Rising Stars Ready to Emerge at 2013 Wimbledon

The young, rising stars in tennis are always fun to watch and follow.

Some of these men have actually broken through in a few important tournaments, though their successes have not been backed up or steady.

At Wimbledon, fortune favors the brave, and some of these rising talents play very heavy, powerful games.

Some players have been blessed with good (or at least, safer) first-round opponents while others have not had that luxury.

Here are the rising stars you can expect to see this fortnight.

Jerzy Janowicz

This Polish man is a giant, a clean ball-striker and a legend in the making.

He is a seeded player in this tournament and has the monster game that can do some damage on the grass.

His flat backhand and forehand go in consistently and will be tough to deal with for any player.

Jerzy Janowicz' first-round opponent, Kyle Edmund, is unlikely to beat him. His probable second-round opponent is Radek Stepanek.

Nicolas Almagro could beat him in the third round, and Roger Federer in the fourth will definitely end his chances of making the quarterfinals.

Milos Raonic

The only "known" tennis player from Canada is Milos Raonic, and he is doing just fine so far.

But he hasn't shown up to any Major and keeps falling short to players who can beat him in baseline rallies.

With a serve like his, he still faces the problem of breaking serve, as he is certainly one of the worst at it.

I think he will play well this Wimbledon, as he is learning a lot with each loss and win.

He should cruise past Carlos Berlocq, Igor Sijsling and Alex Kuznetsov, but Philipp Kohlschreiber could put his Wimbledon dreams to bed in the third round. 

Grigor Dimitrov

The guy with strokes that look like Roger Federer's is making bold statements on the ATP World Tour. With a few big wins under his belt, he's still looking to venture deeper into Majors.

He has a few fitness-related issues, such as cramping, but can beat anybody on a good day.

His precise shots are a step above some of the other rising stars.

Look for him to beat Simone Bolelli, Michael Russell or Grega Zemlja, but he could have a tough third-round match against Juan Martin del Potro.

The Argentine hasn't been in any good form lately so an upset is possible.

Gregor Dimitrov would play Kei Nishikori or Andreas Seppi. Both of these players are also beatable, as his chances of making his first Slam quarterfinal are pretty high here.

Ryan Harrison

Ryan Harrison has been in the American spotlight for a couple of years now, but has also found himself struggling time and time again.

He has worked on his game as well as his mental game and emotions, though it hasn't proved to be enough just yet.

He is adept on fast surfaces and is very quick—a trait which some players definitely lack.

His opener is against the seeded Jeremy Chardy. I would put this as the biggest upset alert in the draw for the first round.

Should he win there, he should cruise past Jan-Lennard Struff or Blaz Kavcic. Unfortunately, Novak Djokovic will send him to the exit doors in the third round.

David Goffin

David Goffin is a very smart baseline player and uses his consistency to back up his lack of adequate power.

He has challenged the top players in many sets, though he rarely ever wins any of them.

In this tournament, he'll need to win three sets against a given opponent, and while it is a tough ask, he is a very capable player and can break out with a good result here.

Sadly, he faces another top seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in his first match.

With an unlikely upset there, he would play Ernests Gulbis in the second round. In other words, his chances at Wimby are very poor.

Benoit Paire

Benoit Paire has been in the Top 100 for a few years, but is finally starting to find his range.

The quirky baseline player with a phenomenal backhand and exceptional touch had a great clay-court season. But is he ready to transition to a faster court and style of play?

We will soon see, as he faces Adrian Ungur of Romania in his opener.

The second-round opponent could be Alejandro Falla or Stephane Robert—neither player should really do anything threatening to Paire's game.

His run will end in the third round where he plays Rafael Nadal. Surprisingly enough, he gave Rafa a tough time the last time they played, but he lost in straight sets.

Bernard Tomic

The media has probably been more concerned with John Tomic, Bernard's father, lately than the young talent himself.

The Aussie sensation has done well at Wimbledon before, but has not been able to reach the second week of any other Major other than that.

His lull-you-right-to-sleep game and tactics allow him to beat many talented players.

While he does lack some power and plays strange shots at inopportune times, he is still a force on the men's tour and is very crafty when it matters.

He faces the 21st-seeded Sam Querrey in the first round. With an upset there, Tomic would face Thiemo de Bakker or James Blake. Those are very winnable matches, so he should focus on that first match.

Richard Gasquet, who has been playing sublime hard-, clay- and grass-court tennis, should beat him in the third, should he make it that far.

Ricardas Berankis

The young Lithuanian player, Ricardas Berankis, has been trying to break out for some time now, but still cannot grasp a decent result.

He has an all-court game, but is, perhaps, still too young and inexperienced to be able to grow into a top player's shell.

He opens with Paul-Henri Mathieu, a player who is at a washed-up point in his career.

In the second round, he will probably lose to Gilles Simon or Feliciano Lopez.

Martin Klizan

This crafty lefty had a great U.S. Open and also looked great against Rafael Nadal in this year's French Open.

He can crack the ball hard off both wings and has a good sense of the court's parameters.

While he looks among the most promising of the "unknown" young stars, he still needs to find some consistency and get more of a rhythm going in his career.

However, he plays Tomas Berdych in the first round and has undoubtedly the toughest opener out of all of these guys. Say goodbye to Martin Klizan's chances of even winning a match this week.