Wimbledon 2011: Power Ranking the Men's Round of 16 Contenders

Gone are Andy Roddick, Robin Soderling and Gael Monfils, all seeded in the top 10 of the men’s Wimbledon field, falling to lower-ranked players who upped their game to dispatch these men at the top.

Surviving into the second week are the Big Four, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders.

But there are also some surprises in the Round of 16 field. 

On the biggest day of the Wimbledon tournament so far, there are 16 men left in the field.

Who has the best chance to advance to the quarterfinals? The picture will much clearer after today.

16. Lukas Kubot (Poland)

Lukas Kubot, 29 years of age and world ranked No. 93, has managed to maneuver his way into the Round of 16 at the All England Club. His victims coming into the fourth round were Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the first round and big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic in the second.

Kubot's most impressive feat, however, was a third-round win over the No. 9 seed, Frenchman Gael Monfils, who lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Kubot scored 50 winners in his match against Monfils, who never got his teeth into the match.

Despite the end of his career being far closer than the beginning, the Pole has found ways to win and not be cowered by the moment. He has done well at the last two majors and Kubot is looking for more.

His fourth-round encounter against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez marks the first time Kubot has ever made the fourth round of a Grand Slam. The Pole has to like his chances to make the quarterfinals.

The two men have met once before at the 2010 Madrid Masters on clay, which Lopez won. But this is a different surface and Kubot is playing with much more confidence.

15. Bernard Tomic (Australia)

The 18-year old Aussie Bernard Tomic got to dispatch the man who dumped countryman Lleyton Hewitt out of the Wimbledon tournament. The No. 158 player in the world sent home the No. 5 player as Tomic ousted Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 in a little under two hours.

Tomic raced through the first set in less than 20 minutes, astounding  the assembled crowd. The Aussie lost one game in the opener with Soderling garnering only seven points. In a staggering display, Tomic hardly missed a serve, winning 86 percent of his first serves and 100 percent of his second.

In the second set, Tomic rode a single break of serve to the finish line. In the third set, Soderling upped the quality of his game, looking to extend his stay at the All England Club. But he faltered in the 11th game, giving Tomic the edge to serve out the third and final set.

Tomic’s journey to the fourth round included some impressive wins. In the first round, the Aussie defeated Nikolay Davydenko, the No. 29 seed, in straight sets 7-5, 6-3, 7-5. To reach the third round, Tomic had to win an epic five-set match over Igor Andreev of Russia 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. The win advanced the Aussie into the match with Soderling.

In the fourth round, Tomic will face Belgian Xavier Malisse on Monday. The two have met once before with Malisse winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 during the second round of Queen’s Club in 2010. There may be a different outcome in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Monday.

14. Michael Llodra [19] (France)

Making the fourth round at Wimbledon is the furthest the serve-and-volley specialist, Michael Llodra, had ever advanced at the All England Club. It would seem that the Frenchman should play his best on the green lawns but that has not been the case so far.

The Frenchman reached the fourth round by dispatching Brit James Ward in the first round 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. In the second round, Llodra tussled getting past Ricardo Mello of Brazil 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

This brought the Frenchman face to face with Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei in the third round. Lu, who had snuffed out the hopes of the No. 13 seed Victor Troicki, had no answers for Llodra, who defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and 43 minutes.

Using the serve-and-volley style of play that is the hallmark of his game, the Frenchman won 70 percent of his 37 trips to the net. In addition to that, Llodra was also serving well, scoring 19 aces.

Llodra had never before progressed beyond the second round at the All England Club.

His next challenge will be getting past the No. 2 seed, Novak Djokovic, in the fourth round.

The two men have met three times with Llodra only managing one win over the Serb at the 2010 Paris Masters when he defeated Djokovic 7-6, 6-2 in the third round. The Serb defeated Llodra in Miami in 2007 and in Dubai this year.

13. Mardy Fish [10] (United States)

The last American man standing, Mardy Fish, will face off against Czech Tomas Berdych, seeded No. 6 in the fourth round.

In the first round, Fish dispatched Marcel Granollers of Spain 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round. There he defeated Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. 

In the third round, Fish had to face Robin Haase of the Netherlands. With the score standing at 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 1-1, Haase had to retire from the match, sending the American onto the fourth round.

Fish had never advanced beyond the third round of Wimbledon before this year. But then the American is doing many things he has never accomplished before in men’s tennis. For one thing, Fish is now ranked higher than any other American male, including Andy Roddick. 

Fish is ranked in the top 10 in men’s tennis for the first time in his career, playing well with much confidence.

The American has never faced Berdych before. Berdych, who was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2010, will be looking to move one step further where he would meet Nadal in the quarterfinals. Fish will be looking for the same opportunity.

12. Xavier Malisse (Belgium)

Unseeded Xavier Malisse opened his adventure at the All England Club by winning his first-round match over Mischa Zverev of Germany 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the second round where he met and dispatched the No. 20 seed fellow German Florian Mayer 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. 

This propelled the Belgian into the third round where he did battle with the 11th seed, Jurgen Melzer, who appeared to fold up his tent early and leave the grounds. The Austrian lost 7-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Malisse’s claim to fame is that in 2002 the Belgian, in a series of upsets, advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals where he lost to Argentine David Nalbandian.

After winning on Saturday, Malisse advanced to the fourth round where he will meet the young Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic.

Malisse, who is almost 31 years of age, is appearing at the All England Club for the 11th time.

What the Belgian understands coming into Monday’s contest is that Tomic will play his best because the Aussie has nothing to lose. This will free the teenager to swing loose, which makes Tomic a dangerous opponent.

11. Mikhail Youzhny [18] (Russia)

It was not quite an afterthought—the final match of a very long Saturday—as tournament officials struggled to bring the schedule up to date. But it seemed as though not many felt it was an important punctuation to the day.  Everyone except Mikhail Youzhny and Nicolas Almagro seemed to pass the contest by.

For the two combatants, nothing else mattered except winning the right to advance one more step into the tournament for the chance to face Roger Federer, the No. 3 seed, in the Round of 16.

Before meeting Almagro in the third round, Youzhny defeated Spaniard Juan Monaco in the first round 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 and Somdev Devvarman of India 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in the second.

The level of play was very high from the outset. Youzhny and Almagro battled for four sets before the No. 18 seed Youzhny came away with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win. After being broken in the opening set, the Russian did not allow another break of his serve.

Youzhny clamped down hard on the match and never relinquished his mental edge. 

In the first set, it did not look like the Russian had the right stuff but he quickly reversed that impression as the match wore on. As Almagro’s frustration grew, the Russian’s grip grew tighter.

After two hours and 43 minutes, Youzhny claimed victory.  His reward will be to play the six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. The two have met 10 times with Federer winning each time.

10. Feliciano Lopez (Spain)

Feliciano Lopez defeated Michael Berrer of Germany 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in his first-round contest at the 2011 Wimbledon Championship. In the second round, Lopez managed to outlast the veteran Rainer Schuettler 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the third round where the Spaniard was to meet the No. 8 seed, American Andy Roddick.

In a stunning upset, Lopez upended the three-time Wimbledon finalist Roddick, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4. Prior to this match, Lopez had faced Roddick seven times and he had never won. 

Ranked World No. 44, no one expected Lopez to defeat Roddick. But Lopez had 57 winners and seven unforced errors during the match. His play was exceptionally good.

Roddick did not play a bad match with 40 winners and 16 unforced errors, but Lopez played a better one and came away with the win. Grass and the Spaniard’s big serve propelled him into the Round of 16 on Monday.

Lopez has an excellent chance to advance to the quarterfinals facing qualifier Lukas Kubot of Poland. The Spaniard will want to make sure to bring his best serve with him on Monday.

9. David Ferrer [7] (Spain)

We are accustomed to seeing David Ferrer play tenacious tennis. This year’s results have been better than ever for the Spaniard, coming in at 34-9 for the year. The Spaniard is known as a grinder who can play not only on clay but also on the hard courts.

Ferrer has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon twice before this year’s tournament. With his victory on Saturday, the Spaniard once again finds himself advancing into the second week of Wimbledon.

Ferrer opened his 2011 Wimbledon campaign by defeating Benoit Paire of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. His next opponent was the American Ryan Harrison who played an impressive match in defeat 6-7, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In the third round, the Spaniard dispatched Slovakian qualifier Karol Beck in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.

 The Spaniard faced few problems in putting away the Slovak, breaking his serve four times and closing out the match in just a little over two hours. 

His fourth-round matchup will be against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 12 seed. The two have met once before in 2010 on the clay in Rome where Ferrer was the winner 6-4, 6-1.

On grass, however, Tsonga should hold the advantage. This will be Ferrer’s toughest challenge so far in the tournament.

8. Richard Gasquet [17] (France)

Richard Gasquet of France defeated Santiago Giraldo of Columbia in the first round of Wimbledon and Igor Kunitsyn of  Russia 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the second. Next up for the No.  17 seed was “lucky loser” Simone Bolelli of Italy, who was excused from the proceedings by Gasquet 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

After sending Bolelli home, the 2007 Wimbledon semifinalist booked his spot into the fourth round where he will meet Andy Murray, the man all of the British Isles hopes will capture the elusive Wimbledon Championship. Gasquet and Murray met once before at Wimbledon during the 2008 campaign.

It, too, was a fourth-round encounter. Murray fell behind two sets to love and fought his way back from the brink of defeat to win the match. The history of that match will make their upcoming confrontation highly anticipated.

During the epic five-setter played three years ago, Murray enjoyed great support from a boisterous Centre Court crowd. Gasquet, in effect, faded badly in that match, overcome by Murray’s refusal to relinquish and the noisy crowds.

Gasquet, however, has been playing superior tennis in 2011. In Rome, the Frenchman defeated Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych in consecutive three-set matches. Gasquet has long been touted as having superior talent. Now he appears to have the work ethic to accompany it. 

In order to win on Monday, Gasquet must harness his talents and play his best. He must also be able to still the crowds by keeping Murray down. A tall order for the Frenchman.

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [12] (France)

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Spaniard David Ferrer have a showdown on Monday at the All England Club where the two men will face each other for the second time in their careers.

They met previously last season on the clay courts at the Italian Open at Rome. Ferrer, as expected, dominated the Frenchman 6-4, 6-1 on the red dirt.

When the two men take the court during the fourth round, there is no doubt that the quicker grass courts at the All-England Club will suit Tsonga much better than the clay courts in Rome. Tsonga’s chances are vastly improved by playing on the green lawns.

Tsonga, the No. 12 seed, has also been playing much better tennis of late. The Frenchman upset Rafael Nadal at the Queen’s Club two weeks ago where he advanced to the finals. The No. 12 seed stands at 25-13 for the season.

Playing in the first round at Wimbledon in 2011, Tsonga opened with a routine victory over Go Soeda of Japan 6-3,7-6, 6-2 followed by a second-round barn burner over Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6. In the third round, the Frenchman put away Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets.

Tsonga advanced to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2010. He has a game that suits the grass surface. Even though Ferrer is a tough competitor who returns the ball exceptionally well, the chance to advance seems to favor the Frenchman. It will probably, however, not be a dull match.

6. Juan Martin del Potro [24] (Argentina)

The No. 24 seed, Juan Martin del Potro, has had his worst results on the grass. Last year, of course, the big guy was out with injury, recovering from wrist surgery which kept him out of action for most of 2010. Prior to that del Potro had never progressed beyond the second round at the All England Club.

This year, the Argentine began Wimbledon by defeating Falvio Cipolla of Italy 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in the first round and Oliver Rochus 6-7, 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 in the second. In the third round, del Potro defeated the No. 15 seed Gilles Simon of France 7-6, 7-6, 7-5. Each round seemed to bring better results as del Potro’s confidence grew and his movement on the surface improved.

2011 already marks his furthest advancement into the men’s draw. On Monday, del Potro has an opportunity to take another step to the quarterfinals but to do that he must defeat the No. 1 seed and defending champion Rafael Nadal.

The two men have met eight times with Nadal leading 5-3. The Argentine’s wins over the World No. 1 have come at the U.S. Open, the Rogers Cup in Canada and at Miami, all in 2009 and all on hard courts.

While the Argentine is making great strides in regaining his 2009 form, winning on grass against Nadal may be a bit of a stretch for even someone as tall as the 6'6" Argentine.

5. Tomas Berdych [6] (Czech Republic)

Last year, Tomas Berdych stunned the tennis world by upsetting seven-time finalist Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Wimbledon Championship. He went on to the defeat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. The Czech lost to Rafael Nadal in the finals.

This year, seeded No. 6, Berdych advanced into the fourth round at Wimbledon by defeating Alex Bogomolov Jr. of the United States 6-2, 6-4, 6-3. The match was played over two days. On Friday, Berdych led 4-3 in the third set and was serving at 15-0 when the rain came. Tournament officials suspended play. When play resumed on Saturday, Berdych won the set and the match.

During the clay-court season, the Czech’s results were disappointing. But Berdych appears to have reclaimed last year’s winning ways on grass. At 6'4", Berdych has the requisite big first serve needed on grass.

He enhances his serve with a cleanly hit, powerful forehand. With the power of his game generated by his legs, the Czech’s game is fairly simple but difficult to unravel if the Czech’s serve is on. The key for Berdych is belief. If he has confidence, he can win, regardless of the opponent because when he is in a positive frame of mind, Berdych seldom misses his shots.

Mardy Fish, Berdych’s opponent, will do everything he can to disrupt the Czech, trying not to give him any rhythm on his shots. On paper it seems as though Berdych should win but then, the match is not played on paper.  

4. Andy Murray [4] (Great Britain)

Every year brings another saga on the hallowed grounds of the All England Club as Andy Murray battles to win his country’s championship, replacing Fred Perry in the record book as the last Brit to win the Wimbledon crown.

The past two years, the Scot has made the semifinals, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2010 and Andy Roddick in 2009. Each year, as Murray inches closer to the final Sunday; the hopes of the nation rest firmly on his shoulders.

In the first round of Wimbledon this year, Murray defeated Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0, after dropping the first set. In the second round, the Scot dismissed Tobias Kamke of Germany 6-3, 6-3, 7-5. On Saturday in the third round, Murray took out the veteran Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6.

The match against Ljubicic was far from the Scot’s best, as the No. 4 seed dropped the second set. Murray, however, fought his way back into the match although the Croat hung tough.

On Monday, Murray will face the No. 17 seed Richard Gasquet of France in a fourth-round contest of considerable consequence. The occasion, Murray hopes, will be a repeat of a previous encounter when the two men met at Wimbledon during the 2008 campaign.

In that fourth-round encounter. Murray fell behind two sets to love and fought his way back from the brink of defeat to win the match.

During the epic five-setter played three years ago, Murray enjoyed great support from a boisterous Centre Court crowd as he won the match, advancing to the quarterfinals. Gasquet faded badly in that match, overcome by Murray’s resurgence and the noisy crowds.

While Murray will hope the outcome is the same, he will no doubt seek an easier path to the finish line.

3. Novak Djokovic [2] (Serbia)

Novak Djokovic started the year compiling the best record of any player in 2011. He won 41 consecutive matches, remaining perfect until he met Roger Federer in the semifinals of the French Open. Federer stopped the streak by defeating the Serb in dramatic fashion.

Entering Wimbledon, it was time for the Serb to begin rebuilding the campaign to take the No. 1 ranking.

Djokovic started Wimbledon by defeating Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in the first round and Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the second.

In order to advance to the fourth round, Djokovic had to dispatch Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the third round 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. But Djokovic’s win was far from easy.

The Serb suffered a minor meltdown on court, smashing his racket in frustration; but he still managed to win the match, even though his game slumped before the Serb could pull it back together again.

During his career, Djokovic has made the semifinals at Wimbledon twice. Last year, the Serb lost to Tomas Berdych in straight sets and in 2007, he had to retire in his match against Rafael Nadal, trailing 6-3, 1-6, 1-4.

In his fourth-round match on Monday, Djokovic faces the No. 19 seed Frenchman Michael Llodra. The two players have previously met three times with Llodra managing a single win over the Serb at the 2010 Paris Masters, defeating Djokovic 7-6, 6-2 in the third round. The Serb, on the other hand, defeated Llodra in Miami in 2007 and in Dubai this year.

The Serb should get past the Frenchman today, continuing his march toward the finals and the No. 1 ranking in men’s tennis.

2. Rafael Nadal [1] (Spain)

As the reigning World No. 1 and the defending Wimbledon champion, Rafael Nadal has another tough match on his plate on Monday as he prepares to face Juan Martin del Potro in a fourth-round encounter at the All England Club.

To get to his fourth-round match, Nadal, the No. 1 seed, defeated Michael Russell of the United States 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the first round and Ryan Sweeting, also of the United States, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the second.

In the third round, Nadal met and defeated Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. Muller gave the No. 1 seed everything he could handle in the first two sets. But, to his credit, Nadal hung in tough and won the points he needed to win to advance.

Del Potro is a big server and a power hitter––just the kind of player who is problematic for Nadal on the faster surfaces. But, grass has never been kind to the Argentine and Nadal will work diligently to expose the weaknesses in the del Potro grass-court game.

The question will be: Is Nadal vulnerable still or have his previous matches given him enough confidence to dominate the tall Argentine on grass?

It will not be easy but you have to give the nod to Nadal to get by del Potro today because the Argentine is not all the way back to his 2009 form yet. 

As the winner of this event in 2008 and 2010, Nadal will be working hard to add another trophy to his mantle and to keep that No. 1 ranking for another day.

1. Roger Federer [3] (Switzerland)

Even though Roger Federer slipped last year during his Wimbledon quarterfinal contest against Tomas Berdych, this year the Swiss is back once again playing superior grass-court tennis.

The man who has won 16 Grand Slam titles, including six at the All England Club, will take his fourth-round contest very seriously because winning this championship is the next major goal for the World No.3.

To get to this point, Federer upended Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. The Swiss followed that by defeating Adrian Mannarino of France 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round.

In the third round, Federer had to get by his old nemesis, David Nalbandian,  6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Nalbandian had been out most of the year with injuries; therefore, the Argentine did not offer the Swiss much opposition.

Facing Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round will not be easy because the Russian can be a tenacious opponent. But Federer has met Youzhny 10 times and defeated him each time so the odds would seem to be in Federer’s favor.

The Swiss, however, will be ready to go the distance on this day, taking him one step closer to achieving slam No. 17.

More importantly, Federer will be trying to win his seventh Wimbledon championship, tying him with the great Pete Sampras.