Wimbledon 2012: Players Who Must Take Their Game to Next Level to Win

The time has come for a group of tennis players, both male and female, to show they are legitimate threats to win grand slam tournaments. The early rounds are winding down, and it's time to get down to business.

Some of the players on this list have experienced such glory in the past, but age, injury or both have caused them to experience a drought between now and their last grand slam title.

Other players have yet to reach the mountain top, despite lofty expectations in the past. This is the year for these players to have a breakthrough. 

It happens for every player that becomes elite.

It happened for Novak Djokovic at the 2010 US Open. He didn't win, but he reached the final by defeating longtime nemesis Roger Federer, and that launched him into his dominant 2011, and ultimately his current run as the world's top player.

As for the veterans, for some of them, this may be their last practical chance to make some noise in a grand slam. That reality makes this tournament even more urgent than normal.

Who's got next, and who's got one more run left in them?

These eight players will have to really step up their game to win at the All England Club.

Serena Williams

Serena hasn't won a grand slam in over two years. This is the second-longest grand slam drought she's experienced in her hall-of-fame career.

She's 30-years-old, and the older she gets the more unlikely another grand slam title becomes.

She has always been strong on grass—her four Wimbledon titles can attest to that. In fact, it's the last grand slam she has captured. Serena hears the whispers and talk of her decline. 

Her sister, Venus Williams' first-round exit did nothing to ease the talk, because as Serena put it, "we are connected at the hip," as she is quoted by Sport.co.uk.

Serena needs to prove she is still capable of playing the consistent and dominant tennis we've seen from her in the past. 

Andy Murray

As of now, the pecking order for men's tennis is as follows:

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, a fading Roger Federer and everybody else.

Andy Murray is currently the best of the "everybody else" group. But at only 25-years old, he's too young to accept that he's the fourth best player in the world. He has yet to win a grand slam, but he's played in three finals.

It's time for Murray to get over the hump. He must score a win over one of the big three to gain a berth in the final, and at this stage in his career, he needs to win it.

He's too good for moral victories to matter much.

Caroline Wozniacki

Who is Caroline Wozniacki?

Is she just another beautiful tennis player that will never attain on-court greatness? She has never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, and she's only reached one grand slam final in her career.

As of now, she's perhaps the most overrated player in women's tennis.

Many blame her failures on her attention to off-court things, and her relationship with Rory McIlroy. Whatever the case, the time has come for Wozniacki to prove whether she's a tennis star or a celebrity.

Andy Roddick

I'm not even asking that Andy Roddick win Wimbledon, I realize that just may not be possible. But getting past the fourth round is essential if he's going to prevent himself from fading into relative obscurity.

He hasn't been past the fourth round of any grand slam in three years, and he has only one grand slam title in his career.

The man with the rocket serve, hasn't served up enough winners in a while. At 29-years-old, the clock is ticking, and the top dogs in men's tennis are younger and showing no signs of decline.

Victoria Azarenka

I know she's still ranked No. 2 in the world, but if she doesn't get a handle on her emotions, she could be in for a free-fall. She won the Australian Open, and that helped vault her into the No. 1 ranking.

Once she reached the top spot in the world, the attention and the spotlight was bound to increase.

Azarenka hasn't handled it well.

She's played five tournaments without a title, and she's prone to on-court and post-match meltdowns. Azarenka has to prove she's mentally tough to win another grand slam. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Tsonga has become the man that is capable of giving the top players in the world hell. But now it's time for him to become the player that beats the top players.

Tsonga had a classic final against Novak Djokovic in the 2008 Australian Open, but he lost in four sets. He seemingly had Djokovic beat this year in the quarterfinals of the French Open, but he couldn't stop Djoker from fighting off four match points in the fourth set.

He reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last year as well, but now Tsonga has to turn the corner. He's 27-years-old, and an obvious late-bloomer. 

He needs to make a statement in his career, and the almost big wins have to turn into big wins.

Juan Martin Del Potro

The 6'6" Argentinian has the game to win at Wimbledon. He hasn't had much success there yet, but he's only 23-years-old. He has some time, but 2012 should signal a solid performance from him.

He doesn't have to win, but making the semifinals would be a huge step up for him.

Roger Federer

The Fed is perhaps the most dominant and awesome tennis legends in history. If not all-time, he is certainly the greatest in the last 15 years. His laundry list of accomplishment are the definition of greatness.

That said, Federer hasn't won a major in over two years. That is the longest drought of his career since he began winning the big ones in 2003. Federer has won more Wimbledon titles than any other grand slam with six.

If the time has come where Federer can't even reach the finals at Wimbledon, then his time as an elite player is drawing dangerously close, or maybe it's already here and we love him too much to admit it.

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