2009 Wimbledon: Picking All 127 Matches

 FIRST ROUND

Juan Martin Del Potro (5) def. Arnaud Clement

Del Potro replaces Rafael Nadal at the top of the draw after the No. 1 ranked player in the world withdrew because of knee problems.  Del Potro was supposed to play Andreas Seppi, but he gets what is probably a more favorable first round draw against Clement, whom he has beaten twice in two career meetings, including last year on grass in the Netherlands.

Lleyton Hewitt def. Robby Ginepri

The Aussie has a 5-0 lifetime record against the American.

Philipp Petzschner def. Rajeev Ram

Petzschner reached the second round last year and he should be able to do the same in 2009 against the American qualifier playing in his first Wimbledon.

Dmitry Tursunov (25) def. Mischa Zverev

Tursunov beat Zverev in their only career meeting in 2007.

Radek Stepanek (23) def. Alejandro Falla

Stepanek beat the Colombian rather easily at the ’07 ATP Masters Series event in Miami.

Potito Starace def. Jose Acasuso

Neither of these guys has ever won a grass court match.  They’re both 0-5 at Wimbledonand a combined 0-12 in their careers on the slick surface, so I’ll give the slight edge to Starace who beat Acasuso in their only encounter.

Denis Istomin def. Fabio Fognini

Fognini is 0-3 lifetime on grass, while Istomin just beat Ivo Minar and took Feliciano Lopez to a third set tiebreaker at Queen’s Club.

David Ferrer (16) def. Kevin Kim

Ferrer is 8-6 at this event, while Kim is 1-4.

Nikolay Davydenko (12) def. Daniel Evans

Davydenko hasn’t had much success here, but he should get past the 19-year-old wild card who has played one career match on Tour.

Bjorn Phau def. Victor Crivoi

What’s better: being 0-8 on grass or never having played a match on the surface?  I’ll give it to Phau for the experience factor.

Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Frederico Gil

Gil is 0-4 in Grand Slam matches, while Mathieu has reached at least the third round here each of the past two years.

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Alex Bogdanovic

Berdych has made it to at least the third round at Wimbledon every year since 2005.  On the other hand, Bogdanovic is 0-7 at his home country’s major.

Jurgen Melzer (26) def. Wayne Odesnik

Odesnik destroyed Melzer, 6-4, 6-0, in Houston earlier this year, but that was on clay and Melzer is the far better grass court player, having reached the third round here twice.  He’s also won nine straight Grand Slam first round matches, reaching the third round at five straight majors.

Benjamin Becker def. Roko Karanusic

Becker just beat Victor Hanescu and Rainer Schuettler, both top 32 players, at Halle.

Grigor Dimitrov def. Igor Kunitsyn

Dimitrov is ranked 341st in the world, but he just beat No. 82 Ivan Navarro and took No. 7 Gilles Simon to two tiebreakers at Queen’s Club.  Meanwhile, Kunitsyn is just 5-15 this year.  I like the upset here.

Andy Roddick (6) def. Jeremy Chardy

This is a tough first round match-up for the American.  Chardy is ranked 43rd in the world and is 6-0 in Grand Slam first round contests, but Roddick is a two-time finalist here and is 33-8 this season.

Andy Murray (3) def. Robert Kendrick

Murray is 3-0 versus Kendrick, including a double bagel win on grass three years ago.

Ernests Gulbis def. Riccardo Ghedin

Gulbis has won five straight first round matches at majors, so he should be able to get past the qualifier who is competing in his first Grand Slam main draw.

Taylor Dent def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver

It’s strange to see Dent have to qualify for an event, but the American who reached the fourth round here in 2005 has dropped to 269th in the world.  Still, he received a good draw, getting matched up with a Spaniard playing his first Wimbledon.

Viktor Troicki (30) def. Brian Dabul

Troicki has won 10 more matches this year than Dabul has in his career.

Stanislas Wawrinka (19) def. Eduardo Schwank

Wawrinka reached the fourth round here last year, while Schwank has lost five straight Grand Slam matches.

Martin Vassallo Arguello def. Pablo Andujar

Vassallo Arguello made the second round last year, while Andujar has never played here before and is 1-9 this year.

Christophe Rochus def. Pablo Cuevas

Is this the year that Rochus breaks his string of seven straight first round exits at Wimbledon?  He’s got a good shot going up against a guy who’s never played a grass court match on Tour.

Marat Safin (14) def. Jesse Levine

Levine reached the second round in his first Wimbledon last year, but now he’s going up against a guy who got to the semi-finals in ’08.

Fernando Gonzalez (10) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili

Gabashvili upset Gonzalez in a five set first round match at the 2007 U.S. Open, but Gonzalez is a far better grass court player than the Russian (19-12 vs. 1-5 in their careers).

Oscar Hernandez def. Leonardo Mayer

Neither has ever won a grass court match, but I’ll have the slight edge to Hernandez because he’s at least played here before.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Mikhail Youzhny

This is a heavyweight first round matchup between two guys who have had a good amount of success at Wimbledon.  I’ll take Ferrero because he’s never lost in the first round here, but I’ll predict a five setter either way.

Nicolas Kiefer (33) def. Fabrice Santoro

Kiefer gets a seed with Nadal’s withdrawal, but he probably would’ve rather played his original opponent, Andrei Pavel, who’s ranked 911th in the world.  Santoro, meanwhile, benefits from the draw reshuffle because he was slated to play 17 seed James Blake, to whom he’s lost four of five matches. 

The Frenchman leads the all-time series against the German, 6-3, but Kiefer has won the last three battles, including a hard court win this year and a straight sets victory at Wimbledon in 2007.

Victor Hanescu (31) def. Ivan Navarro

Hanescu just torched Navarro, 6-1, 6-0, in Casablanca.

Nicolas Lapentti def. Nicolas Devilder

Lapentti is seven years removed from his quarterfinal run in 2002, but the won the only meeting between these two and he’s playing much better this year than his younger opponent.

Andrei Pavel def. Thiago Alves

These guys benefit the most from Nadal pulling out.  Alves gets to play his first Wimbledon main draw and Pavel, who was supposed to play Kiefer, gets a much easier opponent.

Gilles Simon (8) def. Bobby Reynolds

Simon beat Reynolds in the first round of the 2008 Australian but it took five sets.  They both went on to reach the third round at Wimbledon, but since then, Simon has been playing much better tennis.

James Blake (17) def. Andreas Seppi

Blake gets moved to the bottom half of the draw, but he should still be alright in the first round because he’s won the last two encounters with Seppi.

Adrian Mannarino def. Marc Gicquel

Mannarino beat Gicquel in straight sets at Metz last year and now he has the added experience of playing on grass all week during the qualifiers.

Vincent Spadea def. Paul Capdeville

The American is 2-0 in his career against Capdeville, including a straight sets grass court win at Newport in 2007.

Igor Andreev (29) def. Evgeny Korolev

Korolev beat his fellow Russian in a third set tiebreaker on clay last year, but Andreev is the better grass court player.

Tommy Haas (24) def. Alexander Peya

Haas just beat some of the world’s top players en route to a title at Halle, so he should be able to get past the qualifier.

Michael Llodra def. Joshua Goodall

Llodra has won three matches in his career at Wimbledon.  He should bring that total up to four when he beats the wild card from Great Britain.

Sam Querrey def. Danai Udomchoke

Querrey benefits from Ivan Ljubicic's withdrawal.  He has a much better shot against Udomchoke, whom he beat on grass in 2006.

Marin Cilic (11) def. Alberto Martin

Cilic won an earlier meeting this year in Chennai, 6-4, 6-4.

Tommy Robredo (15) def. Luka Gregorc

Robredo hasn’t had a great deal of success at Wimbledon, but he’s playing well this year, so he should be able to get past the qualifier.

Edouard Roger-Vasselin def. Stefan Koubek

Koubek hasn’t won a match here in five years, so I’ll give the advantage to the qualifier.

Santiago Gonzalez def. Dudi Sela

Sela’s never won a match on grass, so I’ll give the edge to the qualifier.

Rainer Schuettler (18) def. Xavier Malisse

Schuettler is 4-2 against Malisse, with both losses coming on clay.  There ain’t no clay at Wimbledon.

Mardy Fish (28) def. Sergio Roitman

Roitman is 0-11 in Grand Slams.

Janko Tipsarevic def. Jan Hernych

Tipsarevic has made the fourth round the past two years, while Hernych has lost five straight Grand Slam matches.

Simon Greul def. Michael Yani

They’re both qualifiers, but Greul has Grand Slam experience, while the American does not.

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Julien Benneteau

The 2007 semi finalist leads the all-time series 2-1.

Fernando Verdasco (7) def. James Ward

Verdasco won more matches at last year’s Wimbledon than the number of majors Ward has played in his career.

Nicolas Mahut def. Kristof Vliegen

Mahut beat Vliegen at the 2006 Wimbledon and he’s on a role again, defeating Janko Tipsarevic and Marin Cilic at Queens Club last week.

Guillermo Canas def. Diego Junqueira

Canas reached the third round here a couple years ago, while Junqueira is playing in his first Wimbledon.

Albert Montanes (32) def. Grega Zemlja

The Spaniard hasn’t had too much success at Wimbledon, but he should be able to get past the qualifier.

Ivo Karlovic (22) def. Lukas Lacko

Karlovic hasn’t won a match here since his fourth round run in 2004, but he’s another seed with a favorable matchup against a low-ranked qualifier.

Frank Dancevic def. Steve Darcis

Dancevic has reached the second round the past two years, while Darcis is 1-7 at Grand Slams.

Simone Bolelli def. Daniel Koellerer

Bolelli is an impressive 8-1 in first round matches at majors and has reached the second and third rounds in his first two tries at Wimbledon.  Koellerer, meanwhile, is playing in his first Grass Court Championships.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Andrey Golubev

Tsonga beat Golubev in straight sets earlier this year at Marseille.

Robin Soderling (13) def. Gilles Muller

Can Soderling follow up his amazing run to the French Open final with an equally impressive run at Wimbledon?  He’s reached the third round here twice.

Marcel Granollers def. Andreas Beck

Granollers destroyed Beck, 4 and 1, at Chennai this year.

Nicolas Almagro def. Juan Monaco

Almagro leads the all-time series between these two, 2-1, including victories in the last two meetings.  He’s also the only one to have won a match here before.

Feliciano Lopez (21) def. Karol Beck

Thanks to Marcos Baghdatis pulling out with a knee injury on Friday, Beck gets to play his first Grand Slam main draw in four years and Lopez, a quarterfinalist in 2008, gets a much easier opponent.

Florent Serra def. Philipp Kohlschreiber (27)

Serra beat Kohlschreiber in the first round of the 2007 version of this tournament and the German has never really had much success here.

Ivo Minar def. Maximo Gonzalez

At least Minar has won a grass court match in his career.

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Agustin Calleri

Garcia-Lopez is 2-0 against Calleri, including a first round victory at this year’s Australian Open.

Roger Federer (2) def. Yen-Hsun Lu

Federer has 16 more titles than Lu has match wins.

SECOND ROUND

Lleyton Hewitt def. Juan Martin Del Potro (5)

Del Potro might’ve gotten an easier first round match thanks to Nadal pulling out and the subsequent redraw, but he definitely did not benefit with his second round opponent.  Hewitt has reached at least the fourth round here five consecutive years, while Del Potro has never made it past the second.

Dmitry Tursunov (25) def. Philipp Petzschner

Tursunov has reached the third round all five years that he’s played this event.

Radek Stepanek (23) def. Potito Starace

Stepanek beat Starace in straight sets at last year’s U.S. Open.

David Ferrer (16) def. Denis Istomin

Istomin should be happy to win his first ever match at Wimbledon; the more experienced Ferrer will take it from here.

Nikolay Davydenko (12) def. Bjorn Phau

In his first two matches, Davydenko gets to play two guys that are a combined 0-2 at Wimbledon.

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Paul-Henri Mathieu

Berdych is 11-5 at this event, while Mathieu is 6-6.

Jurgen Melzer (26) def. Benjamin Becker

Becker should be happy with this first Wimbledon victory, as Melzer returns to the third round.

Andy Roddick (6) def. Grigor Dimitrov

No. 6 versus No. 341 in the world.

Andy Murray (3) def. Ernests Gulbis

Murray beat Gulbis twice last year, including once on grass.

Viktor Troicki (30) def. Taylor Dent

Dent’s road back ends here as Troicki improves on last year’s second-round exit.

Stanislas Wawrinka (19) def. Martin Vassallo Arguello

Wawrinka beat Vassallo Arguello on clay this year, so he shouldn’t have any problem on grass.

Marat Safin (14) def. Christophe Rochus

Safin, who is 2-0 against Rochus, won more matches here last year (5) than the Belgian has won in his eight years at Wimbledon (1).

Fernando Gonzalez (10) def. Oscar Hernandez

Hernandez has never won a match here, so he’s probably not going to beat the 2005 quarterfinalist.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Nicolas Kiefer (33)

Kiefer withdrew from his second round match at Halle last week due to an abdominal tear.  That doesn’t bode well for his chances against Ferrero, who beat Kiefer twice last year and just reached the semis at Queen’s Club.

Victor Hanescu (31) def. Nicolas Lapentti

Hanescu beat Lapentti at Kitzbuhel this year.

Gilles Simon (8) def. Andrei Pavel

Simon beat Pavel twice in 2007, including once on grass at Nottingham.

James Blake (17) def. Adrian Mannarino

The Wimbledon rookie should provide little resistance to Blake reaching the third round for the third time in the past four years.

Igor Andreev (29) def. Vincent Spadea

Spadea beat Andreev in straight sets at the ’07 Australian Open, but the Russian has improved his ranking by more than 100 since then and the American hasn’t beaten a top 90 player all year.

Tommy Haas (24) def. Michael Llodra

Haas hasn’t lost a set in three matches against Llodra.

Marin Cilic (11) def. Sam Querrey

Cilic/Ljubicic would've been a great match-up between two fellow Croatians, but Cilic, who reached the fourth round last year, should have less trouble with the American, who has never won a match here.

Tommy Robredo (15) def. Edouard Roger-Vasselin

Robredo’s won twice on Tour so far this year, so he should be able to get past the qualifier.

Rainer Schuettler (18) def. Santiago Gonzalez

Last year’s semi-finalist against a Wimbledon rookie.

Janko Tipsarevic def. Mardy Fish (28)

These two have split two close matches already this year, so I’ll give the edge to Tipsarevic because he’s reached the fourth round the past two years here, while Fish has never made it that far.

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Simon Greul

Greul has never won a Grand Slam match, so he should be pleased with a second round finish.

Fernando Verdasco (7) def. Nicolas Mahut

Verdasco is 2-0 lifetime versus Mahut.

Guillermo Canas def. Albert Montanes (32)

Canas has dropped just eight games in five career sets against Montanes, who has never reached a third round at a major outside of Paris.

Ivo Karlovic (22) def. Frank Dancevic

Dancevic has never reached the third round here, so I think it’s time for Karlovic to return to the Round of 32 for the first time in five years.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Simone Bolelli

Tsonga’s dropped just 10 games in two victories over Bolelli this year.

Robin Soderling (13) def. Marcel Granollers

Soderling destroyed Granollers, 6-3, 6-0, on clay this year, so he should have no problem beating the Spaniard on grass.

Feliciano Lopez (21) def. Nicolas Almagro

Lopez reached the quarters last year, while Almagro has never gotten past the second round.

Florent Serra def. Ivo Minar

Serra is 7-10 in his career on grass, while Minar is just 2-9.

Roger Federer (2) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Federer has dropped just seven games in two career matches against the Spaniard.

THIRD ROUND

Lleyton Hewitt def. Dmitry Tursunov (25)

Tursunov just won a tune-up event at Eastbourne, but he did it without beating a top 49 player.  Hewitt, meanwhile, just took Roddick to two tiebreakers at Queen’s Club and the Aussie has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon five straight years.

David Ferrer (16) def. Radek Stepanek (23)

In the past two-and-a-half years, Ferrer has beaten Stepanek in five sets at the Australian and the French.  He looks to pick up the third leg of the Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

Nikolay Davydenko (12) def. Tomas Berdych (20)

Davydenko is 8-0 against Berdych.

Andy Roddick (6) def. Jurgen Melzer (26)

And Roddick is 8-0 versus Melzer.

Andy Murray (3) def. Viktor Troicki (30)

Murray has won 24 of the 31 games in the two career meetings between these two.

Marat Safin (14) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (19)

Wawrinka is 3-1 lifetime against Safin, but that one loss came last year at Wimbledon as Safin went on to reach the semi finals.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Fernando Gonzalez (10)

Ferrero has won the last two meetings between these two and just reached the semis at Queen’s Club.

Victor Hanescu (31) def. Gilles Simon (8)

Hanescu just dispatched of Simon with relative ease in straight sets on the clay of Roland Garros, and that’s the Frenchman’s favorite surface.

James Blake (17) def. Igor Andreev (29)

Blake is 6-0 against Andreev, including wins at this year’s Australian and the ’07 Wimbledon.

Tommy Haas (24) def. Marin Cilic (11)

Haas just beat Tsonga and Djokovic en route to the title at Halle.

Rainer Schuettler (18) def. Tommy Robredo (15)

Robredo just beat Schuettler rather easily on clay, but the German is a much better grass court player, as noted by his semi-finals appearance here last year.

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Janko Tipsarevic

Djokovic is 2-0 against his fellow Serbian, including a win on grass last year.

Fernando Verdasco (7) def. Guillermo Canas

Verdasco leads the all-time series 4-2, including a 6-1, 6-2 trouncing last year.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Ivo Karlovic (22)

Tsonga has won 20 of his last 26 Grand Slam matches, which includes a fourth round finish at his last Wimbledon in 2007.

Feliciano Lopez (21) def. Robin Soderling (13)

Soderling has never gotten past the third round here, while Lopez, who holds a 3-2 advantage in five career meetings, has reached the quarterfinals twice, including last year.

Roger Federer (2) def. Florent Serra

Serra’s never reached the third round before, so don’t expect him to put up much of a fight against the five-time champ.

FOURTH ROUND

Lleyton Hewitt def. David Ferrer (16)

Ferrer beat Hewitt at the ’08 French, but the Aussie beat the Spaniard at the ’06 Wimbledon.  Hewitt’s made four quarterfinals here, while Ferrer has never gotten out of the fourth round.

Andy Roddick (6) def. Nikolay Davydenko (12)

I’m a little concerned with Roddick’s ankle injury he suffered in the Queen’s Club tournament last week, but he holds a 5-1 career advantage over Davydenko, and the American has had a great deal more success at Wimbledon than the Russian.

Andy Murray (3) def. Marat Safin (14)

Safin made the semis last year, but that was an unusual spike for a guy who’s on the downside of his career.  Murray, on the other hand, is peaking with three quarterfinals appearances in his last four majors and already four titles in 2009.

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Victor Hanescu (31)

Ferrero just beat Hanescu at Casablanca and the result should be similar at Wimbledon, where the Spaniard has had a lot more success.

Tommy Haas (24) def. James Blake (17)

Haas is playing better of late, has won the past two meetings and has a slightly better history at Wimbledon.

Novak Djokovic (4) def. Rainer Schuettler (18)

Djokovic is 2-0 against Schuettler.                

Fernando Verdasco (7) def. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9)

Verdasco beat Tsonga in four sets at the Australian this year.

Roger Federer (2) def. Feliciano Lopez (21)

Federer is 7-0 versus Lopez.

QUARTERFINALS

Andy Roddick (6) def. Lleyton Hewitt

Roddick really got a huge break when Nadal pulled out of his quarter.  The American has won the last four encounters between these two, including a two-tiebreak victory at Queen’s Club earlier this month.

Andy Murray (3) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero

Murray crushed Ferrero, 6-2, 6-4, at the recent London event.

Tommy Haas (24) def. Novak Djokovic (4)

Djokovic beat Haas earlier this year at Indian Wells, but Haas recently returned the favor with a finals win at Halle.

Roger Federer (2) def. Fernando Verdaso (7)

Federer is 3-0 against Verdasco, including a straight-sets win in California this year.

SEMI FINALS

Andy Murray (3) def. Andy Roddick (6)

Murray is 6-2 versus Roddick, including victories in the last three encounters, most recently at Doha this year.

Roger Federer (2) def. Tommy Haas (24)

Federer was forced to come from two sets down to beat Haas at this year’s French.  It shouldn’t be that difficult at Wimbledon.

FINALS

Roger Federer (2) def. Andy Murray (3)

It’s a shame that Federer won’t have a chance to beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, and avenge last year’s devastating loss, for his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title, but this final would have a lot of juice as well.

Federer outclassed Murray in the 2008 U.S. Open championship match, but since then, the Scotsman has won four consecutive meetings with the greatest player of all time. 

Still, none of those matches came at a Grand Slam and I think it will be very difficult for Murray to overcome the pressure of his home country’s fans and the focus of Federer going for history in order to pull this one out.