Roger Federer

The world no.1 and four-time defending champion would be gunning for his fifth straight Wimbledon title, thus match Bjon Borg’s record. This is his favorite tournament and he loves to come here every year and assert his supremacy. We first had a glimpse of his grass court tennis prowess back in 2001, when he took down the greatest Wimbledon Champion of all time Pete Sampras in five tough sets. He was a favorite for the title a year later, but the expectations took their toll on him and he lost in the first round to Mario Ancic in straight sets. Since then the Swiss champion has been unbeaten here. A win here might not completely dissolve the Roland Garros disappointment, but would surely be very precious for Roger.

He starts the tournament as a clear favorite, in spite of skipping the warm-up even at Halle-   the Gerry Webber Open, an event which he had won four times. So when he steps on the Centre Court at Wimbledon he would be playing his first grass court match of the year, while his rivals have played at the warm-up events. As for the draw, it could not have been tougher than last year, where he faced some very good grass-court players on his way to the title.

2. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick, the third seed and twice-finalist at Wimbledon is the second best grass court player in the world. In the 2004 final, Roddick was up a set and was on the verge of taking set 2 when rain played havoc with his plans. Things were not the same for either players after the break as Roddick saw a slight dip in his level, while Federer started playing better. That was the closest Roddick got to the title.

This year Andy arrives at Wimbledon in fine form, having clinched his 4^th Queen’s Club title in London 2 weeks before the Championships. He had some tough matches in the tournament and in the final he saved a match point against Nicolas Mahut and clinched a thrilling victory. Last year he was beaten in the third round by the British star Andy Murray, who is seeded 8^th this year.

 

3. Novak Djokovic:

The world no.4 player’s performances have been a revelation this year, having performed well in the hard court tournaments – he won the Miami Masters beating Rafael Nadal in the finals – and reaching the French Open semifinals. Djokovic, nicknamed Nole, has an aggressive game and is often called the best all court player after Roger Federer. He is solid with both his forehand and his double-handed backhand and does not hesitate to venture to the net, a clear advantage he has over most other players on this surface.

4. Rafael Nadal

The three-time French Open Champion and last year’s losing finalist is not what one whom people would refer to as a grass-court specialist. But he shocked everyone by reaching the Wimbledon finals last year and also managed to take a set of Federer in the final. This year, Rafa is playing a more aggressive game, a factor that was the key for his victory in the Indian Wells Masters. Nadal though tired when he reached the Queen’s Club event, did manage to win a couple of matches before losing to eventual finalist Nicolas Mahut.

The player with the best outside chance:  This has to be Andy Murray. Last year, he reached the fourth round where he lost to Marcos Baghdatis and if he recovers completely from his wrist injury before the tournament starts, he could pose a problem to anyone on his day.