Top seeds and favourites for the Wimbledon trophy

As the seeds for the Wimbledon tournament have been announced for both gentemen and ladies, it is time to look at the top ones.

1. Roger Federer

The World No. 1 is a strong favorite to successfully defend his Wimbledon title. He has not lost a grass-court match since suffering a 3-6, 6-7(2), 3-6, loss to Croatia’s Mario Ancic in the opening round of the 2002 Wimbledon. He has not participated in any tournaments on grass before Wimbledon this year, deciding to rest for the big event.

2. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal was the only man to take a set from Federer at the All England Club last year, where they played in the final. This year, Nadal played in Queens where he lost to Niclolas Mahut in the quaterfinal.

3. Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick has played two times in the final of Wimbledon and both times he lost to Roger Federer. Roddick, who reached successive Wimbledon finals in 2004 and 2005, lost to Andy Murray in the third round last year. Roddick ripped 24 aces and saved a match point in edging Nicolas Mahut, to capture his fourth career Queen’s Club crown this year.

4. Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic played in Queen’s Club, and lost to Arnaud Clement in the third round. Last year he was beaten by Mario Ancic in Wimbledon. Novak has been working hard for the grass court season, as he appointed Mark Woodford to help him prepare.

5. Fernando Gonzalez

Fernando Gonzalez played in Queen’s Club this year where he lost to the Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Last year he was stopped by David Ferrer in the last 32, which was then a big surprise as Ferrer is a clay court specialist. Gonzalez can be a threat on grass, especially because of his big forehand.

6. Nikolay Davydenko

He did not have much success on grass throuhout his career, and that is the reason he is seeded at number 6 despite being third on the ATP list. This year he played in Halle where he lost to Florian Mayer, and last year in Wimbledon he lost to Alejandro Falla (ranked 127 back then) in the first round.

7. Tomas Berdych

We will have to pay close attention on Tomas Berdych on Wimbledon as he is one of the best players on grass in the world. He won the trophy in Halle this year beating the likes of Nieminen and Baghdatis. Last year in Wibledon he defeated the likes of Fabrice Santoro and Tommy Haas, before eventually losing to Roger Federer in R16.

8. Andy Murray

The Brittish hope is still undecided whether he will participate in Wimbledon or not, because of his wrist injury. It will be hard for him to reach top gear right away, but anyway he is still one of the favourites because of his talent.

9. James Blake

Not the best of seasons for James Blake, looking the whole season. On grass he played in Halle and lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quaterfinal. Last year in Wimbledon he lost to Max Mirnyi in R16.

10. Marcos Baghdatis

Atother player our eyes should be focused on, as he has great results on grass. He played the final in Halle where he lost to Tomas Berdych, and last year in Wimbledon he reached the semifinal where he lost to Rafael Nadal. Look for Baghdatis to reach one of the top spots on this years Wimbledon.

(source: tennisweek)

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