Random Thoughts on the 2011 Wimbledon Draw

by Savannah

Two things about the men's draw.
Note to Andy Murray: The AELTC doesn't like you as much as the French. I'm just saying. Maybe they look at you and see blue face paint and a tattered tartan?

If the biggest thing people are taking from the men's draw is John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut Part Deux the draw is pretty balanced.

As for the women's draw it takes some studying to see the traps that have been laid.

No one is talking much about a Final scenario involving WTA #1 Caroline Wozniacki. She hasn't played on grass coming into the tournament and some of the players she's facing are coming in on fire. Dominika Cibulkova got a big win over Svetlana Kuznetsova at Rosmalen. Julia Goerges has been playing well but will be relatively rested compared to others.

Samantha Stosur overcame her demons and got a huge win over Vera Zvonareva at Eastbourne Thursday. Maria Sharapova has won it all before and it's possible she will do it again. She wants it. Her fiance wants it. She's got to get something from new coach Thomas Hogstedt who didn't have the decency to send Li Na an email saying he was leaving her employ. There's a lot at stake for both Maria and Li but more on Li shortly.

The weakest of the seeds are Goerges, Peng Shuai and Lucie Safarova but Peng, of the three, has the biggest chance of doing some early round damage. Will Wozniacki surprise and run through her section of the draw? One never knows do one? Anything is possible. I think she has to at least make the quarterfinals to be able to say she made a good showing? Did I hear someone say round of 16 is the best she'll do? Meanie.

The good news is that Serena Williams and Venus Williams are in different halves of the draw. Maybe that's the only good news?
Serena finds herself in the bottom of the top half of the draw with Li Na, Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska, Bethanie Mattek Sands, Maria Kirilenko, Flavia Pennetta and Marion Bartoli. I'm saying again that I don't expect miracles from Serena. A healthy Serena wouldn't have a problem. The Serena from Eastbourne who had trouble breathing and her quads giving her problems will have to struggle a bit. The wild card here is Marion Bartoli. If she stays focused and plays up to her great potential she could find herself deep in the second week. Li Na is the other player who could find herself playing in week two. Of course I'd be very happy if Serena finds a way to steady her breathing and minimize her other physical issues resulting from her recent health concerns and finds herself in the semis. I'd like that a lot. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

The seeds in the top of the bottom half are Francesca Schiavone, Ekaterina Makarova, Shahar Peer, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Andrea Petkovic, Daniela Hantuchova, Kaia Kanepi and Victoria Azarenka.

I'm sorry Vika fans but I see Pavs coming out of this section. I think Dani Hantuchova who has been on fire of late will run out of steam and not make it to the second week. Vika retired from her last match, again, and I wonder about her being mentally and physically ready for the grind that is a Grand Slam. Of course Kaia could go on one of her tears and prove me wrong but that's tennis.

And now to the bottom of the bottom half of the draw. Who might be lurking here? Petra Kvitova for one. Looking around I see Roberta Vinci, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Tsvetana Pironkova, Yanina Wickmayer, Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva and...drumroll please...Venus Williams.

Will we see the Venus Williams we saw playing her opening match at Eastbourne or the Venus who lost for the first time in ten years to Daniela Hantuchova? That Venus was spraying errors all over the place and while she did win a second set failed to close the deal in the third. If Venus #1 shows up there is no need to even debate who is going to win the tournament. If she goes on one of her walkabouts it's an entirely different situation.
Petra has had a rather "meh" grass season and it's going to be interesting to see if she can hold her nerve and her focus for two weeks. When she's on she can hold her own with the best of them but when she's bad...it's bad.

Wickmayer doesn't have the temperament to survive a two week test of brain and heart in my opinion. She and Azarenka are hindered by the same things - lack of patience and a one note style of play. Both will do well but in the end disappoint their fans.

JJ, Sveta, and Tsvetana are the sleepers here. JJ can do it but will she? She's playing in such an insecure fashion of late I wonder if she'll be able to gather her will and fight the way she used to. I never count Sveta out until she takes herself out. I've seen Sveta play her best tennis and when she does she's almost unbeatable. I don't know if she gets distracted or she overthinks things but the only way Sveta loses is when Sveta takes herself out of her match.

Tsvetana really enjoys the hunt. The bigger the name across the net from her the bigger she plays. We know she can go deep and seeing her in the second week wouldn't be that big a surprise. If she plays with confidence she can surprise a few big names and that is just how she likes to roll.

All of that verbage leads up to me saying that the draw is wide open. Unless someone breaks her legs I think Sharapova will make the semifinals. If Venus stays healthy she can as well. I have no idea who else will be there. The tour is too weak to make any solid predictions and even when making one like I am here I can argue myself into a different scenario. It's gonna be fun y'all.

End Notes

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the more interesting looks from the WTA player party that took place Thursday evening. The WTA worked with British designers so that each woman would have her own unique look.
I've come to the conclusion Stella McCartney really hates Caroline Wozniacki. That or Caroline needs to hire a stylist who will hone her fashion sensibilities so that she doesn't come out in public dressed like a woman twice her age or a slut out for a stroll.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands outfit was designed by the man who does Lady GaGa's costumes. I think Stefanie would've said "no". I'm just saying.

Young Heather Watson looks great. So does Maria Sharapova. Serena looks awesome. The dress fits her from top to bottom and makes her look classy. Not a fan of the makeup but she otherwise looks fabulous.

I don't like Ana's dress. I'm sorry people. She's small busted and that dress actually makes the girls look like they're in pain. The dress itself also appears to be too small for her and that's saying something since she's extremely thin right now.

JJ's dress is a little matronly for my tastes. A well preserved fifty year old would look great in that dress. Petko gets a nod towards best dressed too. Her makeup is also great.

All of us were told by our mothers if you can't say anything good don't say anything. That's why I'm not talking about Li Na from the neck down. From the neck up the woman is flawless.

The AELTC has announced that live streaming will not be done this year pending a reevaluation of it's options. Here is a list, from the official site, of the carriers who will be featuring Wimbledon coverage.

BROADCASTER TERRITORY

ADMC Middle East
ARQ Czech Republic
B92 Serbia
BBC UK
Canal+ France
Canwest Canada (Men's And Ladies' finals only)
C More Sweden, Finland, Norway
Ctv(Tsn) Canada (preliminary rounds only)
ESS Asia
ESPN United States
ESPNSur South America
Fiji Tv
Fox Australia
Gaora Japan
Go Multiplus Malta
Globosat Brazil
I.K.O (Sport Klub ) Balkans
Lumiere Tv Cyprus
Media Eye Turkey (Ntv)
MPI Romania
NBC United States
Nova Greece & Cyprus
Nhk Japan
NOS Netherlands
NTV Russia
Pragosport (Sport1 Channel) Hungary
Polsat Poland
RDS Canada (Finals Only)
Reuters
Rtl(Clt Ufa) French Belgium
Seven Australia
Sky Deutschland Germany
SNTV
Sogecable Spain
Sport1 Netherlands
Sports Channel Israel
Sport TV Portugal
SRG Switzerland
Supersport Albania & Kosovo
Supersport South Africa
TVNZ New Zealand
TG4 Republic Of Ireland
TV+ Bulgaria
TV2 Denmark
The Tennis Channel United States
VRT Dutch Belgium
VTM (VMMA) Belgium
Wowow Japan