Never on Sunday: A review of first week of Wimbledon 2008

The outcome of the men's draw promised a showdown of Federer vs. Djokovic and Roddick vs. Nadal. The first and second seeds survived, however, their predicted opponents had already packed their luggage. Let's see how the draw has played down. In the first small section of the draw involving the Mighty Federer, there are many tough players such as Hrbaty, Soderling, Hewitt, Bolelli and Gonzalez. However, rounds by rounds, he walks pass each opponent in style. In the first three rounds, he committed only 7 rare breakpoints where his opponents convert twice. His toughest test so far will come in fourth round, where he meets Hewitt, the last tennis player before Federer to capture the title, back to 2002. After that, Federer has produced a great run to capture 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles (from 2003 to 2007). He is heading for his six title here. Lleyton Hewitt, after his first tough round against R. Hasse where he won in five sets, has found his form back, winning the next two matches in straigh sets. The next match against Federer will bring back memories, sweet and sour. Hewitt was always the favourite in their match ups before 2003 when he captured 7 victories out of 9 matches. The coin flipped after that, with Federer to win 11 times later. In an interview two years ago, when Federer was asked who is his favorite choice for an exhibition match, he said Hewitt and explained that Hewitt's style suits his game. Fernando Gonzalez is one of the seeds that suffered early exit. In his second round again rising Italian Bolelli, he lost in 4 tight sets. Silently and effectively, Verdasco beat Kohlschreiber, O. Rochus and Berdych to book a place in the fourth round against Mario Ancic, unseeded player, who defeated David Ferrer in third round. The fact that Ancic was not seeded does not reflect enough his quality but bad luck. He struggled with mono and injuries and could not put his impact on court. He is also the last player to beat Federer on grass (Wimbledon 2002). The biggest disappointment of the tournament comes from Djokovic, the third seed. He lost in straight sets against Safin, who has gained his form lately. No more psychologic talk from the Serbian to boost his confidence and to eliminate the aura of Federer, something he has been doing since 2007. Now he can spend this free time to work on his fitness, again. Wawrinka still proves the great form of late that earn him a place in top ten ranking. He will meet Safin in 4th round match. Marcos Baghdatis is finding the form that used to take him to the final of Australian Open in 2006. He booked a place in the 4th round with Feliciano Lopez. I still remember Lopez with a great game to break Federer's serve and take the first set in their match at US Open 2007. The other side of the draw sees another shocking, but predictable loss of Roddick against Serbian Tipsarevic in 2nd round. Tiprasevic is known as a consitent player with great forehand and backhand. Roddick, according to me, is a player relying heavily on his first serve. His forehand and backhand are average. Not like other elite players, once the serve does not work, they still have backup plans with forehand, backhand, volley... In the third quarter of the draw, no seed survived, while in the fourth quarter, French talent Gasquet will meet England favourite Murray, and Nadal will meet Youzhny. Nadal is the only 2008 Grandslam champion that remains in competition. In both men's and women's draws, Djokovic (Australian Open), Sharapova (Australian Open) and Ivanovic (French Open) had suffered early losses. My prediction for the quarter finals: Federer vs. Verdasco Safin vs. Baghdatis Tipsarevic vs. Clement Murray vs. Nadal Semis: Federer vs. Safin Tipsarevic vs. Nadal Finals: Federer vs. Nadal Champion: Federer