http://nickstennispicks.com/2008/06/18/nicks-2008-wimbledon-preview/ Nick’s Picks will have complete coverage of Wimbledon 2008, and we are teaming with Tennis Week to provide in-depth analysis throughout the tournament! Wimbledon will always hold a special place in my heart. It is the location of so many great memories, from Agassi’s win in 1992 to Serena’s title in 2002 to Sharapova’s victory in 2004. I love the atmosphere and the fans. No where else will you see people waiting in line for hours, in the cold rainy weather, just to get a ticket! Also, there is no better spot at any tennis tournament in the world to watch a match from then Henman Hill. You can eat, drink, talk, and lie down all while you are enjoying the matches. It just doesn’t get any better than that! This will be the first year in quite some time that I will not be attending, due to the birth of my new grandson, Hudson Nicholas! And just like Wimbledon is getting a new roof, he is getting a new name. I am going to call him “ Nicholas Hudson,” and I think you know why! While I may not be there in person, I will definitely be in spirit. You better believe that I will be working with The Independent newspaper daily, doing Wimbledon Radio every morning, and updating my blog constantly with picks and information. I am really looking forward to this year’s tournament, so let’s talk about some of the big stories surrounding the event. Every year there are questions about different players coming into Wimbledon, but this year the biggest questions surround Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ana Ivanovic, and Venus Williams. Can Federer regain the mystique that made him the best over the last five years? Can Nadal breakthrough and win a Grand Slam on a surface other than on clay? Can Ivanovic continue her great play and win another Grand Slam title? Can Venus repeat? We don’t know the answers yet, but we will soon. For the last four or five years, Federer has been without question the best player on tour, and quite possibly the best player in the history of the game. Well, 2008 has not been kind to him. This year more than ever before, Federer needs to win Wimbledon. Coming into 2008 many people thought he could win the Golden Slam - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open, and the gold medal at the Olympics - well we know that is not going to happen. He lost in the semis in Australia and then was soundly defeated by Nadal in the finals at Roland Garros. In my mind, Federer is still the man to beat, but if he doesn’t win Wimbledon there are going to be more and more questions about his play. On the other hand, if Nadal is able to continue playing like he has in the last month, he may be able to make the claim that he is now the best player in the world. He is on an unbelievable run, winning the French Open in the fashion that he did, and then capturing his first career grass court title at Queen’s Club right after. Last year he came very close to beating Federer, and I don’t think there is any doubt that he is playing even better tennis this year. The question I have is will his body hold up? If you remember, he had knee problems during the summer and latter portion of 2007 because of all the matches he has played. Well, this year he has already played 56 matches so we will have to see if that has any effect on him this year. If it isn’t Federer or Nadal, the obvious first option for the favorite is definitely Djokovic. He had Nadal on the ropes in the first set in the finals at Queen’s Club, but couldn’t close it out. If he wants to win this title he cannot let those kinds of opportunities slip away from him. After Djokovic you have guys like Ferrer, Davydenko, Roddick, Nalbandian, Blake, Gasquet, Murray, etc. Out of those men, Roddick, if healthy, has the best chance of being a serious threat. Let’s not forget about my man Xavier Malisse (who has trained at the Academy since he was a boy). When he was young, he was picked by so many to be a top player, but he never reached those lofty goals. Recently, he has had some serious injuries, and that has caused his ranking to fall to #229 in the world. Well, he received a wild card into Wimbledon (where he reached the semis in 2002), and when he is in the groove he can beat anyone. Good luck Xavier! Also, watch out for some of the young guys like Ernests Gulbis, Gael Monfils, and Thomaz Bellucci. While they probably will not win the tournament, it is also fun to watch the next wave of promising stars. The talk of the town on the women’s side is Ana Ivanovic. She has to be the favorite based on the way she is playing right now. Coming off of her first career Grand Slam title, she is busting with confidence and that is a good thing for women’s tennis. She is also the newly anointed #1 player in the world, and with that comes positives and negatives. Primarily, she will now have to deal with the pressure of being the lady everyone is out to beat. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds over the rest of 2008. One thing is for sure, I don’t expect the Williams’ sisters to crash out early like they did in Paris. They were both on Ivanovic’s side of the draw, and she ended up not having to play either of them. Well, to win this title she is going to have to be prepared to beat both of them. Oh yes, don’t forget about Maria Sharapova either. She found herself on the wrong side of the Dinara Safina train on the clay, but that is certainly not her favorite surface. The grass suits her game extremely well (see 2004 Wimbledon), and she has already beaten Ivanovic in the finals of one Grand Slam this year as well. Never, ever count Maria out until the final ball is hit. Speaking of Safina, she is part of a very strong Russian contingent ranked in the top 20 along with the aforementioned Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva, Anna Chakvetadze, Vera Zvonareva, and Maria Kirilenko. All of them have a good shot at making deep runs into the tournament, and I would say at least four of five of them will be around late into the second week. Two other top players not to forget about are Jelena Jankovic and Lindsay Davenport. Jankovic was oh so close to becoming the 10th #1 player that I have worked with, and she is currently the #2 ranked player in the world. She plays well on just about every surface, but Wimbledon is the one Grand Slam where she has yet to get to at least the quarterfinals. I know there is a strong possibility that she will accomplish that feat and maybe even more this year. Also, don’t discount Lindsay Davenport. I know she hasn’t played in two months and she just withdrew at Eastbourne, but she is a former champion here and the last time she graced these courts (2005) she reached the finals. Her game fits in perfectly with the grass, but her movement is going to be the key during the fortnight. The longer the matches go, the more problems she is going to have. A couple of young players I will be keeping my eye on are Alize Cornet, Caroline Wozniacki, Dominika Cibulkova, and NBTA student Sabine Lisicki. Cornet and Wozniacki have proven this year that they are going to be around for a while and can compete with the best in the world. Cibulkova has yet to make herself a household name, but I think she has the talent to be a top player. A good showing here would be a great start. Finally, Lisicki has played extremely well in the big tournaments for her first year on the tour. She reached the third round in Australia (beating Safina), the fourth round in Miami (beating Chakvetadze), and she beat Davenport in Fed Cup play. The hard, faster courts play right into her game style. Overall, I am really looking forward to the start of this tournament. There are so many good storylines, and there is not a better place in the world for them to play out then the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon! --

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