Wimbledon 2011: Grading the Top Five Men's and Women's Players so Far

The Championships are entering their business end from Monday, and it's time to grade the best gentlemen and ladies left in the draw.

The second week of the tournament sees the focus shift from what everyone's wearing and which seeded player got knocked out, to predicting who among the draw has got it in them to go all the way.

Everyone's got their two cents worth of expert opinion, and I'm not going to be left behind!

So here's Prof. Jaideep's grading of the top five men and women left in the Championships.

Victoria Azarenka

Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka has looked pretty solid in the three matches she's played. 

Her first-round opponent, Magdalena Rybarikova, retired midway through the second set after trailing in the match. Azarenka then made easy going of her second-round match, where she destroyed Iveta Benesova 6-0, 6-3.

Azarenka's figures in that match: 85 percent of her first serves going in, a 100 percent first-serve winning percentage, a 100 percent success rate in break point conversion and an error-free net play.

Daniela Hantuchova gave the Belorussian a stiffer challenge in the third round. The match swung to and fro for three sets before Azarenka emerged a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 winner.

Azarenka, who won in Miami this year, has a well-rounded game. She likes to play from the back of the court and her ground-strokes spell aggression. She has a strong backhand that she uses to her advantage and also likes to volley as much as she can.

Azarenka showed in her match against Hantuchova that she is able to step up when required and could prove to be a tough challenge in the latter rounds.

An area she should improve on, however, is her second serve.

She scores bonus points for her comical grunt!

Grade: B+

Juan Martin Del Potro

After missing out most of last year with a wrist injury, Argentine Juan Martin del Potro is back with an aim to regain his top ranking of a couple of years ago.

The 2009 U.S. Open champion has a 32-8 win-loss record this season and has already won two ATP titles at Estoril and Del Ray Beach. 

Del Potro impressed in his fourth round exit to Novak Djokovic in the French Open. He is getting stronger by the minute as he gears up to face Rafael Nadal next at Wimbledon.

A 68 percentile first serves' record will rattle any opponent, especially when they are hammered down on you from his 6'6" frame at 130 miles per hour.

The Argentine has relied heavily on his first serve and powerful ground strokes so far, but he needs to keep his unforced errors in check if he wants to challenge further. He could also work on his volleying.

Grade: B

Caroline Wozniacki

World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki won the pre-Wimbledon tournament in her hometown of Copenhagen and has carried her form into the Championships.

But Wozniacki, despite her top ranking, always struggles in the Grand Slams.

She has been in breathtaking form at Wimbledon so far, however. She's dropped just 12 games in her first three rounds and is a genuine contender for the Venus Rosewater Dish.

Wozniacki relies on her strong serve and has got a whopping 77 percent of her first serves in so far. She won 89 percent of her first serve points in her third-round demolition of Jarmila Gajdosova.

Wozniacki's famed backhand is looking stronger than ever, and her counter-punching style could just help her break the Grand Slam duck this time around.

The 20-year-old has never gotten past the fourth round of Wimbledon before. I'd say that's about to change.

Grade: A

Andy Murray

Britain's Andy Murray has a lot of expectations riding on him in the Championships, and he seems to be doing enough to keep the crowd happy.

The Queen's winner has been aggressive in his play, agile on the court and mentally strong—not letting the weight of the expectations get to him.

He's looked solid with his ground strokes and has one of the best court coverages in the tournament so far.

However, an area he needs to work on is his serve. Murray hit 13 aces while blasting away Andy Roddick's challenge at Queen's, but he's not looked the same at the All England Club.

In his third-round match against Ivan Ljubicic, the veteran 32-year-old returned Murray's serves as hard as they came at him.

Murray needs to find the right balance between speed and accuracy while serving and improve upon his second serve percentage.

When on song, Murray looks unstoppable and has an extra dimension added to him. His confidence flies high and he even showboats to the crowd's delight.

But as the tournament goes on, Murray's resolve is sure to be tested as he again finds himself in the same half of the draw as Rafael Nadal.

Evidently, there's some work to be done before he can even think of that matchup.

Grade: B

Venus Williams

Not surprisingly, five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams' dress has taken up more space in the tabloids than her game.

But her flimsy looking jumper is poles apart from her performance so far at the Championships.

Williams has played in just two tournaments this year due to injury, but that didn't stop her from embarking upon her trademark aggressive style of play at Wimbledon. She quickly got into her stride in the first round against Akgul Amanmuradova and was soon drilling winners down the court.

Williams survived a stern challenge from veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the second round, but was back to her impressive best against Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who she comprehensively beat 6-0, 6-2 in the third.

She has looked a little rusty but she's still able to hammer down her serves at close to 120 miles per hour. Her net play has been impressive and her confidence is slowly returning as the tournament progresses.

It won't be long before she peaks.

Grade: A-

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic's impressive run this year seems to have done more harm to him than good.

The Serbian has got almost the entire world's expectations riding on him. While his first two rounds at Wimbledon were a breeze, his third-round match against the charged-up Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis revealed the same chinks Roger Federer exposed in the French Open.

Djokovic, in his stride, is unstoppable. If you catch him when he's feeling good, you better brace yourself to be blown out of the park!

But even a little pressure exerted on the Serbian tends to crumble the aura of superiority he's built around him since the start of the season.

Djokovic caught Federer on the wrong day in the French Open and was on the back foot from the word go. Federer never allowed the Serbian into the game, and that's when the latter started making uncharacteristic errors and eventually lost the plot.

Baghdatis tried the same formula. He put Djokovic under pressure with his aggressive, power-packed play and soon, Center Court got to see the old Djokovic—losing his temper, smashing his racket and piling on the unforced errors.

Djokovic has a tendency of having these one-off bad days ever so often on the big stage. His fans will hope and pray it's the last time they've seen his uglier side in this tournament.

But the most important conclusion from the match was that he won. It wasn't pretty, he wasn't playing at his best, but he still managed to go through. It's something Djokovic will need in the second week as the going gets tough.

Djokovic's journey in the French Open and Wimbledon so far has proved that he's not superhuman. But it has also cemented the fact that he's a fighter.

Grade: B+

Maria Sharapova

After an impressive French Open performance last month—in which she reached the semifinal—Maria Sharapova looks to be in her best form since returning from her shoulder injury of 2009.

Seeded fifth at the Championships, Sharapova is one of the favorites to take the Venus Rosewater Dish for the second time in her career.

The 6'2" ace hasn't dropped a set so far and has been clinical in two of her three matches.

The only time she was stretched was against British teenager Laura Robson in the second round. For some reason, Sharapova struggled to exert her domination on Robson, and her usually accurate serve was in some disarray.

Another area she needs to work upon is her movement. Sharapova hasn't moved her feet as well as she should/can. This could bring about her downfall if not looked into.

But more often than not, the Russian has showcased her characteristic solid drives from the baseline and could just get the better of the Williamses, given their lack of match practice.

She just has to keep those unforced errors in check.

Grade: B+

Rafael Nadal

After a grueling clay court season, Rafael Nadal was looked tired and exhausted entering the Championships.

A loss to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Queen's tournament elevated concerns over the Spaniard's fitness and gave some hope to his first round opponent Michael Russell.

But Nadal came through the match against the American unscathed. He then went on to beat another American, Ryan Sweeting, in the second round in straight sets.

However, Nadal was forced to flex his muscles in the third round against wildcard entrant Gilles Muller. Nadal fought off a troublesome knee and an overnight delay to finally come through 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 6-0.

The Majorcan has looked solid so far—controlling the proceedings with his serve and forehand. His radar has rarely been off-target and his movement on court has been terrific.

He does not have the volley of Roger Federer, but he's experienced enough to still do damage. His appetite for success remains as ferocious as ever.

Grade: A

Serena Williams

The most important factor about Serena Williams' play I have noticed so far in Wimbledon is her resolute mental strength. 

Considering that she has been away from the game for 49 weeks, it's a surprise she's even playing at the All England Club. But that's what champions do.

Williams is still shaking off all the inertia she's gathered over the year. Her movement and fitness are her major concerns, but she seems to be getting better with every match.

Williams has been able to find those thumping serves, massive forehands and array of smashing volleys that made her a four-time champion at SW19. The unforced errors are still on the higher side, but that's normal for someone coming off such a long layoff.

Williams has won 78 percent of her first serve points and more than half of her returns in the tournament.

But the most terrifying thing for her opponents: She can only get better.

Grade: A- 

Roger Federer

Roger Federer looks to be in scintillating form entering the second week of the Championships. He is coasting full steam ahead on his way to a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon title.

His performance at the French Open seems to have given him a major boost ahead of the Championships and it has reflected in his three wins so far. 

Federer has hardly been troubled and is in terrific shape, physically and mentally. He looks supremely fit on the court and is sharpness personified.

Federer's game is ideally suited to the surface. He has used his strengths—the serve, the groundstrokes, the net play and his trump card, the backhand slice—to good effect.

He has relied upon his service game and, looking at the figures, why the hell not? Federer has landed 69 percent of his first serves on target and won 84 percent of those first serve points. He has saved eight of the nine break points he has faced and won 41 of his 42 service games.

Federer also has an innate ability to crank his game up a notch as the matches get bigger and the points get tougher.

But judging by the dazzling form he's already in, its hard to imagine him shifting up a gear in the second week. He already looks to be in the sort of form that made him such a renowned power.

But most importantly, Federer seems the most determined to win and show that he is not a spent force. His hunger for trophies has not diminished since the day he was crowned boys' champion here 13 years ago.

Grade: A