Men
Let's cut right to the quick. Djokovic got a massive boon by having all 3 other Big 4 members on the side of the draw. In addition, Federer and Nadal are in the same quarter, so for one of them to win they will likely have to go through all three of the others. Coming in, I thought Rafa was the favorite but realistically any of the Big 4 could win this tournament, and I would have ranked them Nadal, Murray, Federer, Djokovic. But Djokovic ended up with the easier draw and Nadal/Federer will have to run the gauntlet. They have dangerous opponents early on, too. Part of me still thinks Nadal can win this tournament but I'm going to tip Murray to end the British drought and take out Nadal and Djokovic in succession, assuming Djokovic gets to the final. None of the Big 4 is at their peak at the moment, and Murray is well rested and (like Federer) coming off a title.
If there was ever a chance for Del Potro make a move on grass, this might be the year. Ferrer is the top player in his quarter and he beat Djokovic at the Olympics for the bronze medal last year. The top half is wide open for someone to make a name for themselves if they can beat Djokovic and/or one of the other seeds. Tsonga is in Murray's quarter and just lost to him at Queen's so I don't see him getting past the Scot. Some potential nice looking fourth rounders are Berdych/Gasquet and Tsonga/Cilic and I think it's tough to see upsets happening there. In terms of the annual grass court surprises, I'm looking at Kohlschreiber, Janowicz, and maybe Querrey. There are no first time seeds at Wimbledon, in part because it comes so closely on the heels of the French Open.
Women
If Serena was the favorite at the French Open, how much more Wimbledon. We can pretty much leave it at that. If Serena is going to lose, I believe it will be too a big hitter fairly early. I'm looking at Lisicki in the 4th round. Serena actually has a fairly tough draw, with Zheng, Paszek, Lisicki, Kerber/Kirilenko, Radwanska, and Azarenka as potential opponents after the first round. Sharapova did well to get back to the French Open and to stay out of Serena's half, but after what happened at the Olympics last year, she's not going to beat Serena. She'll have to hope Serena loses early and then she can contend with Azarenka and Radwanska. It is conceivable that the top 4 could all reach the semis as none of the second tier players seem to be stepping up. I do like a potential Azarenka/Kvitova clash in the quarters though.
Speaking of the second tier players, Errani, Li, Kvitova, and Kerber are ripe to be upset, so the draw is open for some of those grass courters to emerge and go deep in a draw. Kerber/Kirilenko is nice 4th rounder I've circled. Pironkova has a chance to make a run (she opens with Pavlyuchenkova) and players Wozniacki, Flipkens, Stephens, and Makarova could do some damage. This is an interesting draw because there is stability among the very top players, then a lot of wishy washy ones, and then down to some hot low seeds and unseeded ladies. Romina Oprandi (SUI) is enjoying a seed at a major for the first time at the age of 27.
Americans
The American men had another successful qualifying which saw the controversial Wayne Odesnik reaching the main draw along with Kudla, Reynolds, and Kuznetsov. Johnson picked up a wildcard for winning the Nottingham challenger to join 18-Isner, 21-Querrey, Blake, Harrison, Russell, and Ram in the draw. For the second straight major, the men got some pretty nice draws. Querrey plays Tomic in round 1, but then the seed near him is Gasquet. Isner should be able to get to Wawrinka in the third round. Most of the others have winnable first round matches, no one is playing a seed though Johnson will play Reynolds for the right to play Djokovic. Odesnik and Kudla start with qualifiers. It should be a good first round but then the prospects get harder. I'd like to see a couple through to the third round and maybe Isner or Querrey making for fourth.
On the other hand, the American women were shut out of qualifying though King made it in as a lucky loser. But this might have to do with so many of them being in the top 100 and in the main draw. Alison Riske was given a wildcard after reaching the semis at Birmingham (she made the semis there in '10 and the quarters in '11 too). So behind Serena the other American women are 17-Stephens, 26-Lepchenko, Hampton, McHale, Keys, Mattek-Sands, Davis, Oudin, Burdette, Vandeweghe, and Glatch for 14 in all. They are did get a tougher draw than the men as Vandeweghe drew Kvitova, Davis got Safarova, King will play Cornet, and Riske challenges Oprandi. (Though of those Kvitova is the only real bad draw.) In addition, Stephens matches up against Hampton and Keys plays Watson in two of the better first round matches. But by sheer volume and number are sure to make it through to the second and even third rounds, then it depends on the draw. But many of these ladies are playing well and could go far. Stephens first seed is Wozniacki and that's in Errani's section (if Lepchenko doesn't get her first) so I am optimistic about her chances. But all of this is gravy if you're a Serena fan anyway.
Battle for no. 1
There is really no need for this paragraph since Serena and Djokovic both have number 1 locked through Wimbledon. I'll update you on some of the lower rankings later on.
Other Info
You may be used to some information I like to provide at the beginning of tournaments and especially majors so I will close this preview post by providing that info.
Men
Defending champion: Roger Federer (SUI)
Defending finalist: Andy Murray (GBR)
Semifinalists: Novak Djokovic (SRB), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Quarterfinalists: David Ferrer (ESP), Mikhail Youzhny (RUS), Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER), Florian Mayer (GER) - Three players seeded over 25 made the quarters last year, and all come in playing decent. However, Mayer is unseeded by 1 ranking spot and drew Djokovic in the first round, Kohlschreiber could conceiving make a run, but Youzhny is near Murray.
Previous champions in the draw: Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) ('02), Federer ('03,'04,'05,'06,'07,'09,'12), Nadal ('08,'10), Djokovic ('11)
Junior champions in the draw: Federer ('98), Jurgen Melzer (AUT) ('99), Nicolas Mahut (FRA) ('00), Jeremy Chardy (FRA) ('05), Thiemo de Bakker (NED) ('06), Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) ('08), Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) ('09) - also of note in Monfils ('04) but he is skipping Wimbledon
Women
Defending champion: Serena Williams (USA)
Defending finalist: Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)
Semifinalists: Victoria Azarenka (BLR), Angelique Kerber (GER)
Quarterfinalists: Petra Kvitova (CZE), Sabine Lisicki (GER), Maria Kirilenko (RUS), Tamira Paszek (AUT) - There's a nice grass courters in that list and most are playing OK at the moment. Serena could meet Paszek, Lisicki, and Kerber/Kirilenko in 3 straight rounds though, for what that's worth.
Previous champions in the draw: Serena ('02,'03,'09,'10,'12), Sharapova ('04), Kvitova ('11)
Junior champions in the draw: Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) ('03), A.Radwanska ('05), Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) ('06), Urszula Radwanska (POL) ('07), Laura Robson (GBR) ('08), Kristyna Pliskova (CZE) ('10), Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) ('11) - a little unusual that the oldest girls' champ came from '03, but the success of the more recent players is impressive
Draw quarters:
Men - Djokovic/Berdych vs Ferrer/Del Potro, Federer/Nadal vs Murray/Tsonga
Women - Serena/Kerber vs Radwanska/Li, Sharapova/Errani vs Azarenka/Kvitova
Bring on the tennis!!!
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