A predictable year? (Who will win Wimbledon?)

Member Name: pinklady123

Product:	Who will win Wimbledon?
Date:	28/06/00 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: n/a

Disadvantages: n/a

The Women's singles:
This year, I can only see one real winner, Martina Hingis. After last year’s disappointing exit in the first round, she will be eager to progress much further and show that she is still capable of winning a grand slam.
Last year’s winner, Lindsey Davenport has a chance as well, although her recent injury suggests that she may not be as fit as she could be and she may find it hard to progress through the later stages.
The Williams sisters are an unusual feature of this year’s Wimbledon in that they do not usually appear in a tournament together as one or the other is frequently injured. However, I do think they both posses the skills necessary to win Wimbledon and, if not this year, then they are definitely Wimbledon champions of the future.
Mary Pierce, the current French Open champion, has the game and experience to win here, but only if she can control her, occasionally erratic, playing as sometimes she seems capable of beating anyone, while at other times, nothing seems to go right on court for her. However, her recent win at the French should give her some inspiration.
Finally, I have to mention Anna Kournikova, whom the media seem to constantly focus on. Despite the fact that her tennis is nowhere near good enough to win a grand slam at the moment (and her first round match against Testud confirms this) she should progress, at least into the last 16, but I would be surprised if she were to go much further than this.

The men's singles:
This year’s championships seem to, in my opinion, be fairly clear cut as to who will be stepping out with the trophy on the final Sunday - Pete Sampras.
Sampras is the clear favourite, but only if he can recapture the form that has enabled him to earn six Wimbledon titles in the past seven years. If, on the other hand, he is not at his best, any one of a number of players could come and seize his throne.
One of the major contend
ers for the men’s singles title was to be Lleyton Hewitt, although today’s defeat in three sets shows that he still has a way to go before he is capable of winning a grand slam. Perhaps in a year or two time, we will be looking at the player who will take over Pete Sampras’ crown.
Andre Agassi is the other major contender, and I think he is due to win here again eight years after he first won it. Last year, he came perilously close to winning, only to be defeated cruelly by Sampras. He has shown, since winning the US and Australian open recently that he still has the power and the skill to be a world beater.
Another Australian who is perhaps not an immediate contender for the title but is still not one to be dismissed is Mark Phillipoussis. His serve poses a threat to any opponent and his quarter-final appearance last year against Sampras shows that his game is not to be taken lightly.
Other tips for the top are Richard Krajicek, who remains the only person to defeat Sampras at Wimbledon in seven years, and Magnus Norman, whose recent appearance in the final of the French has brought his name to people’s attention.
Finally, I can’t sum up Wimbledon without mentioning the Brits, Tim and Greg. Unfortunately, now that you have read this, Rusedski has been knocked out in the first round, so I will just now mention Tim Henman. This year, his preparation has been abysmal, with first round defeats at both Queens and Nottingham. However, he could perhaps progress into the second week for the fourth time if he can overcome a particularly difficult draw. Henman also has to play under pressure that no other player at Wimbledon has to play under, with the media circus hyping him up and wanting him to do as well or hopefully better than the last two years semi-final appearances.

Summary: