On the Men's side, it's always safe to predict one of the top-four players in the world, whether it's #1 Novak Djokovic, #2 Rafael Nadal, #3 Roger Federer, or #4 Andy Murray. Coming into this year's tournament, I went out on a limb and made a bet with a friend of mine saying that this was the tournament that Murray breaks through and finally gets Great Britain its first major title since Sir Fred Perry won his last major back in 1936. Murray has shown signs of possibly breaking through in majors, only to be stopped in the finals in three tries at earning his first major.
However, this year may be different for Murray. He has teamed up with tennis legend Ivan Lendl and with Lendl's knowledge of the game and past history in the sport, many experts think that a first major title is just over the horizon for Murray. And there's no better time for that to happen than right in England.
Now on the Women's side, you'd be better off drawing a name out of hat and your odds wouldn't be ridiculous. The women's game hasn't had a clear-cut number one in what seems like forever. But, after winning the French Open a few weeks back, Maria Sharapova conquered the career grand slam and also took hold of the world number one ranking on the women's side. Her game is well-suited for Wimbledon, using her strength to hit the ball through the quick, skidding grass courts at Wimbledon and I think she is the heavy favorite coming into this year's tournament.
But, don't count out Caroline Wozniacki, who, until the French Open, was the top-ranked woman in the world and has come oh so close to winning her first major title. The only downside with Wozniacki is that she can stumble at any given time in any given round in a major and have an early exit where she doesn't even see the second week. Sharapova is the smart choice here, but don't be surprised if some unknown comes out of the blue to win on the grass courts at Wimbledon.
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