Wimbledon predictions

For the first time in many years, Roger Federer has looked vulnerable on his favorite surface. Just 2 weeks ago, his long time rival Lleyton Hewitt, was able to win his first match in 7 years against the world #2, beating him 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. Prior to this defeat, Roger, had won 76 of his last 77 matches on grass but now it seems that his aurora of invulnerability has faded. He's no longer a sure win, for the title and with the Fed/Nadal era weakening, there may be a wide enough gap, for someone like Roddick to bag the trophy.

So with that said, here's my prediction for how the top 10 will do at this years Wimbledon:

10. Jo Wilfried Tsonga: He's had some good results at Wimbledon in the past and has a relatively reasonable draw, for the early rounds. I expect he will reach the quarter-finals.

9. Fernando Verdasco: He's got all the right tools to do well on grass. Hard serve, fast paced groundies, which he can hit with a lot of variety. I think he can do better, than the fourth round this year. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself a bit, but I'll pick him to reach the semi-finals this year.

8. Juan Martin Del Potro: Poor Del Potro, has missed yet another slam, because of his wrist fracture. I hope he gets well soon.:(

7. Andy Roddick: Last years, finalist may have the best chance of everyone to win a slam. He's now one of the older players in the top 10 but his serve is still a tremendous weapon and he's played some great tennis earlier this year. The highlight, being his win over Nadal, in Miami. I'm picking him to reach the finals but don't be surprised if he wins it.

6. Robin Soderling: Really has a tough draw. He'll be tested early and to make matters worse, he has to face Nadal in the quarters. Given the head-to-head I'll side with Nadal to beat him, but Soderling, could surprise everyone and upset the world #1. He's got the game to do it, he's got the game to win the championship, but I still believe, he'll only reach the quarter-finals.

5. Nikolay Davydenko: He's had a lot of time off, recovering from the wrist surgery, so he's going to be out of form, heading into Wimbledon. Coupled, with the fact that Davydenko, never does well, on grass, I'd say he'd be lucky to reach the third round.

4. Andy Murray: It's tough to say how he'll do. Murray has been erratic, ever since his run to the finals at the Australian Open. He could lose early or he could reach the semis. But my gut tells me, he won't go all the way. Prediction: Quarter-finals.

3. Novak Djokovic: His game has been a mess, this year. He may be #3 in the world, but he's well out of form. Todd Martin, Djokovic's former coach, has made some adjustments to his serve, which hasn't paid off for him. He really needs to go back to basics, with his game. Prediction: fourth-round.

2. Roger Federer: This is hard to predict, because he's been inconsistent, recently. I could see him winning Wimbledon again, but sadly I could also envision losing in the third round. I'm going with the Semi-finals for Fed, his game, isn't on right now and if he runs into Roddick, it could be serious trouble for Fed. Andy, is going to want to avenge his defeat in last years final and I know, if he gets to play Roger, he'll come out at full force.

1. Rafael Nadal: If you haven't already seen his draw, I'd advice you to go take a look. It's one of the nastiest things, I've ever seen. For round 1 he has Nishikori, round 2 is Blake, round 3 could be Gulbis, fourth round may have Isner, and for the quarters, none other than Soderling. Yeah, that's a nightmare draw, if ever I've seen one. Luckily, Nadal has been playing very good tennis lately. Not his best but still solid. If he's able to fight his way through this mountain of a hurdle. I believe, he'll be the champion. It's not going to be easy but then again, what slam is?