Here are the seeds. Draw will be posted once announced.

2009 Wimbledon Seeds

Based on her talent and the current the results she's having, it'll be worth it to keep an eye out for Aleksandra Wozniak.

To a lesser degree Magdalena Rybarikova is worth looking for too.

I wonder if Venus will have her game together. She's going to have to serve much better than she did at the French. Her first serve didn't have much oomph there, at least not on the regular.

Venus' game just seems to really come together on the grass. She's not comfortable on clay and she doesn't have great memories of the French Open. At Wimbledon, she's a five time champion and really owns that place. I think those memories and that confidence really help her on the lawns of the All England Club. Of course....its Venus. She is not stranger to these crazy early round losses by virtual nobodies. If she gets to the second week...its pretty much a done deal she will make the final.

The Draw is out.

http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/draws/ws/index.html

Venus and Serena on opposite halves of the draw. Venus has Dinara in her half.

Maybe Venus can use her lower seeding to her advantage--get more matches under her belt. I don't know what kind of tennis condition she is in. I don't see anyone who can wipe her off the court. She rises to the occasion at Wimbledon. There really isn't any outstanding player on the women's side right now. I see it as wide open, and I'd love to see Venus come through.



I don't see Dinara as a daunting opponent at all. She might be at the top of the women's game, but her meltdown at the French didn't look much like a champion, or a solid top fiver, for that matter.

In effect, since they're in the same part of the draw, it makes no difference which is seeded 1 vs 3. Personally, I doubt Dinara will make the semis. She has no history of good results on grass and her draw is dangerous--a resurgent Szavay in rd 3, possibly MoMo in rd 4.

While Dinara has fallen apart in the slam finals, you don't get to two consecutive slam finals without being a solid top 5 player. If you're judging people by one match, neither Williams sister looked much like a champion in the matches they lost at the French, either. Grass is not her surface, though.

Venus and Serena's lack of success at the French (their worst surface) can't be used to predict their success on a completely different and faster surface (i.e. Wimbledon). The fact that a Williams has won 7 of the last 9 championships is all that needs to be stated in terms of their success at Wimbledon regardless of how crappy they played leading up.

Obviously Venus is the favorite and Serena is probably #2, though I'm a little less confident in her right now. I'm not 100% sure she'll get past Azarenka (who would be my top non-Williams pick to win this year).

My point was simply that it's unfair to judge Safina a non-threatening opponent solely by her performance in the finals, just as it's unfair to judge the Williams Sisters by their performance at the French. You have to play damn well to get to those finals.

Actually, my judgment with Safina is that she really has never had great results at Wimbledon. So thats why I don't think she'll be much of a worry. But, stranger things have happened. Azarenka has injury issues so I don't know about putting her in there. But, an Azarenka/Sharapova 4th round is very intriguing. Azarenka has shown that she can start great and fade though against the top players.

my fav. first rounder
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kimiko Date Krumm
the 18 yr. old vs. the 38 yr. old

I like that matchup as well.

Also Zvonareva is up against my favorite name in all the draws: Georgie Stoop. Hey there Georgie girl!

I hope some younger players break through at Wimbledon or shake things up, or that Amelie makes a golden years run.

Women's tennis would be well served if Venus and Serena repeated and made it to the finals again. The one who would really help bring a spark is if Maria could reach at least the semis. Plus they are the 3 who have the most belief in themselves. Hope we don't have to see another back in champion as at the French. Amelie making an authentic run would be great.

Hmmm, all the former champs. Can any of the wannabes actually step up and be Diana Ross, rather than just acting like her in front of a mirror? Or at least be a Supreme?

Amelie was the 2006 champion. That was only 3 years ago. She has seen better days but is more comfortable serving and volleying and chip-and-charging, which leads to success on grass. She seems to be in fine form.
I would love to see her...dare I say, win?

So much for the value of Wimbledon tune-ups. Tuneup winner Rybarikova and tuneup finalist Wozniak both go out in the first round. Wozniak's loss to Schiavone has to smart.

One player whose game I don't like as much but who is carrying over some form is Virginie Razzano.

Lots of drama in the final Wimbledon tuneup last week. Bartoli refused to shake Razzano's hand one day after Chakvetadze refused to shake Bartoli's hand.

Routine wins for Venus and Serena, although Serena had to struggle a bit more in her second set. But, its good since they don't play grass tuneups to Wimbledon it gives them the opportunity to hit more balls and get the cobwebs out. Nice to see them in doubles too which I think always helps their game on the grass.

Sorry to see Dokic go out. Date Drumm had a competitive match with Wozniaki. Safarova and Vaidisova and Cornet were a mess. No huge upsets really to report. The seeded players who have gone out haven't done much on grass before.

I was more surprised in seeing Tanasugarn defeated by Parra Santonja. Tamarine has always played well on grass. I wanted a battle of Asian veterans in the second round against Ai Sugyiama!

Chakvetadze and Vaidisova can't really find their game back. Maybe ok losing to Lisicki (who has already shown something this year)....but Vaidisova taken out by De Los Rios!

I've seen parts of the Dokic match ...too many unforced mistakes. She isn't probably "mentally" ready yet.

I saw a bit of Jankovic too and she won't go far (not a surprise as she never performed well at Wimbledon and this year she's not as strong as in the past few years overall)

This isn't really related to play at Wimbeldon, but watching coverage today, I was amazed by Sam Stosur. I wish my body looked half that good!

I know. Stosur is hot!

Ivanovic "squeaks" through again in an early round match. Szavay is about to lose to Kirsten Flipkens of all players. Such a waste of talent -- pathetic. I don't understand why she plays no warmups going into Wimbledon. The former next great hopes of the WTA just get worse and worse.

I stopped thinking of Safarova as a great hope a long time ago, though I still root for her because I like her and her game. She was far from a mess in her first round loss to the big-hitting former Gadjosova. Both players hit a lot of aces and had more winners than unforced errors. It was a quality aggressive match.

Vaidisova's loss to De Los Rios is just...it's one thing for her to lose easily, but tight marathon losses to players whose games are so much smaller make me think she must be hurting. I'm not a fan, but she easily takes the cake as the player who tortures what remains of her fan base the most.

Rough draw and loss for Alexa Glatch. I thought she had a chance to make a run at this tournament, her game is great for grass courts. On the other hand, Melanie Oudin beat a seeded player (Bammer) after coming through qualifying.

Amelie and Wozniacki through in three. Loved watching Kimiko Date test Wozniacki with sharp angles and slices and bursts of speedy shotmaking, and seeing the way Date handles herself out there -- she's a class act. Wozniacki has a strong chance of making at least the semis here.

Two-hander,

I've noticed that tune-up results usually don't give much indication of how a player will do in the major tournament. Dementieva won several warm-up events before Australia and lost to Serena in the semifinals. Safina did well before the French Open and was the number one player in the world. After dominating her opponents in the early rounds, she then loses to Kuznetsova in straight sets in the final.

Blake, Tursunov, and Dancevic did well in Wimbledon warm-ups on the men's side and they all have lost in the first round.


Two-hander,

Those young, European players always fail to live up to their potential. It happens all of the time. Vaidisova is the best example and many others can be listed.

I think Serena's match against Groth will not be easy. Groth has a huge game. She serves big and has hard and flat groundstrokes.

I like Sharapova's outfit. Serena and Venus's outfits are nice, but nothing really exciting.

Hi Dedric. Groth was her young European (maiden name: Gadjosova) self today She couldn't get a first serve in to save herself, and her second wasn't too good either.

Serena was on point and fierce. She really looks like she wants to win this tournament. I guess we should wait to see how the draw plays out, especially since Azarenka is finding a groove. But even going in I've had this feeling she'll win, and an off feeling about Venus.

Kudos to Dulko, who is having a career year in 09. She's never been fitter. She almost choked away the win to Sharapova more than once. But what impresses me about her is that her game on grass is quite different than her game on hard courts, or even clay. She takes off power and hits a lot more slice shots. It's nice to see a player with a versatile game.

Running with your points Dedric, what I've learned from watching too much WTA these recent years is that hard and flat doesn't bring consistent results. So many players have power now, so few know how to use it. That's why Szavay disappoints me the most of the Euro no show phenom you point out. She has variety but has become a mess.

Since Serena showed what she can do to big babe wannabes today, I wonder if the veteran slice and dice of her likely next round opponent Vinci might be more of a problem. Doubt it.

Sharapova has a long road back.

Sharapova

Dulko

Is big serving Sabine Lisicki flying under the radar? Could Kirsten Flipkens beat or test Safina?

Some of the third rounds coming up are interesting.

We have Venus playing Carla Suarez Navarro after CSN upset her in Australia. I hope Venus gives CSN a harsh lesson.

Azarenka vs. Cirstea is a battle of next generation players. Have to favor Azarenka but I wouldn't mind if the lovely Sorana beat her.

The winner of Razzano-Zvonareva might make the semis.

Old doubles pals Hantuchova and Sugiyama are facing off, in a matchup that Sugi has dominated over the years.

Two-hander,

Yes. If Serena can handle Groth's big babe tennis, she shouldn't have too much trouble if she has to play against Azarenka in the quarterfinals. A Serena vs. Azarenka quarterfinal would be almost as big of a match as the final. If she is healthy, I think Serena will be all business in that match.

Serena didn't have trouble in her first match against Silva, but she made more errors in the second set when Silva started hitting backhand slices. If Vinci does the same thing, Serena should win, but it will not be as easy.

I usually don't like Dementieva's outfits by YONEX. However, this dress is nice.

Is anyone else nervous for Venus's 3rd match tomorrow? I didn't watch her Aussie match against Navarro. What was it about the spaniard's game that troubled Venus and does that translate over to grass? I feel like Venus is vulnerable in the first week of slams. Once she gets over that hump, she becomes a serious challenger. And at Wimbledon, she becomes a practical shoo-in for the title.

Suarez Navarro has a sweet one-handed backhand and some nice variety, but I think she's likely to be blown off the court on grass. The Justine Henin comparisons that have followed her since last year's French are way overstated.

I'm really enjoying watching Melanie Oudin this morning. Lovely touch. I suspect lack of power will probably limit her upside to about the Agnieszka Radwanska level, but that still makes her the most interesting American prospect since Serena Williams.

I'm enjoying Radio Wimbledon. The announcer is almost laughing at Jancovic's dramatics.

Sounds like Venus is feeling confident. Nice little interivew right off the court.

I'm curious what matches EPN is showing.

Venus Williams showed Carla that surface matters (even though Venus choked that Australia match away). Not today Carla. Not against the Queen in her back yard. Ivanovic seems to be finding nice form though so Venus needs to be just as on it in her 4th round match. These lapses that Venus has are still annoying. I was getting a little nervous in the middle of that second set.

Jankovic needs to take a SERIOUS break!! But good for the American Oudin.

Great day for Oudin. She showed the variety, talent, and composure of a veteran out there. Those adept drop shots in key moments were wonderful. And she held it together throughout the typical Jankovic histrionics.

Brad Gilbert is out for blood against the time-out rules. You'd think someone had killed one of his loved ones the way he said Jankovic should have been thrown out for that 14 minute break she took. It's to the point where he and Pam Shriver are comical in their disagreement about it. While some players use (abuse) it more than others, don't blame them if you don't like the rule...blame the tour. I think there should be a limit, like the shot-spot rule. Just like the players can get three challenges per set, the tour should have something like "four medical time-outs per year." The Jankovic's of the tour will think twice before calling for the trainer in practically all tough matches. Ivanovic again showed her class when refusing to trash the rule-abusers in her interview. She just said something like "well, you don't know what's going on in the other person's mind or body, so you have to just worry about your own game." Pam Shriver even complemented her on her class for that statement.

I hope Oudin has a great career, but I'm not even remotely close to calling her the "next big thing." America is chock full of Glatch's, Querry's , Oudin's and Levine's on the tours. Even so, I'm now a big fan of Oudin after today's great win over Jankovic and would love to see her break out and above the now-mediocre younger-american-tennis-player mold.

Personally, I found it a little inconsistent to rail about Jankovic's gamesmanship in taking a lengthy time-out while celebrating Levine for hiding the ball with the chalk on it in his pocket in the Safin match.

In any case, immediately after winning a tie-break is a strange time to take a time out if you don't have a medical reason for it.

Lisicki sounds like one happy tennis player. Lots of match points, but she finally beat Kutsy in straights. What a difference from the French. I guess surface matters!

I called Lisicki's win earlier in the thread but didn't see Oudin's win coming. We'll see about Flipkens-Safina. On any other surface Safina could stomp her, but here...

Lisicki is very talented. Today and when winning Charleston she closed out matches after failing to convert a lot of match points, so her shakiness is matched by resolve. A good thing.

Not sure if she'll get past Wozniacki in the next round though.

Tennis Guy, the positive side with Oudin and Glatch is that they are young (Oudin only 17) and most of all: now Fernandez is guiding the ship as the US Fed Cup coach.

I think Fernandez is a big positive influence on these two girls, neither of whom have cookie cutter games.

Like JC, I don't see them as top flight players, but they could be the best US women since the sisters, and might put in some big results in the years to come.

Good call. Astute!
Safina beat Flipkens, but not easily. Amelie is playing well and is into the 4th round. Next up--Safina. I totally can see Amelie winning. She is serving and volleying well.

Flipkens had a set point (maybe two?) in the first but pretty much collapsed after failing to convert. Dinara has really benefited from a weak draw.

I hope Amelie beats Dinara.

There's talk on the WTA message board that Richard Williams watched Amelie play today. People were debating whether he was scouting Amelie ahead of time (she and Venus wouldn't meet until the quarters) or he simply likes watching good old fashioned grass court tennis. Maybe both? The fact that Venus's first name matches the name of her favorite trophy can't be an accident.

This was a nice win for Amelie today too because she and Flavia have a history after fiery Flavia gave the ump the finger and went on to win while playing Amelie in Fed Cup earlier this year. Amelie was angry about that, and went on record about it.

Jankovic wasn't exactly full of praise for Oudin's game in her post-match presser. She isn't as cute as she thinks she is.

Dedric, I don't know if Groth is a good measure of Azarenka. Vika knows how to move the ball around and Groth is clueless on that front. Besides the double bagel Azarenka has served in one match, the other stat worth noting is that she has yet to drop her serve. I read that against Cirstea she won 41 of 43 points where she got first serve in. Vika's serve isn't that big, but she must be using it well. Serena would be out to ruffle her on that front.

I'd still favor Serena, especially Serena on a mission, should they play. But it could be a real throwdown. Serena would be out to settle scores. Vika would be out to prove she is more than Quarterenka. They both have tough round of 16 opponents though, so one step at a time.

Jankovic has been grouchy in many press talks, lately. I guess it's understandable as her results have been declining, but she should be careful. The other players on the tour already know what a drama queen she is, if she adds pissy-poor-sport to her résumé, it certainly won't help her with them, or the press, or the fans for that matter. Having reached #1 and never having won a slam (and only being in one slam final) might be another reason for that attitude. At the rate she's going, she might retire with that sad distinction...one Safina's hoping she won't have to live with, either.

OKay, I know this is about the maturity level of a 10 year old...

But did anyone see the name of the poor girl from Thailand in the Girls Singles draw...

Luksika Kumkhum

Thank God its not Liksuka

I was waiting for the end of the match just to see how they would have shaken their hands at the end
But it was gracious afterall (I think they even kissed each other).

Thanks for making me laugh.

Dementieva offered 0 break points today in her match against to Vesnina...is it a record for her?
5 double faults. 4 aces. The speed stats didn't look bad either (I guess her problem was the second serve. Her first serve always seemed be hit quite strong. The problem is when it's not it)

Dementieva's been serving better the last year or so, although her overall game hasn't been great since the Australian Open. I'd put her serve close to par with Jankovic's these days. It'll never be a weapon, but it's not the monster vulnerability it was.

Her draw's been very soft to this point, so it's hard to say how well she's really playing. I'm leaning to her to win over Razzano (or Schiavone, but Virginia's been torrid lately), which I wasn't expecting at the beginning of the tournament.

Amelie is is finally playing her match on Centre Court. #1 player against a former champion, which was probably scheduled with Safina in mind rather than Amelie.
I would imagine Dinara will be battling nerves. I hope Amelie, often a victim of nerves herself, will come through.

Wow. I tuned in and found Safina up 3-0. Mauresmo then got ahold of herself and reeled of 5 games, then won the set. Looking good!

OK, we are about to see some history. The roof on Centre Court!
In some small way, I am happy that an out gay person participated in the first play at Wimbledon under the roof.

What a letdown. Amelie had 3-0 in the final set and lost it. I think the world #1 showed some mettle.
Oh well.

Damn! I really wanted Amelie to make another run.

Oh, and apparently, Jelena Jankovic says one of the reasons she lost is because ... she was on her "monthly cycle".

I know - who wants to hear that you're having your "monthly woman" problems! Gross

Serena really took it to another level against Azarenka.

I thought these stats were interesting:

A comparison of average serve speeds for their last matches


Serena Murray Federer Hewitt Ferrero Djokovic

1st 114 mph 113 116 116 110 119


2nd 93 mph 84 95 94 95 97

Just in case you were wondering if Serena had any second thoughts about playing at Indian Wells again, there's this, which had me cracking up...

Q. Okay. But when the time comes to sit down and look at your marvels, what do you think the first marvel will be?

SERENA WILLIAMS: Uhm, I don't know. I have no idea. I'll just ‑‑ I don't know. I think I'll be a little amazed because, uhm, you know, I never even take the time out to even think about the tournament.

I mean, I use some of my trophies for makeup brushes, so, you know, maybe I'll just take a step back and be like, Hmm. Take all the makeup brushes out and really appreciate every title and every trophy.

Q. What trophy makes the best makeup brush holder?

SERENA WILLIAMS: My Indian Wells '03 (smiling). Or was it '01? Whatever year that was.

As for today: Williams Tennis Association.

I watched venus and penciled her in for the title.

Then I saw Serena.

I'm sticking with Serena as the winner this year. Venus has that leg wrap on, and movement is one of the main things that sets her apart from Serena on grass.

Serena was just superb today. Her serve is fierce. No one closes out matches like her.

Azarenka played quite well. But she isn't Serena.