Wimbledon 2013: Big-Name Stars Sure to Keep Rolling Through Grand Slam

So much for the theory that tennis is the world's most top-heavy sport.

This year's descent of the world's best and brightest players to the All England Club for Wimbledon was supposed to be a coronation for the game's greats. For the first time in what felt like forever and a day, all of the world's top male and female players were partaking in a Grand Slam tournament.

That especially was the case for the men, where absences from Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have kept the world's top five players from competing against one another in a major championship for over a calendar year.

Falling on the heels of an excellent French Open, this was supposed to be about the tennis world capturing the mainstream conversation with another excellent outing from the game's greats.

Funny thing about expectations, eh?

With women's world No. 1 Serena Williams being ousted Monday, only one of the top five seeds has advanced on that side—No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska. On the men's side, things are nearly as bleak. Murray, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer all shimmied their way to the quarterfinals.

Nadal and Roger Federer? Not so much. The two most well-covered players of this past decade were both sent packing early, leaving a crater-sized divot in the men's draw. 

With so many top players eliminated, though, there has to be some fretting at the All England Club about how the rest of the tournament will play out. It's one thing to lose a few greats early in the tournament. It's another to have a who's who of "Who's that?" playing for a Grand Slam championship this weekend. 

Luckily, there are a couple tournament-savers remaining in this field that could keep intrigue high. 

Novak Djokovic

Whenever I watch Novak Djokovic play, I find myself fondly remembering that Albert Pujols SportsCenter commercial that ran a few years back. You know, the one where he insists to Steve Levy and John Anderson over and over that he's not a machine. That he's "just Albert."

Watching Djokovic play—especially as much of his competition has plummeted—has felt almost machine-like. There's no surface where he struggles. Even amid conditions that saw plenty of players withdraw due to injury or slip around like they're playing on ice, the world's top-ranked player has continued to be his collected self.

Yet to lose a set and only face two break points the entire tournament thus far, Djokovic has rampaged his way through the first four rounds. He defeated 14th-seeded Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) on Monday, sending a flurry of returns back against the 35-year-old German and easily skating his way to the quarterfinals.

The win against Haas was something of a mini-triumph for Djokovic. He had never defeated Haas on grass before, having lost twice against him in 2009—one of which came at Wimbledon. It was a dominant performance for the 26-year-old Serb, who is looking to finally have his second triumph at the All England Club.

Thus far, things are looking awfully good. 

For the tournament, Djokovic's excellent play toward the back lines has been on display. He's won 110 first service points, which is second behind David Ferrer for the tournament.

Considering Ferrer has played five more sets than Djokovic in this event—almost the equivalent of two straight-sets matches—we'll just go ahead and say Djoker has been the more efficient player.

A tough match awaits in the quarters for Djokovic, as seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych has looked quite excellent in his matches. Berdych holds a 1-0 record against Djokovic at Wimbledon, defeating him in the 2010 semifinal.

But based on the way Djokovic has been playing thus far, it's going to be an awfully steep road for Berdych to bring his record to 2-0.

Andy Murray

Murray has done little to disappoint this year at the All England Club. Like his greatest competition in this event, Murray has not fallen in any set and has arguably been more impressive. 

Despite a game performance from Mikhail Youzhny in the second set, Murray was again able to get by with ease on Monday. He was nothing short of brilliant on his first service points, winning on 55 of 68 (81 percent) of those attempts. Murray was far less successful on his second serves, winning only 40 percent.

That's something he will certainly have to work on going forward, but Murray has been brilliant before a raucous crowd of supporters.

When considering this is merely his second tournament back after injury, Murray's numbers look all the more noteworthy. Forced to sit out the French Open due to a back injury, the defending U.S. Open champion has shown no ill effects of the ailment since returning. Murray rampaged his way through the Queens Club Championship precursor tournament and has again looked great at Wimbledon.

Standing in his way for the quarterfinals is Fernando Verdasco. The two have never played on grass, but they've faced off 10 times on other surfaces. Murray is 8-2 in those contests, with one of those defeats a fourth-round ouster at the 2009 Australian Open.

The 29-year-old Verdasco has taken advantage of the depleted draw on his and Murray's side, having only vanquished one seeded opponent thus far—No. 31 Julien Benneteau in the second round. It's highly doubtful that Verdasco will be able to pull off such an upset against Murray, especially with this being his first Wimbledon quarterfinal.

Afterward, the possibility of either Polish player remaining—Lukasz Kubot or No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz—standing much of a chance. Murray has had a ton of luck playing on this side of the bracket. The losses by Federer and Nadal opened the entire tournament up for Murray to finally get over the hump at Wimbledon.

He did it at the Olympics. He captured his first major at the U.S. Open. Now it might be time for him to finally lift the trophy at Wimbledon.

Sloane Stephens

Stephens may the only woman remaining who can move the mainstream needle in the slightest. The departures of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka left a field almost completely barren.

Agnieszka Radwanska, Li Na and Petra Kvitova are the only top-10 seeds remaining in the field. All are fine players who deserve credit for surviving an upset-minded field to make it this far. But none of them is going to bring forth much

Stephens, on the other hand, is looking increasingly like a superstar in the making. The 20-year-old American has made the fourth round in each of the three major tournaments this year, and she could make it two semifinals in three events (Australian Open being the other) by defeating 15th-seeded Marion Bartoli. 

Unlike the two male counterparts previously mentioned, though, Stephens hasn't exactly pummeled the remaining competition. She needed an 8-6 win over Andrea Petkovic in the third set of her second-round match and had to come back from a set down against Monica Puig to advance during the fourth round.

Stephens is the last American remaining in a Grand Slam for the second time this calendar year. She's been pelting her opponents on services, racking up 21 aces. Though Stephens has also had a penchant for double-faulting, she's atoned for her mistakes and recovered beautifully when the score necessitates it.

"Everyone asks, like, `Why do you only play well in the Slams?' ...I mean, I don't know," Stephens said (per the Associated Press, via Sports Illustrated). "It just happens."

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