Wimbledon 2012: Potential Upsets for Each Top Contender

The top contenders at this year's Wimbledon are the usual suspects: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. It also comes as no surprise that these three players are ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 in the world.

But no matter how favored a tennis star is in any given tournament, there is always the possibility for an upset somewhere down the line before any of the tennis big three meet in the final stages of this Grand Slam tourney.

Let's take a look at some potential upset matches for each top contender.

Rafael Nadal vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Both Nadal and Tsonga still have their second-round matches to finish on Thursday, but they are still potential opponents should both continue to advance to the later stages of this tournament.

Tsonga has already proven to be dangerous at Wimbledon after the 27-year-old made it all the way to this tournament's quarterfinals in 2010, before being beaten by Andy Murray, and the semifinals in 2011, before being ousted by Novak Djokovic in a tightly contested four-set match.

However, in order to get to the showdown with the Serb, Tsonga defeated Roger Federer on the road to the semifinals in what was a most unexpected result. That type of performance at the All England Club last year makes him an upset favorite once again this year.

The Frenchman has seen his play get better and better the past two years and with his ability to beat top-flight competition already apparent, there is a good chance Tsonga defeats Nadal and takes the next step in a tournament that has been nothing but success for him the past two years.

Novak Djokovic vs. Richard Gasquet

Gasquet isn't a stranger to upsets after his victory over Andy Murray in Rome earlier this year. However, it was Murray who beat Gasquet in the fourth round of last year's Wimbledon, ousting the Frenchman after what was an impressive run at the All England Club.

In 2012, Gasquet has started this tournament strong and is looking to advance past last year's end result and make it to the quarterfinals. Each of his first two matches have been straight set wins over Tobias Kamke and Ruben Bemelmans.

While neither opponent was top notch, Gasquet proved he was far superior to them with two impressive victories. Clearly, the Frenchman is playing well at the moment and that always makes Gasquet dangerous to upset his opponent.

Gasquet has never defeated Djokovic in a major tournament and while this possible matchup would leave Gasquet with his work cut out for him, nobody can deny the Frenchman's upset potential.

Roger Federer vs. Fernando Verdasco

In 2009, Federer was still very much at the top of his game and easily the best player in the world. So when a matchup came up with Fed-Ex and Verdasco at the Barclay's ATP World Tour Finals in London in 2009, it wasn't expected the Spaniard would stand much of a chance.

But Verdasco made the former World No. 1 sweat out his victory. Verdasco took the first set from Federer in that match, but was unable to overcome Fed-Ex's greatness en route to losing 4-6, 7-5 and 6-1.

This year's tournament has seen a solid start from the No. 17-ranked player on the planet. Verdasco won in straight sets during his opening match and has started this year's Wimbledon on the right foot.

If Verdasco was able to give Federer a run for his money when he was at the top of his game, Verdasco stands an even greater chance of finishing what he couldn't three years ago against what was then a much better tennis player.

This is one matchup that could be under the radar, but Verdasco could certainly challenge Federer if he can make it far enough to meet with the No. 3 player in the world.