Wimbledon 2012 Schedule: Complete Guide to Manic Monday

After one of the most exciting and unpredictable first weeks of Wimbledon in recent memory, it's hard to imagine the tournament getting any better.

Well, do not fear.  It will.

Today, everyone's favorite day of the tournament, "Manic Monday," gets underway.

Every singles Round of 16 match is played on the same day, producing a perfect mixture of superstars, tough matches and players slipping under the radar to the quarters.

Here is your guide to Monday's action and what to expect from each match.

(6) Serena Williams vs. Yaroslava Shvedova: 11:30 BST (6:30 EDT), Court 2

How they got here

Serena had two easy straight-set wins in her first two rounds, beating down on Barbora Strycova and Melinda Czink.  Her last match, against 25th seed and former Wimbledon semifinalist Jie Zheng, was quite a bit tougher, as she came from a set down to win 9-7 in the fifth.

Shvedova has, surprisingly, had a much easier route to the fourth round.  Through matches with Chanelle Scheepers, Kiki Bertens and even 10th seed and French Open finalist Sara Errani, the Kazakh has yet to drop a set.

Odds

Williams: 1/5

Shvedova: 7/2

Prediction

There's rarely a substitute for experience in Grand Slams, and that advantage obviously goes to Serena.  Before this year, Shvedova had never been out of the second round of Wimbledon, while Williams is the four-time champion.

However, Serena had both a three-set thriller with Jie Zheng and split two sets in doubles on Saturday.

Also, Shvedova has played well in both of her quarterfinal appearances at the French Open.

I won't go so far as to predict the upset, but Shvedova may be able to nick a set off of Serena.

(4) Petra Kvitova vs. (24) Francesca Schiavone: 11:30 BST (6:30 EDT), Court 3

How they got here

Defending champion Kvitova has blasted through the first three rounds, dropping just 13 games in those three matches.  Last round, it was a 6-1, 6-0 throttling of American Varvara Lepchenko.

Meanwhile, the French Open champion Schiavone has had a slightly more difficult path, as she lost the the first set of her opening match with Brit Laura Robson.  Since then, though, she has beaten two Czechs, Pliskova and Zakopalova, to set up a match with this Czech.

Odds

Kvitova: 1/8

Schiavone: 5/1

Prediction

Schiavone has only been this far at Wimbledon one time, when she made the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Kvitova has at least made the semifinals each of the past two years.

On clay, this would be a good match.  Here, it's all Kvitova.

(21) Roberta Vinci vs. Tamira Paszek: 11:30 BST (6:30 EDT), Court 12

How they got here

Vinci has had no trouble through the first three rounds, cruising to straight-set wins in each of her first three matches.

Meanwhile, Paszek has had two three-set matches.  The first round, she defeated seventh-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in three tough sets, while she came back from a set down to Yanina Wickmayer in the last round.

Odds

Vinci: 11/8

Paszek: 4/7

Prediction

Paszek was a quarterfinalist last year while Vinci has not been out of the third round of any tournament.

Hence, unseeded Paszek is actually the favorite over the 21st seed.

However, the seeded Vinci has a distinct advantage in freshness, as she has not expended much physical or mental energy in getting to this point in the tournament.

It will be a close match, but expect the 21-year-old Paszek to eke out another three-set win.

(26) Mikhail Youzhny vs. Denis Istomin: 11:30 BST (6:30 EDT), Court 18

How they got here

Youzhny has dropped two sets in his first three rounds.  One was to American Donald Young in the first round, the other to eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic in the third.

Meanwhile, Istomin has struggled into this round.  He barely got past 23rd seed Andrea Seppi 8-6 in the fifth set, then had four-set battles with Igor Andreev and Alejandro Falla.

Odds

Youzhny: 2/5

Istomin: 2/1

Prediction

This is the first time the 25-year-old Istomin has been this far in a major.

Meanwhile, it is the seventh time Youzhny has been to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon alone.  However, the Russian has still yet to find his way to the quarters.

Expect him to finally do so this year, as he gets past a fatigued Istomin in straight sets.

(3) Roger Federer vs. Xavier Malisse: 13:00 BST (8:00 EDT), Centre Court

How they got here

Federer had an easy first couple of rounds, rolling over Albert Ramos and Fabio Fognini in straight sets.  His third match, though, was quite a bit tougher, as he had to fight back from two sets down and through a tough fourth set tiebreak against 29th seeded Julien Benneteau.

Malisse's results have been somewhat similar, but much less expected.  The 2002 semifinalist had a simple victory over Aussie Marinko Matosevic in the first round before having a shockingly easy straight set victory over the 13th seed Gilles Simon.  His third round was much tougher, as he got past (17) Fernando Verdasco in five sets.

Odds

Federer: 1/20

Malisse: 11/1

Prediction

Six-time champion Roger Federer is obviously the favorite in this one.

Meanwhile, Malisse will hope for a better showing than he had in last year's Round of 16, where he went down in three easy sets to qualifier Bernard Tomic.  Malisse has enjoyed the grass of Wimbledon throughout his career, earning his best results at majors there.

Expect Federer to take this one in straight sets, but with each set being close.

(1) Maria Sharapova vs. (15) Sabine Lisicki: 13:00 BST (8:00 EDT), Court 1

How they got here

Sharapova dropped a set in a second set tiebreak to Pironkova in the second round, but has cruised otherwise.

Meanwhile, Lisicki has had two three-set battles: an 8-6 battle with Jovanovski in the second round and a strange 1-6 second set loss to Sloane Stephens in the third.

Odds

Sharapova: 1/7

Lisicki: 9/2

Prediction

In her last two Wimbledon appearances, Lisicki hasn't failed to get to the quarterfinals.

However, over the past year, she has been eliminated from two Grand Slams by Sharapova, including last year's Wimbledon.

Lisicki has a very bright future, but I don't think she gets past Maria this time, either.

(3) Agnieszka Radwanska vs. Camila Giorgi: Court 2, After Serena-Shvedova

How they got here

Radwanska has dropped just 11 games in the first three rounds.

Meanwhile, Camila Giorgi has not dropped a set, which is made all the more impressive by her competition: 16th  seed Flavia Pennetta, Anna Tatishvili, and 20th seed Nadia Petrova.

Odds

Radwanska: 1/7

Giorgi: 9/2

Prediction

It's tough to imagine Giorgi's magical run going on past Radwanska, but it was tough to imagine her getting through the rounds she's already got through.

The 20-year-old Giorgi has proven that she is a player to watch out for over the next few years, but Radwanska has been playing very well this tournament.

Radwanska in straight sets.

(8) Angelique Kerber vs. Kim Clijsters: Court 3, After Kvitova-Schiavone

How they got here

Despite facing 18th-seeded Jelena Jankovic and 12th-seeded Vera Zvonareva, Clijsters has gone through her three rounds without dropping a set.

Kerber's opposition has been a bit easier, but she has also yet to drop a set.

Odds

Kerber: 11/10

Clijsters: 8/11

Prediction

In her past five majors (spread out due to injuries), Clijsters has failed to make the quarters just once.

Kerber, on the other hand, has been much less consistent.  In fact, this is already the furthest she's been at Wimbledon.

It will be another great match on Court 3, but experience wins out as Clijsters takes it in three.

(17) Maria Kirilenko vs. (30) Shuai Peng: Court 12, After Vinci-Paszek

How they got here

Kirilenko has had a surprisingly easy road to the fourth round, dropping just 11 games on her path.

Peng, on the other hand, dropped her first set of the tournament to Zaniewska before winning six straight sets to get here.

Odds

Kirilenko: 4/6

Peng: 6/5

Prediction

Between the two, they have only one quarterfinal appearance in a major, as Kirilenko made that round in the 2010 Australian Open.

Shuai Peng was in this round of Wimbledon last year, but the experience seems to be a wash.

Kirilenko's game should win her this match, but this one will be a hard-fought battle.

(2) Victoria Azarenka vs. (14) Ana Ivanovic: Centre Court, After Federer-Malisse

How they got here

Azarenka has dropped just 13 games in her first three matches.

Ivanovic has dropped two sets, including one that led to a tough third set with Julia Goerges.

Odds

Azarenka: 2/7

Ivanovic: 11/4

Prediction

Ivanovic hasn't been to a quarter since her French Open title in 2008.

Meanwhile, Azarenka has been on a great run over the past year.

Easy win for Azarenka.

(4) Andy Murray vs. (16) Marin Cilic: Court 1, After Sharapova-Lisicki

How they got here

Andy Murray has had a strangely tough draw in his first three matches, going up against three dangerous unseeded players in Nikolay Davydenko, Ivo Karlovic and Marcos Baghdatis.  As a result, he has dropped two sets thus far.

Meanwhile, after two relatively uneventful matches to open his tournament, Marin Cilic just went through the second-longest match in Wimbledon history (behind Isner-Mahut) by defeating Sam Querrey 17-15 in the fifth.

Odds

Murray: 1/4

Cilic: 3/1

Prediction

If Cilic were 100 percent, I would say that he is someone who could give Murray trouble tomorrow.

However, I have to think Cilic will be running on fumes after that Querrey match, even if he did have Sunday to rest.

Murray takes care of business.

(5) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (10) Mardy Fish: Court 2, After Radwanska-Giorgi

How they got here

Other than dropping a set to Garcia-Lopez, Tsonga has cruised through his opponents to this point.

Fish, on the other hand, has had two tough straight-set victories and a five-setter against James Ward.

Odds

Tsonga: 1/4

Fish: 3/1

Prediction

In a section of the draw that wildly opened up after Nadal's loss, the winner of this match will be a favorite to go to the semis.

Many are calling for the upset, but toe the line.

Tsonga has been getting better and better at Wimbledon while Fish has just one trip this far (albeit last year).

Tsonga in four.

(18) Richard Gasquet vs. (31) Florian Mayer: Court 3, After Clijsters-Kerber

How they got here

Gasquet has been very impressive thus far, not dropping a set including against 12th-seeded Nicolas Almagro.

Meanwhile, Mayer has had two five-setters coming into this match.

Odds

Gasquet: 2/9

Mayer: 10/3

Prediction

Gasquet may finally be ready to re-establish himself with this victory, getting to his first quarter since the promise he showed in 2007 at Wimbledon.

Mayer has already had a great tournament by his standards and may not be up for a difficult match after his past two battles.

You can't know what to expect from Gasquet, but I'll go for a victory for the Frenchman.

(27) Phlipp Kohlschreiber vs. Brian Baker: Court 12, After Kirilenko-Peng

How they got here

Kohlschreiber had an extremely tough opening round five-setter against Tommy Haas.  However, he has since rolled over his opponents, including a beat-down of Nadal conqueror Lukas Rosol.

Meanwhile, American Brian Baker has had a surprisingly easy road to this stage, dropping just one set along the way to Benoit Paire.

Odds

Kohlschreiber: 1/2

Baker: 13/8

Prediction

At 27 years old, Baker is playing in his first Wimbledon.  On the plus side, that means he is 3-0 in his career on the lawn.  Actually, including qualifying, he is 6-0.

28-year-old Kohlschreiber hasn't had much more Wimbledon experience, though, as this is the first time he has gotten this far at Wimbledon.  On the other hand, he does have four career ATP titles, four more than his opponent.

It's hard to pick against the feel-good story of Baker, who had to take five years off of the game with six surgeries, but Kohlschreiber should be too much for him.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Viktor Troicki: Centre Court, After Ivanovic-Azarenka

How they got here

In keeping with the unpredictability of this tournament thus far, Djokovic dropped a set to Radek Stepanek in his third-round match.  From there, though, he rolled, much like he had done in his first two rounds.

Troicki, on the other hand, had a much different route.  In his first-round match, he outlasted 24th-seeded Marcel Granollers 8-6 in the fifth, then did it again to Martin Klizan 6-4 in the fifth.  His easiest match, strangely, was this past round, where he beat 15th-seeded Juan Monaco in straight sets.

Odds

Djokovic: 1/33

Troicki: 12/1

Prediction

Biggest odds of the day, and for a reason.

Djokovic hasn't failed to get a quarter since 2009.

Troicki hasn't been to a quarter in his career.

Don't worry, All England Club: this one won't be in danger of going past 11:00 pm.

(7) David Ferrer vs. (9) Juan Martin Del Potro: Court 1, After Murray-Cilic

How they got here

Ferrer had an easy first two rounds before coming up against Andy Roddick in the third.  There, he dropped the first set and got into a tough second-set tiebreaker.  After winning the tiebreaker 10-8, though, he waltzed away with the win.

Del Potro dropped sets to both Robin Haase and Go Soeda, but mauled 15th seed Kei Nishikori in the third round.

Odds

Ferrer: 11/10

Del Potro: 8/11

Prediction

This could be the match of the day.

Neither has been to a Wimbledon quarter, but the winner will have a good chance at making it to the final.

Ferrer owns the only match between the two on grass, and I suspect his ability to hit back Del Potro's groundstrokes will frustrate the Argentinean.

Ferrer will take this one in five very tough sets.

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