed Maria Kirilenko. Kirilenko, who upset Sharapova at this year's Australian Open, will be playing against unseeded Swiss Miss Stefanie Voegele. Can she pull an upset when she has a losing record against the Belgian?
On the other hand, Henin will play her first round match against 2010 Estoril Open Champion Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia. If she progress, she will book a potential meeting with No.12 seed Nadia Petrova in the third round. Petrova, who is 2-13 against Henin, will try to spoil the fourth round clash of the two Belgians.
Clijsters and Henin have a draw head-to-head record with 12 match wins a piece and contested their sole meeting at Wimbledon in 2006 where Henin emerged the victor. The potential round of 16 matchup will split their career meetings as their rivalry continues and has a shot to combat with the Williams sisters for the title.
In the bottom half of this quarter, Jelena Jankovic will play teen British hopeful Laura Robson. The No.4 seed who was beaten by teen American Melanie Oudin in the third round last year and looks to avenge that loss to another teen. Though, the Serb was thrashed out in the semifinals at Roland Garros by No.6 seed Stosur, she never gets past beyond fourth round.
Jankovic, faces a number of dark horses on her way to the semifinals. A potential second round meeting with unseeded Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak and a potential third round clash with No.28 seed Alona Bondarenko, who plays her opening match against British wildcard Katie O'Brien.
Vera Zvonareva, the No.21 seed, could face 2009 Wimbledon Girls Champion Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the second round and a potential meeting with No.15 seed Yanina Wickmayer in the third round, who opens her match against American wildcard Alison Riske. Riske's dream run at 2010 AEGON Classic is a good momentum going at All England Club. Can she do some damage in the draw?
If Jankovic wipes out the floaters on her way to third round, a potential clash with either No.21 seed Zvonareva or No.15 seed Wickmayer is looming for a place in the quarterfinals. Can Jankovic go beyond round of 16?
If Jankovic advanced, she sets up a potential quarterfinal meeting with either Clijsters, who leads Jankovic 6-1, or Henin, who has 10-0 advantage Jankovic, for a spot in the semifinals. Jankovic, with losing records against both Belgians, is in serious trouble and most likely Grand Slam campaign might end here.
Semifinalist: Clijsters
Player to watch: Riske, an American wildcard awardee who open up her first round match against Belgian Wickmayer whom she upset at 2010 AEGON Classic quarterfinal match. Can she cause some damage in the draw? Can she beat Wickmayer for the second time around?
Player to watch: Riske, an American wildcard awardee who open up her first round match against Belgian Wickmayer whom she upset at 2010 AEGON Classic quarterfinal match. Can she cause some damage in the draw? Can she beat Wickmayer for the second time around?
The Quarters - Part 4
The 2010 French Open Champion and No.5 seed Francesca Schiavone, starts her Wimbledon campaign against unseeded Russian Vera Dushevina. Schiavone may have an easy path through third round with a little bit of trick if she faces British hopeful Melanie South, where she also faces the hometown crowd or possibly 2010 French Open quarterfinalist and No.30 seed Yaroslava Shvedova. But, if she still carry the momentum that give her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, it will be an easy task for the No.5 seed.
However, the Italian might be facing some serious trouble going into fourth round as she could possible face 2007 Wimbledon runner-up and No.11 seed Marion Bartoli, who plays her first round match against unseeded German Julia Goerges and a potential second round meeting with another British hopeful and unseeded Elena Baltacha. Bartoli is 1-4 against Schiavone and play their sole Wimbledon match last year where the Italian won in straight sets.
The No.2 seed V.Williams is looking to add her sixth Wimbledon title to her collection as she start her campaign against unseeded Rossana De Los Rios. She will possibly take on either unseeded Hungarian Agnes Szavay or 2010 AEGON International Champion Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. Venus could be untouchable in her two previous round but a potential third round meeting with No.26 Alisa Kleybanova will threat her Wimbledon campaign, as the big hitting Russian can match Venus' power but the real contest will be on mental toughness. Venus, who often choke to players ranked below top ten, might be troubled by Kleybanova but not quite.
In the round of 16, Venus could face fellow American and No.33 seed Oudin, who upset No.4 seed Jankovic in the third round last year, looks to go beyond the draw and cause some damage. Oudin, who could possibly face Jarmila Groth in the second round, will most likely sets up a potential third round encounter with No.13 seed Shahar Peer, who opens her match against former world No.1 and unseeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic.
Ivanovic, who is trying to regain the form that lift to the top of the rankings, will try to display her newfound game. Her first round match with Peer is a stiffest challenge she could face, who could potentially clash unseeded Indian Sania Mirza in the second round.
Venus might be facing a lot of dark horses who will try to block her way to another Wimbledon crown, but even No.5 seed Schiavone, who is 0-7 over Venus, can't do much damage, as an easy passage to semifinals is within her reach. Is sixth Wimbledon crown within her reach too?
Semifinalist: V.Williams
Match to watch: The first round match between Peer and Ivanovic. Peer has been an in-form player but haven't pull out a title in the tournament she plays while Ivanovic is still trying to retrieve the form that brought her to the semifinals in this event since 2007. Who's form will progress to the latter rounds?
Match to watch: The first round match between Peer and Ivanovic. Peer has been an in-form player but haven't pull out a title in the tournament she plays while Ivanovic is still trying to retrieve the form that brought her to the semifinals in this event since 2007. Who's form will progress to the latter rounds?
The Semifinals
S.Williams vs. Stosur: Stosur, the conqueror of three former world No.1s in 2010 French Open sets up a date with the No.1 seed. S.Williams, who was beaten by Stosur in the quarterfinals of this year's second Grand Slam event, is looking to get revenge of that loss. Stosur is in red-hot form but she is playing in S.Williams's best surface. Will Stosur repeat another stunning upset as what she did at Roland Garros? S.Williams in straight sets.
Clijsters vs. V.Williams: V.Williams and Clijsters met 12 times, with their last one in the finals at Miami where the Belgian emerge victorious. Their sole meeting in grass was in 2003 Wimbledon semifinals where V.Williams routed Clijsters in three sets. This will be 13th meeting in their career, their second in Wimbledon, and whoever wins will split their head-to-head record. V.Williams, who has been dominant at All England Club, have captured five titles since 2000. Clijsters, one of the Belgian who came out of the retirement, will try to spoil the dominance of the Williams sisters. Does she have what it takes to do this time around? Clijsters in tight three sets.
Finalist: S.Williams, Clijsters
The Finals
This will be the 10th meeting between younger Williams and Clijsters, their first on grass. Not only Williams edging Clijsters 7-2 in their career meetings, she has been dominant at All England Club since 2000 contesting with her sister Venus. The last meeting of the two former No.1s was in 2009 US Open semifinals. This match has drawn controversies and cost Williams monetary penalties, possible suspension, and of course, the match itself. Clijsters, who hasn't been in the finals of Wimbledon, will be a once in lifetime opportunity to take. This could bring extra level of confidence to do much better in the match and facing Williams in the finals, you really are in serious battle. Does Clijsters have what it takes to stunned Williams and end their dominance? Clijsters in three tight sets.
Champion: Kim Clijsters
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