Wimbledon 2016: Americans with the Best Chance of Reaching Week 2
American tennis has a stronger contingent of women’s players who hope to win Wimbledon. Everyone knows that world No. 1 Serena Williams leads the charge, but there are a couple other candidates who could challenge for tennis’ most prestigious title.
On the men’s side, nobody resembles Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi or three-time finalist Andy Roddick. Only two players currently get enough consideration to make our projected cut for Week 2, let alone competing for the trophy.
We begin with one frame of long shots and then feature the six most likely players to reach the second week of the tournament.
Missing the Cut
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Jack Sock disposed of Ernests Gulbis and is expected to do the same to Robin Haase, but in the third round he could face Milos Raonic's massive serve. Canadian Raonic's coach is American John McEnroe, so maybe that would be consolation for many fans of U.S. tennis.
Sam Querrey gets a hero's mention for losing two tiebreakers and then coming all the way back to win a 12-10 fifth set. Will he have anything left for Thomaz Bellucci? If so, he's probably the least likely American on the planet to get to Week 2. His third-round opponent would almost assuredly be Novak Djokovic.
Varvara Lepchenko needs to defeat No. 4 Angelique Kerber to move on to the third round. Next.
Sloane Stephens has potential to reach the second week, but the No. 18 seed is inconsistent and would likely do down in round three to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Steve Johnson
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Fresh off his first career title with last week’s grass-court tournament at Nottingham, England, Steve Johnson took care of Wimbledon business in a first-round win over Malek Jaziri. Then he caught a break when potential second-round opponent and No. 17 seed Gael Monfils lost in five sets to Jeremy Chardy.
Johnson could get a tired, flat Chardy who has never been consistent with his talent. His chances for the third round are certainly plausible.
To get to the second week, Johnson would then have to outplay the talented but confusing Grigor Dimitrov, which would be exactly the kind of match the Bulgarian would lose, or he would play No. 18 Gilles Simon, a soft baseline player who would prefer to play on something slower. The stronger Johnson, who is on a career high, could be the favorite straight up.
Call it almost an even chance that Johnson gets to Week 2.
Venus Williams
3 of 7
She’s 36 years old, but legendary Venus Williams will always have five Wimbledon singles trophies. Ranked No. 8 in the world, Williams would seem to be a lock for the second week, if she can stay consistent and full of energy with her recoveries between matches.
Williams won her first match against Donna Vekic, and she only has to defeat Maria Sakkari and either Lara Arruabarrena or Daria Kasatkina to arrive at Week 2.
The American's chances begin with her big serve, reflexes and ground game. She's very comfortable at her favorite major venue and more than an imposing legend to her opponents. Her tools and mentality are dominant.
Unless Williams is having an off-day, which is more common for her in recent years, she rates at least an 80 percent chance of getting to Round 4 where only the best will compete.
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John Isner
4 of 7
This is really the tournament that John Isner should be cut out to win, but it won’t be easy getting to the second week.
Famed for his 2010 marathon win over Nicolas Mahut, the bullet-serving Isner is one of the most difficult servers to crack. It’s almost as difficult for his return game to collect precious few breakpoints like water droplets in a parched desert.
Isner should get to the third round, but he probably would not get through a healthy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, which is an issue for the Frenchman, one of our top-10 candidates to win Wimbledon.
Tsonga brings in a strong serve and power game but a lot more stability with his groundstrokes and superior versatility and career success at majors.
Give Isner about a one-in-three chance to get to the second week.
Coco Vandeweghe
5 of 7
Coco Vandeweghe is the most under-the-radar contender in the ladies' draw. She has fantastic power with her serve and a game well-suited for grass, as evidenced by her grass-court title in early June in the Netherlands. She got to the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year.
The biggest obstacle in getting to the second week is savvy Italian veteran Roberta Vinci, who can slice and create some magic at the net. Vandeweghe otherwise has the superior energy and power, and she does not lack for confidence.
The question might be if Vandeweghe can rein in some of the feisty emotion and brashness that prompted a headline from Ben Rothenberg for the New York Observer to postulate if she is the “Ronda Rousey of tennis.”
One thing’s for sure, she’s an entertaining personality with a big game, the kind of second-week magnet a lot of tennis fans hope to see competing for the title.
Madison Keys
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It’s entirely possible that we get an all-American final with the last two slides in this feature. That is if No. 9 seed Madison Keys betters last year’s quarterfinal run to Wimbledon.
The tall, athletic Keys was a semifinalist in the 2015 Australian Open, but she’s now a top-10 player looking to emulate Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who lost to Serena Williams at the 2015 Wimbledon final but then turned the tables on the world No. 1 a few weeks ago at the French Open.
Her road to next week has her a heavy favorite against Kirsten Flipkens in the second round and either Alize Cornet or Sara Errani in the third round. But there is a different kind of pressure being a favorite.
ESPN’s Gene Garber noted that the expectations on Keys still have her thinking big. “I think I can," Keys remarked in that article when she was asked about one day becoming the world’s best player. "I'm obviously out here working for that every day. I don't think it's going to come easy, and I don't think just because people are saying that, it's going to happen.”
We fully expect to check in on Keys this weekend when our second-week previews get underway.
Serena Williams
7 of 7
Everyone expects Serena Williams to get to the second week, and with her No. 1 ranking she reaps the reward of an easy draw. She needs only to defeat fellow American Christina McHale and possibly No. 31 seed Kristina Mladenovic.
Williams' six career Wimbledon crowns and 21 majors have been built on the sport’s most awesome combination of power and determination. The tournament is hers to lose.
Except that the 34-year-old has not won a major since last year’s Wimbledon title. She has only selectively participated in big tournaments in 2016, so there are increasing questions about her advancing age and diminishing dominance over the WTA tour.
Is she ready to step aside for Madison Keys or Garbine Muguruza? Is this the last, best chance she gets to tie Steffi Graf with 22 majors?
Serena Williams is always a story in women’s tennis, win or lose.
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