Wimbledon Week 2 - Tennis News

Wimbledon Week 2
By Rich Carlson
Posted: 12:30 pm PDT 2006-07-02

After a rainy start, the 2006 Wimbledon Championships have brought some brilliant tennis and intriguing storylines during the first week of play. Before we dive into a preview of the second week's matches, let's check on the status of players I highlighted as contenders, sleepers, long shots, players to watch and players to avoid:

Men's Contenders

Roger Federer - Hasn't dropped a set in his first three matches and is looking unstoppable.

Andy Roddick - Upset in 3^rd round by Scottish youngster Andy Murray. Roddicks disappointing 2006 campaign continues.

Lleyton Hewitt - Straight set wins in first and third round matches. Survived five-set scare from Hyung-Taik Lee in second round.

Men's Sleepers

David Nalbandian - Asked for his third round match to be moved earlier in day so he could watch Argentina play in World Cup, then proceeded to lose in straight sets. Nalbandian should have focused more on his tennis and less on soccer.

Mario Ancic - Has lost one set in first three matches. Appears to be on collision course with Federer in quarterfinals.

James Blake - Suffered complete mental meltdown vs. Max Mirnyi in third, dropping last two sets 6-1 and 6-0.

Men's Long Shots

Tim Henman - After winning a grueling five-set match in first round, Henman played Federer the next day, losing 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

Sebastian Grosjean - Made it to the third round, where he was taken out by Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis in four sets.

Gael Monfils - Put forth an uninspiring effort in first round loss to Russian Igor Kunitsyn.

Men's Players to Watch

Wayne Arthurs - Made it through qualifying matches, only to lose to French veteran Fabrice Santoro in the first round.

Ivo Karlovic - Lost tough five setter in the first round to Stanislas Wawrinka.

Mark Philippoussis - Played another hard server, Max Mirnyi, in second round, and lost in four sets.

Men's Players to Avoid

Andre Agassi - In his Wimbledon swan song, Agassi looked tired and slow in his straight set loss to Rafael Nadal.

Ivan Ljubicic - Had 27^th seed Dmitry Tursunov on the ropes in their third round match, but lost in five sets.

Rafael Nadal - Nearly lost his second round match to an American qualifier, and then thrashed Agassi in the third round.

Thomas Johansson - The 12^th seed, Johansson flamed out of the first round, losing in four sets to Jonas Bjorkman 3-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Women's Contenders

Amelie Mauresmo - Hardly challenged through the first three rounds, has a favorable draw ahead.

Justine Henin-Hardenne - Has lost nine games through first three rounds.

Kim Clijsters - Got a break with a second round walkover, and has been sharp in other two matches.

Maria Sharapova - Dominant through the first week, Sharapova has her eye on Mauresmo in the semifinals.

Women's Sleepers

Nadia Petrova - Ended up withdrawing due to a groin injury.

Martina Hingis - Let third-set lead slip away against Ai Sugiyama in third round, losing 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Venus Williams - Committed 54 unforced errors in third round match against Jelena Jankovic, losing 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.

Women's Long Shots

Svetlana Kuznetsova - Fifth seed lost in third round to 27^th ranked Na Li, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Elena Dementieva - Overcame tough matches in first two rounds, won in straight sets in third round.

Women's Players to Watch

Dinara Safina - Disappeared in third set against Ana Ivanovic in third round, losing 3-6, 7-6, 6-1.

Daniela Hantuchova - Has won two tough three set matches and a tight two setter in third round over 21^st seed Katarina Srebotnik.

Jamea Jackson - Extended 15^th seed Daniela Hantuchova to three sets in second round, losing 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Vera Zvonareva - Brutal draw put her against second seed Kim Clijsters in first round, where she lost 7-5, 6-3.

Second week preview (Men)

First quarter of draw:

Roger Federer (1) vs. Tomas Berdych (13)

Novak Djokovic vs. Mario Ancic (7)

As the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Federer faced an unusually tough draw. In the first round, he was matched up with French youngster Richard Gasquet, who was coming into Wimbledon on a roll after winning the Nottingham grass court warm-up tournament. Federer had no trouble with Gasquet, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Federer then played an exhausted Tim Henman in the second round and demolished him 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. Federer beat his next opponent, Berdych, in the finals of the Halle grass court tournament just prior to Wimbledon, and should have no problems advancing. Ancic has been very impressive in advancing through to the fourth round, losing only one set thus far. Ancic is also the last player to beat Federer on grass, which was in the 2002 Wimbledon first round. Ancic has the skills and athleticism to give Federer some trouble, but look for Federer to move on to the semifinals.

Second quarter of draw:

Fernando Verdasco (28) vs. Radek Stepanek (14)

Jonas Bjorkman vs. Max Mirnyi

This quarter of the draw was blown wide open with 4^th seed David Nalbandian and 8^th seed James Blake losing in the third round. Stepanek came back from two sets down and won a thrilling fifth set against Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, taking the match 5-7 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 11-9, so his fitness may come into play against Stepanek. Bjorkman and Mirnyi are doubles partners and know each other's games inside and out. If Mirnyi is serving bombs, he could very well emerge from this quarter of the draw.

Third quarter of draw:

Lleyton Hewitt (6) vs. David Ferrer (23)

Marcos Baghdatis (18) vs. Andy Murray

Hewitt suffered a major scare in the second round, as he was taken to five tough sets by Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4. That was Hewitts only hiccup of the first week, as he was dominant in his first and third round victories. Ferrer came from two sets down to defeat 2005 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Fernando Gonzalez 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, and could provide some trouble for Hewitt. Murray shocked the third-seeded Andy Roddick in the third round, winning in straight sets 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. Murray outplayed Roddick on the big points, and was able to pick on Roddicks strong second serve, winning 59 percent of the points. Murray next faces 2005 Australian Open finalist Baghdatis, who posted a strong 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 victory over veteran Frenchman Sebastian Grosjean.

Fourth quarter of draw:

Dmitry Tursunov (27) vs. Jarkko Nieminen (22)

Irakli Labadze vs. Rafael Nadal (2)

Tursunov was the beneficiary of fifth seed Ivan Ljubicics inability to close out a match, as he came back in their third round match to win in five sets, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-2. Nieminens path to the fourth round opened up when No. 9 seed Nikolay Davydenko lost in the first round to a qualifier. Tursunovs comeback over Ljubicic should give him the confidence he needs to slip past Nieminen. Nadal has been on a roller coaster ride during the first week, as he nearly lost to American qualifier Robby Kendrick in the second round, and then pounded Andre Agassi in their third round match. Nadal now gets to face a qualifier, Labadze, who advanced to the round of 16 after American Mardy Fish retired from their match with an injury. Nadal was nearly flawless against Agassi, and now has a favorable draw on his way to the semifinals.

Semifinal predictions:

Federer defeats Stepanek in three sets

Hewitt defeats Nadal in five sets

Finals predictions:

Federer defeats Hewitt in four sets

Second week preview (Women)

First quarter of draw:

Amelie Mauresmo (1) vs. Ana Ivanovic (19)

Anastasia Myskina (9) vs. Jelena Jankovic (26)

Mauresmo barely broke a sweat in winning her first three matches, and her path to the finals became much easier when sixth-seeded Venus Williams lost to Jankovic in the third round. Mauresmo has been playing brilliantly and should have no issues advancing through to the semifinals. Jankovic played very well against Williams, but also benefited from Williams lack of consistency and unforced errors. Myskina has been impressive in her first three matches and should get by Jankovic.

Second quarter of draw:

Maria Sharapova (4) vs. Flavia Pennetta (16)

Shenay Perry vs. Elena Dementieva (7)

Sharapova hasnt lost more than three games in any set thus far, and now gets to face Pennetta, who has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon. Young American Perry nearly lost in the first round, winning 7-5, 5-7, 8-6 against qualifier Kristina Barrois, but has played very well since then in her next two matches. Perrys Cinderella story should come to an end against the tough Russian Dementieva.

Third quarter of draw:

Severine Bremond vs. Ai Sugiyama (18)

Daniela Hantuchova (15) vs. Justine Henin-Hardenne (3)

French qualifier Bremond is a surprise entry in the fourth round, having defeated 31^st seed Gisela Dulko 7-6, 5-7, 7-5 in the third round. Bremond will next face Sugiyama, who came back from a third set deficit to defeat Martina Hingis 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Sugiyama is a steady veteran player who will make Bremond work for every point. Henin-Hardenne has been terrific during the first week, losing a total of nine games in three matches, and should have no problem with Hantuchova, who survived three tough matches in the first week.

Fourth quarter of draw:

Na Li (27) vs. Nicole Vaidisova (10)

Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Kim Clijsters (2)

The 27^th seed Li came back after losing the first set to upset fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the third round. Li will need to be at the top of her game when she faces the up-and-coming Vaidisova, who reached the semifinals of the French Open this year. Clijsters has rolled through the first week, and next plays Radwanska, who is ranked No. 217 in the world. Look for Clijsters to continue rolling all the way to the semifinals.

Semifinal predictions:

Mauresmo defeats Sharapova in three sets

Henin-Hardenne defeats Clijsters in three sets

Finals predictions:

Henin-Hardenne defeats Mauresmo in two sets

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