Wimbledon - Countdown: Men to watch

Eurosport - Sun, 22 Jun 13:10:00 2008

TENNIS 2008 ATP Queen's Nadal R. - Roddick A. - 0

Who has the best bet of dethroning five-time defending champion Roger Federer at Wimbledon? Eurosport Yahoo! looks at the runners and riders.

Five down, two to go: Roger Federer

Having matched Bjorn Borg's record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and broken the Swede's mark with 59 consecutive wins and counting on grass, Federer's targets on the surface are becoming limited. Only Pete Sampras and his seven All England trophies stand in the Swiss legend's way of becoming the most accomplished man to step on centre court at SW19. Federer has struggled in 2008 more than at any time since becoming the number one player in the world four years ago, with notable failures to his two main rivals (see below) in Melbourne and Paris. But until the master is defeated again in South West London, the sweetest prize in tennis will still belong to its greatest player.

Coming closer every day: Rafael Nadal

The Spanish claycourt king and perennial world number two to Federer, Rafael Nadal has come heart-wrenchingly close to the Swiss for the last two years at the All England Club. Last year's five-set epic will go down as one of the finest finals ever played there, one in which Federer's mastery of the surface proved simply too great. Still, Nadal has a couple of big reasons to be encouraged. The first was his brilliant victory over Novak Djokovic in the Queen's Club final, where the 22-year-old Mallorcan claimed his first grass court title. The second, and perhaps psychologically most important, was his embarrassing demolition of Federer in the Roland Garros final.

The other champion: Novak Djokovic

Since the 2005 French Open only one man other than Federer or Nadal has claimed one of the 13 Grand Slam titles on offer. That man, of course, is the 21-year-old Serbian Djokovic, who became his nation's first major champion by winning the Australian Open at the start of the year after stunning Federer in the semi-finals. A last-four appearance at Wimbledon along with a runner-up showing at Queen's bode well for the ATP Tour's third star, but Djokovic has not shown the same "I can and will beat anybody in the world" confidence on grass that he has demonstrated on clay and hard courts.

"Come on Andy!": Andy Murray

The 21-year-old Scot is either the man to continue in the tradition of Tim Henman, coming painfully close to bringing home the spoils year after year at Wimbledon, or he will be the first man since Fred Perry to claim a Grand Slam triumph for Great Britain. The best bet is the latter. But that said, the spoils will not be coming home this year. Murray, yet to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final, has been terribly inconsistent this season, and the thumb, groin, and neck injuries that forced him to withdraw from the Queen's Club quarter-finals could have a lingering impact at SW19.

Once upon a time: Andy Roddick

Before Djokovic, and before Nadal, one man had the misfortune of having his heart broken every year by Roger Federer at the All England Club. American number one Andy Roddick, whom Federer surpassed as world number one more than four years ago, has suffered 15 defeats at the hands of the Swiss maestro, including six in the last three rounds of Grand Slams, three in major finals, and two in Wimbledon finals. But there is hope yet for the big-serving American. Roddick beat the top seeded Federer for only the second time in his career in the Miami quarter-finals in April.

Gunning for top trio: David Nalbandian

The 26-year-old former Wimbledon runner-up has recovered brilliantly from his rankings plunge in the middle of last year, and is starting again to look like a Grand Slam contender. Nalbandian shined at the end of 2007 when he beat Federer and Nadal twice each in back-to-back Masters tournaments, and also earned a win over Djokovic in the same time span. He hasn't translated that success this year though, crashing out in the third round at the Oz Open and second round at Roland Garros. Still, Nalbandian will be very encouraged by reaching the semi-finals at Queen's Club, as long as he does not get too discouraged by the 6-1 6-0 loss to Djokovic. The Argentine is the most likely player to upset one of the big three.

A Frenchman in London: Richard Gasquet

The French number one skipped Roland Garros with an injury, but Gasquet would not have likely been a contender in Paris had he played. With his sparkling serve and massive backhand, the world number nine is much better suited for Wimbledon, where he shocked Roddick on the way to a first-ever Grand Slam semi-finals appearance in a 4-6 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(3) 8-6 classic last year. A quarter-finals showing at Queen's was an improvement from last season, and he has clearly taken a liking to playing in London.

The ex-champion: Lleyton Hewitt

The only man left on the ATP Tour, apart from Fererer, who knows what it's like to kiss the Wimbledon trophy, Hewitt has slipped greatly since his 2003 triumph. The former world number one started working with ex-Federer coach and Australian compatriot Tony Roche last year in order to get his ranking back on track, but the progress has been slow. A quarter-finals showing at Queen's Club, a tournament he's won four times, is an improvement from last year but still likely discouraging. Hewitt could go far at Wimbledon, though, if he gets the right draw.

The potential star: Marcos Baghdatis

Baghdatis was the shining star of the ATP Tour just two years ago, the 20-year-old kid who was going to challenge Nadal and Federer and change the balance of power in men's tennis. Of course that kid ended up being Novak Djokovic instead, who arrived on Tour a year after Baghdatis started to descend the rankings. Still, the former Oz Open finalist has a following in London, where he reached the semi-finals in 2006, and is always a threat on grass. He has started working with former Federer and Marat Safin coach Peter Lundgren in preparation for this year's All England Club.

Still waiting: Tomas Berdych

Another young player with supposedly all the potential in the world, Berdych has yet to live up to his prospects since stunning Federer on his way to the quarter-finals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The 22-year-old Czech number one has shined best on this surface in the past, winning the Halle title last year and pushing Federer to three sets in the final there two years ago. His greatest hope in 2008 is probably to match his career-best quarter-finals showing at Wimbledon last season.

The rest: Other potential quarter-finalists include the last man to beat Federer on grass Mario Ancic, Czech danger man Radek Stepanek, big-serving Croatian duo Ivo Karlovic and Ivan Ljubicic, surprise French Open semi-finalist Gael Monfils, former world number two Tommy Haas, Finnish number one Jarkko Nieminen, American number two James Blake, and world number nine Stanislas Wawrinka.

Follow LIVE coverage of the entire Wimbledon fortnight starting on June 23 on eurosport.yahoo.com!

Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport

Comment 2 - 21 of 21

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  1. Go Rafa,you are awaesome can't just to see when you disgrace Federer on grass come Sunday as you did in Roland Garros.You are the best tennis player of all time.........Go Rafa kudos to you!

    From gloria a, on Wed 2 Jul 8:44PM
  2. Marat is the best.

    From f_perpetua2000, on Tue 1 Jul 2:43PM
  3. i think that roger will be the winner :D sorry rafa

    From youboispas, on Sat 28 Jun 4:22PM
  4. Novak all the way. I can't wait for him to get his number one spot. He has the full all around game that I love to watch. Book it Novak is this years champion.

    From Tom F, on Mon 23 Jun 4:51AM
  5. Nadal-Nole final..Nadal wins a close match

    From Leonnatus Anteas, on Sun 22 Jun 4:09PM
  6. Its Roger all the way..go Swiss..

    Geo

    From gnm_1934, on Sun 22 Jun 3:25PM
  7. RAFA IS THE BEST...........HE'S GOING TO BE A NEW WIMBLEDON CHAMPION..

    From umair u, on Sun 22 Jun 2:37PM
  8. Good luck to Rafa, Novak, and Andy Roddick! I would very much like to see a new Wimbledon champion crowned this year. I am tired and bored of Federer.

    From tagger, on Sun 22 Jun 12:01AM
  9. Well, it could be any of the top three guys (Roger, Nadal, Djokovic) but as things stand now, Rafa is the guy to watch. Make we 'waka' Rafa. Vamos! Mekinooooooo!

    From meksokeke, on Sat 21 Jun 9:27PM
  10. to rafa good luck for wimbledon,best man win

    From imtennis43, on Sat 21 Jun 1:46PM
  11. Marcos has all it takes to be a top 5 player. His style is very similar to Djokovic's. He just needs confidence and the "I can beat everybody" attitude. Go Marcos... you can do it if you believe in it!

    From nicholas_con2, on Sat 21 Jun 10:08AM
  12. COME ON MARCOS, upset all these idiots that cant see past R&R (Roger & Rafa)

    From Lynx, on Fri 20 Jun 12:18PM
  13. Go, Rafa! Vamos! You can do it and you know it!

    From JJ, on Thu 19 Jun 9:49AM
  14. Fed is on way down but Rafa and Novak are both on way up with form and game proficiency. I see Novak as this year Wimbledon champion.

    From neven, on Thu 19 Jun 2:12AM
  15. This is the greatest chance indeed for any of the world's top three to prove who has all the guts! The best I reckon for now is Rafael Nadal. Nada mas...

    From Alex M, on Thu 19 Jun 1:51AM
  16. Rafael Nadal will finally do it! After five years Wimbledon is going to have a new champion. Vamos Rafa! You are the best!

    From Tammy-MKD, on Wed 18 Jun 3:58PM
  17. roger is going to win, muscles dosent cut it(meaning rafa)

    From Arham I, on Wed 18 Jun 2:46PM
  18. roger is going to win again, muscles dosent cut it(meaning rafa)

    From Arham I, on Wed 18 Jun 2:46PM
  19. roger is an artist while rafa is a warrior but we all know the pen is stronger then the sword

    From jain.naman90, on Wed 18 Jun 2:01PM
  20. Vamos Rafa! You have a big chance to beat Fed!

    From austen82, on Wed 18 Jun 1:37PM
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