- 19 Jun 2011, 19:22
#2250168
An exciting and eventful Grand Slam tournament in Paris is just behind us, with highlights like Federer’s semifinal win over Djokovic and Li Na’s historic final win. Now the tennis world is anticipating some more outstanding play at Wimbledon.
It is particularly good news that both Williams sisters are coming back from their injuries. Its my hope that Serena, last year’s champion, will quickly return to form as I believe she adds a lot of energy to the womens’ game. Even though the warm-up tournament in Eastbourne ended early for both of them, the Williams sisters will enter Wimbledon with a lot of confidence. After all, 9 of the last 11 Wimbledon titles went to either Venus (5 wins) or Serena (4 wins).
However, I see the competition on the women’s side as relatively wide open. Clijsters, unfortunately, had to cancel due to injury but Wozniacki, Sharapova, as well as Bartoli and Kvitova, who both played some very strong tennis at Eastbourne, will all have a good chance.
On the men’s side, it is relatively easy to imagine a repeat of the semi-final in Paris with the top four players, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray. Nadal’s early exit in Queens certainly showed that he is vulnerable, but, as the defending champion, he is still without question heavily favored.
Historically, grass hasn’t been Djokovic’s favorite surface and this year he did not choose to play warm up tournaments on this surface. He skipped Queens and I suspect he is conserving some of his energy after the incredible run he has had over the past 5 or 6 months. The prospect of being the new number 1, depending upon what happens with Nadal, and his strong serve and return will make Djokovic very difficult to beat.
I also have great expectations for Murray, who has been coached for the past several weeks by Darren Cahill, Andre’s former coach and longtime friend. With his win at Queens, the support of his team and the fact that he will be playing in front of his home crowd, he will definitely have a lot of confidence and I hope he can break through.
I am especially pleased that there are so many German players – 17 in total, 3 of which are past qualifying – that will take the court in Wimbledon. Besides, Kohlschreiber, the winner from Halle, and Petzschner, the German hopes are also on Lisicki (winner in Birminham), Petkovic and Görges.
We Germans are usually a bit better on the fast surface, because it resembles the indoor carpet surface on which young player often train in the winter. I know I always felt very comfortable on grass at Wimbledon. Besides the fast surface, the backhand slice tended to work well on the deeper grass. That is not to mention that London, with its rich cultural offerings and the beautiful parks and neighborhoods has always been one of my favorite cities.
We can all look forward to the next two weeks and more exciting tennis with great favorites like Federer and Djokovic, Serena and I suspect at least one or two surprises.
Stefanie Graf
It is particularly good news that both Williams sisters are coming back from their injuries. Its my hope that Serena, last year’s champion, will quickly return to form as I believe she adds a lot of energy to the womens’ game. Even though the warm-up tournament in Eastbourne ended early for both of them, the Williams sisters will enter Wimbledon with a lot of confidence. After all, 9 of the last 11 Wimbledon titles went to either Venus (5 wins) or Serena (4 wins).
However, I see the competition on the women’s side as relatively wide open. Clijsters, unfortunately, had to cancel due to injury but Wozniacki, Sharapova, as well as Bartoli and Kvitova, who both played some very strong tennis at Eastbourne, will all have a good chance.
On the men’s side, it is relatively easy to imagine a repeat of the semi-final in Paris with the top four players, Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray. Nadal’s early exit in Queens certainly showed that he is vulnerable, but, as the defending champion, he is still without question heavily favored.
Historically, grass hasn’t been Djokovic’s favorite surface and this year he did not choose to play warm up tournaments on this surface. He skipped Queens and I suspect he is conserving some of his energy after the incredible run he has had over the past 5 or 6 months. The prospect of being the new number 1, depending upon what happens with Nadal, and his strong serve and return will make Djokovic very difficult to beat.
I also have great expectations for Murray, who has been coached for the past several weeks by Darren Cahill, Andre’s former coach and longtime friend. With his win at Queens, the support of his team and the fact that he will be playing in front of his home crowd, he will definitely have a lot of confidence and I hope he can break through.
I am especially pleased that there are so many German players – 17 in total, 3 of which are past qualifying – that will take the court in Wimbledon. Besides, Kohlschreiber, the winner from Halle, and Petzschner, the German hopes are also on Lisicki (winner in Birminham), Petkovic and Görges.
We Germans are usually a bit better on the fast surface, because it resembles the indoor carpet surface on which young player often train in the winter. I know I always felt very comfortable on grass at Wimbledon. Besides the fast surface, the backhand slice tended to work well on the deeper grass. That is not to mention that London, with its rich cultural offerings and the beautiful parks and neighborhoods has always been one of my favorite cities.
We can all look forward to the next two weeks and more exciting tennis with great favorites like Federer and Djokovic, Serena and I suspect at least one or two surprises.
Stefanie Graf
