The Grass is Greener (Than Clay)

Now that I have run out of tears to cry over the result of this past French Open (we just want one title, Rafa...), I am ready to discuss Wimbledon, the possibilities, and the major players heading into the All-England Club. Who's in need of championship run, or at least a deep showing?

1. For someone who plays only two ATP 500s per year (and no 250s), Novak Djokovic has been playing the vulture for the better part of the last 18 months. He's currently the defending champion at seven tournaments, none of them being Grand Slams. And for the only of the Big Four to be a virtual lock to make it to the latter stages of every event he enters, he hasn't won a major in his last five attempts. Maybe the stars will align this Wimbledon, but doubt has taken over hope given his current results.
2. Roger Federer made his sixth final and won his second title of the year in Halle, but his peak form from the post-Australian Open hard court swing seems to have waned a bit, not a good sign heading into the place that cemented his legend. Winning a grass court tune-up (and getting a nice draw) should boost his confidence, but we've seen Roger have sniffs at matches/titles yet come up short.
3. With a new, badass coach in his corner, Andy Murray heads into Wimbledon with a renewed purpose. How can one top breaking a 77-year drought? By doing it again, this time with a Amelie Mauresmo in tow. It'll be a tough ask, but quelling the haters is great motivation.
4. Jerzy Janowicz has been in freefall since making the semifinals at SW19 last year. He went through a winless streak that lasted from the middle of February until the beginning of the French Open, including a Davis Cup loss to Borna Coric, a young up-and-comer barely ranked within the Top 300. About half of his ranking points are attributed to his stellar run last year, so a poor showing will cause him to completely plummet, possibly outside the Top 60.
5. For a player widely considered to be unbeatable, Serena Williams has been beaten quite a bit in 2014 (based on her standards, anyway). Especially disconcerting were results at the first two majors this year, particularly in Paris, where she was dusted in barely over an hour by Garbine Muguruza. Serena's getting close to 33 now, so her invincibility of the previous two years may be wearing off, but she needs to relearn how to raise her game for the Slams like she did in Brisbane, Miami, and Rome this year.
6. Agnieszka Radwanska is #5 in the Road To Singapore and has had a decent year, but she doesn't have a title to show for it. She's a player who's game doesn't automatically scream Slam champion, but Aga has had very real opportunities, at Wimbledon last year and at the Oz in January, slip through her fingers to stealthily grab her first major. With the other top players (not counting Maria Sharapova) in a bit of flux, Aga should want to capitalize on the grass that she loves.
7. Sloane Stephens used to enjoy the label of being the youngest player in her section of the rankings. She has since ceded that position to Eugenie Bouchard, a cohort who has zoomed past her this season. The other girls in her age group are also making steady, noticeable gains, but Sloane seems to be stuck in third gear, scraping by with a ranking barely inside the Top 20. Making six straight second weeks in Slams is quite impressive, but that statistic is getting stale, especially since the last three were only fourth round forays. If she can get to the semis (not an easy task), she can reinsert herself as a dangerous player for anyone to face.

Any other players you think could use a deep run? Leave a comment! Should be a fun fortnight.

B-Squad High

The ATP has, at times, been equivocated to a high school. With a bunch of young-ish guys secluded together, cliques form, rivalries intensify, and there is a definitive cool kids table occupied by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. But let's imagine for a second that each member of the Big 4 transferred to a prep school, where do the others fall in the hierarchy now that we're back in Europe on red clay? I have a handy guide using senior superlatives and other high school words that I haven't used in years!

Stanislas Wawrinka, Valedictorian - Stan is suffering from a bit of Senioritis post-Melbourne, but being the first person to beat both Rafa and Novak at a Slam automatically vaults you to the head of the class. Not even Roger can boast such a feat (though we'll cut the Swiss No. 2 some slack). Back on clay, his favorite surface, we should see the return of Stan's best tennis.

Cutest Couple

Tomas Berdych, Salutatorian - has been the one member of the B-squad who has been, for years, consistently present at the top of the rankings and at the latter stages of majors relative to his peers. He has beaten Roger twice at Slams, Novak on another occasion, and, if weather and certain points had gone in his favor during the 2012 US Open and 2014 Aussie Open semifinals, very well could've added Murray and Nadal to his list of scalps. Despite all of this, he's still on the hunt for his maiden Slam trophy. It all comes down to playing the biggest matches and biggest points much better than he has. It made all the difference in the world for Wawrinka.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Class Clown - Oh Jo...before the year started, I tagged you as my pick ahead of your peers in the second tier to win a major this year. Sadly, you are proving me so, so wrong. Between your blow out loss to Federer in Melbourne and your horrendous choke job to a limping Gojowczyk in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, you have had a laughable season thus far. (I hope Jo reads this paragraph, seeing as I'm speaking directly to him.)

David Ferrer, Super Senior - this category could almost be called "Senior Citizen." Daveed has tried really hard to live up to his billing as the guy who actually broke through the Top 4 rankings-wise while "Big 4" was a relevant term, but his inability to snag a victory over one of those members has held him back in a huge way. Niggling injuries and semi-puzzling losses have crept their way in and his status may continue to decline as the season progresses.

Grigor Dimitrov, Skipped a Grade - Baby Fed is nearly all grown up. Impressive performances in Melbourne and Acapulco have pretty much cemented his arrival. His March Masters swing was a bit underwhelming, winning just one match each in Indian Wells and Miami, but you can't deny how good he's been this year. Grigor heads to clay and grass soon and, with a nice bump in the rankings, should make a fair bit of noise at the two European Grand Slams. It's been an inspiration watching his development this season.

Juan Martin del Potro, Left Back - Cut down once again by his wrists, it looks more and more as if his 2009 U.S. Open victory was an outlier. Even still, putting his wrist problems aside for a moment, he has had some disappointing runs at a few majors in which he was healthy. Counting his incredible semifinal finish at last year's Wimbledon, DelPo's last four Slam results include two second-round exits and a DNP at Roland Garros.

Flying high

Ernests Gulbis, Most Improved - Ernie just might make it after all. Our beloved SeaGulbis is backing up his surprisingly positive 2013 season with some great play in the first quarter of 2014. Early losses in Miami (and now Monte Carlo) aside, it's been an impressively staid year for a such a volatile personality.

Jerzy Janowicz, Good Boy Gone Bad - speaking of volatile personalities, we're witnessing quite the implosion from Jerzy. For someone who won five matches at Wimbledon last year, he's been on the winning side only four times since the beginning of February. Male JJ may have benefited from a bit more recovery time after revealing an injured foot during the Australian Open, but has charged along through the indoor hard court swing, and he's paying the price now, suffering through a six-match losing streak.

Any other superlatives to add to the list? Leave a comment and tell me who!

Draw-ful: U.S. Open Men's Draw Preview

Yaaaawwwn.

Compared to the women's draw, the men's draw hardly has anything going on that will interest. Still, we press on and figure out who will lose when to Djokovic, Nadal, and Murray before we get to the juiciness of the later rounds.

Quarter 1

Novak Djokovic arguably has the toughest draw of the Top 4 seeds with Juan Martin Del Potro, one of the opening line favorites, looming on the other side. Even with Djokovic not at his best this summer, you have to assume that he will be fine through the Round of 16. Grigor Dimitrov, his potential third round opponent, may do a little more damage here than at Roland Garros, but Djokovic should be able to get past these mini-threats before a would-be-thrilling quarterfinal against DelPo. Only other interesting potential matchup is a third round clash between Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini. I'm sure it will be difficult deciding which meltdown is more handsome.

Speaking of our beloved Tower of Tandil, his draw has a couple of players that can be troublesome, including a second round clash with the winner of Hewitt-Baker. Tommy Haas is the next seed in his section which features my favorite first rounder between David Goffin and Alexandr Dolgopolov. That will be an epic mess with beautiful ball striking and puzzling errors and shot selections. Can't wait.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Juan Martin Del Potro

Quarter 2

Andy Murray should have a straightforward path to the quarters strictly because this is not the French Open. The other three seeds in his half (Nicolas Almagro, Andreas Seppi, Juan Monaco) are primarily clay courters and there are no floaters of note lurking. Moving on...

The bottom eighth is where it gets tricky for our defending champ. Tomas Berdych is anchoring the quarter. In my opinion, if New York were not under threat of a tornado during their semifinal clash last year, Andy Murray does not achieve his first major in 2012. Should be a very intriguing quarterfinal matchup, unless Stanislas Wawrinka has something to say about it. He hasn't been playing well as of late though.

Prediction: Tomas Berdych def. Andy Murray

Quarter 3

THIS SECTION OF THE DRAW IS WIDE OPEN. I'M LOOKING AT YOU ERNIE, JERZY, AND MILOS.

Seriously, the top seeds in this quarter are a surprisingly struggling David Ferrer and never-makes-a-quarterfinal Richard Gasquet. This is a BIG opportunity for a high-quality result for Milos Raonic, Jerzy Janowicz, or even Ernests Gulbis. Gulbis should easily make the third round where he faces Ferru. The winner will likely face Jerzy Janowicz in the Round of 16. Male JJ literally has no one in his section (and by "no one" I mean Janko Tipsarevic). Milos also has a very favorable draw to meet up with, and beat up on, Gasquet, who will be standing somewhere in Citi Field to return Milos's serves.

Just please, for the love of God, someone take advantage of this. Please. If Ferrer makes it out of this section, I will cry.

Prediction: Jerzy Janowicz def. Milos Raonic

Quarter 4

The infamous Fedal quarter. But Rafael Nadal has a solid draw. He owns Fernando Verdasco outside of blue clay and just beat John Isner in Cincinnati, so it should set him up to stomp all over Roger Federer in the quarterfinals. The Raging Bull has been en fuego all year outside of London, so I expect nothing less in New York.

Federer, who actually gave Nadal a match in Cincy, will want to start salvaging his year at his second favorite Grand Slam. He really should have no problems through the fourth round, even against Kei Nishikori who beat him in Madrid this year. Hey, who knows? Fed isn't feeling any pressure to beat Rafa anymore, maybe it'll help him settle down.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer

Semis

Prediction: Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Berdych

Novak should run away against Berdych. His name is name is branded on Tomas's backside right under the words "PROPERTY OF". Expect another adorably sad congratulatory tweet from the Birdman.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Jerzy Janowicz

I expect Jerzy to give Rafa his first real test, but beating Rafa in a best-of-five format is one of the hardest things to do in tennis. Jerzy is still too erratic on serve to really corner Rafa too much.

Final

Prediction: Rafael Nadal def. Novak Djokovic

This will be a coronation on Rafa's season: owning the hard courts over Novak Djokovic. Nole has been struggling mentally in big moments as of late whereas Rafa has been thriving. This should be another epic. Bring the popcorn, and keep a second and third bag on standby. You will probably need to eat during what should be a 48-hour match.

(Note: I will be at Flushing Meadows Friday checking out the last  of qualifying. Come say hi!)

In The Baguette

Draws are out, Roger is happy, and Tatashvili may make history by being Serena's second first-round conquerer or by being blown off the court in the shortest match in history (I predict the latter)! Here are my picks for what will, yet probably won't, happen:

1. Serena Williams wins the French Open with Olympics 2012-style domination of the field. She is primed and ready to exorcise all demons from last year and should be a lock to accomplish her goal of winning a match at Roland Garros, plus an additional six more.

2. Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal in the semifinals in five grueling sets and goes on to complete his Career Slam with a win over Tomas Berdych in the finals. Nole has confidence in beating Nadal on clay once again and two surprise losses in Madrid and Rome won't break his focus for the most important tournament on his calendar this year.

3. Sloane Stephens repeats her fourth-round result. I know she is STRUGGLIN' right now, but I believe in her game and her draw is very manageable.

4. Benoit Paire pushes Nadal to his second ever five-set match at Roland Garros. Benoit is much like Gulbis with his power game. The French crowd will be behind him and should give him the push he needs to...not completely flop.

5. Stanislas Wawrinka is upset by Jerzy Janowicz in the third round. I see the stars aligning and Jerzy's game coming together to give one of the young guns a second-week breakthrough. This will be an especially impressive win given Stan's form this month.

Now that I look at it, these predictions aren't exactly groundbreaking. Oh well. I'm already anticipating an awesome third round. NADAL VS. ROSOL II.

Who do you have taking home the titles? Who do you have breaking through? Leave a comment and let me know! Enjoy Roland Garros, y'all!

Hot In Hurr'

102 degree whether not withstanding, it has been a blazing-hot Aussie Open two rounds in! The race for the second week has reached a fever pitch and there are some blockbuster matches for us all to drool over.

So what happened through two rounds down under? Well, for those of you too lazy to bother watching, there's been a lot of this:

...major hubbub about this:

...too much of this, and EVERYONE is talking about this:

And I didn't even mention Tomic's cheekiness or Jerzy Janowicz's craziness.

Now it's time to look forward to the third round where there are a handful of intriguing matchups to grab our attention, but none bigger than MaSha vs. Venus. Venus is playing really well and is 2-0 vs. Maria on the GS stage, but Ms. Sugarpova has been beating the daylights out of her opponents so far (see bagel picture above). Venus, however, is a veteran who moves well and hits almost as hard as MaSha, so I do not expecting anything remotely close to a bagel. Still, MaSha's heavy hitting game is a little more consistent so I pick her to win in three tight sets.

Another interesting match up is our new favorite hot-head Jerzy Janowicz against Nico Almagro. They both have big serves, Almagro has the beautiful one-handed backhand, and Janowicz has the huge forehand that can cause damage. What impressed me about JJ was his ability to comeback from two sets down in his now infamous match against Devvarman and I worry about Nico's concentration in long battles. I have Janowicz in 5.

Lastly, our two favorite English-speaking youngsters on the WTA face up. Laura Robson, pseudo-hometown favorite in Melbourne, is just coming off an 11-9 third-set triumph against 8th seeded Petra Kvitova. The bubbly Sloane Stephens had two fairly routine wins in the early rounds against unseeded opponents. There is much at stake for both of these women as the winner of this match would be the favorite in the Round of 16 to get to the quarterfinals. Their most recent meeting was a straight-set victory by Stephens, so I will have to take her in three sets. Still, I may be a bit of a homer for picking her (USA! USA!).

Anyone disagree with my analyses? Any other matches to keep our eye on as we head towards the weekend? Leave a comment and discuss! And remember to hydrate, wear sunscreen, and keep your wide-brimmed hats close.