Women's title could be won by anyone in top ten, says Sharapova THERE are only two previous winners of the Wimbledon singles title in the men's draw this year - Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt - and the former is the firmest of favourites to win his fifth consecutive title. The women's draw, by contrast, contains five former champions, and also has a handful of others who have the potential to go deep into the second week. For that reason, and because few of the real contenders have been in outstanding form, it is extremely difficult to forecast the outcome. Amelie Mauresmo, the defending champion, is one of the most physically imposing players in the sport, yet she has been suffering from niggling injuries and nagging nerves, and is some way short of her best. Justine Henin, who lost to the Frenchwoman in last year's final, is rightfully world No1, yet is far more at home on clay than she is on grass. Maria Sharapova, who won as a 17-year-old in 2004, has recently complained of feeling old after only five years on tour. Martina Hingis is another former winner, but, while she has made it back into the upper echelons since her comeback, still lacks the physical power to hold her own against the likes of Mauresmo and Sharapova. The two Serbians, No3 seed Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, the No6, will be there or thereabouts, but it is perhaps a year too soon for them to have a major impact at Wimbledon. As for the Williams sisters, both Serena and Venus are capable on their day of winning the title, but everything depends on how focused they are on playing tennis. Lately, Serena, the winner of the Australian Open back in January, has applied herself to sport a lot more than her older sister, a fact which is reflected in the seedings. She is the favourite with some bookmakers to take the title she won in 2002 and 2003, but her rivals, while recognising her strengths, acknowledge that the title is wide open this year. "Serena is on a great comeback," Sharapova said. "[But] I don't think you can under-estimate any player in the top ten. Anyone in the top ten has good chances." Sharapova then went on to talk up two players in particular, before arguing why she thought she has as good a chance as anyone. "You always expect Justine to be in the semi-final and final of any tournament you play," she continued. "She is clearly a physically and mentally strong player that is consistently at the top. Jelena has also done a great job of being very consistent. She's very young as well, someone I grew up with." Sharapova grew up quickly, becoming the third youngest women's singles champion, after Hingis and Lottie Dod, in the history of the tournament. Once she had time to reflect on her achievement she admit to a degree of surprise, saying that back then her arms were like "spaghetti". Now, by contrast, she is tougher physically and mentally, and is particularly pleased with the improved stamina she has shown over the past 12 months, which was most in evidence when she won the US Open . "As a tennis player and as a person, I've definitely matured and grown up," she said. "I've come back here with another Grand Slam title in my bag. I feel I'm much more experienced as the years go on. Every day brings me incredible things. "Physically, I feel my chances are better because I'm able to play top players day in, day out and not get fatigued as much as I did maybe two years ago. That was part of the reason I think I was so surprised I did win when I was 17, because I never thought I was physically ready to compete and play top players day after day after day. I just didn't think I was capable of that. "The US Open was a great example of the way things have changed. I beat Mauresmo in three sets and the next day I came back and beat Henin in two so physically, I'm recovering and feeling a lot stronger, and mentally I'm good. So, if all those things come together and you have a little bit of luck on your side, good things can happen." As the No2 seed, Sharapova will avoid Henin until the final, and finds herself in one of the more tranquil sections of the draw. Ai Sugiyama of Japan should be her first testing opponent in the third round, but then things will heat up a bit with a potential clash with Venus Williams in the last 16. As Mauresmo, the No4 seed, is in the same half of the draw as Henin, Sharapova will not have to defeat them both in consecutive rounds as she did at Flushing Meadows. Instead, provided she gets the better of Williams she can expect a quarter-final against her fellow-Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and then a last-four meeting with Jankovic. The Serbian, seeded three, is another to benefit from a relatively benign draw. Shahar Peer of Israel may present her with a bit of trouble in the fourth round, but before then she should not have too much to worry about. A quarter-final against Hingis would be a sterner test, but provided she is on form Jankovic should prevail. And that highlights the strange contradiction in the women's game. Competition at the top may be more open than ever, but below the leading bunch there is a sizeable gulf which very few players suggest they are capable of bridging. The first week should therefore throw up very few close matches. Unusually, though, the key tie of the competition could come as early as the quarter-finals, when Henin is due to meet Serena Williams. The winner of that can expect to meet a resurgent Sharapova in the final. http://sport.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=983902007 ---- 言而總之，就是：人人有機會。:p --

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