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Wimbledon Round of 16 Predictions

After an eventful first week at Wimbledon, which included the six-time champion Roger Federer nearly going down in Round one, and an historic first round match going on eleven hours with a 70-68 ending in the fifth set, we have hit what most consider to be the best day in tennis. On Monday, all sixteen matches will be played, which only happens up in England. Here are my predictions for all sixteen matches:

We’re going to start with the ladies’ portion of the draw:

Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova – Sharapova looks to be back into form after her solid run at Roland Garros and now making it to the 4th round at Wimbledon. I think she is now back to being a contender at Grand Slam tournaments. But, I have to give the edge right now to Serena. She is dictating play with her hard ground strokes and her serve looks great. I think this will be a 3 setter, but I think Serena prevails.

Justine Henin vs. Kim Clijsters – This is the matchup everybody has been waiting for dating back to the Australian Open. Now, the two Belgians will battle it out for the possibility of playing Venus Williams in the semifinals. I give Henin the edge in this one because she is riding high after winning a grass court event before Wimbledon and can use that to your advantage here. Henin in straight sets.

Venus Williams vs. Jarmilla Groth – On paper, this looks like a total mismatch and I perceive this matchup to be a mismatch as well. Jarmilla Groth is a tough Australian who got to the quarterfinals at the French Open and knocked out Melanie Oudin here at Wimbledon, but Venus seems to be at home on the grass and some have picked her to win this tournament. Venus continues to roll over her seemingly easy draw in straight sets.

Caroline Wozniacki vs. Petra Kvitova – Kvitova is one of the surprises on the women’s draw as the Czech has upset the likes of Jie Zheng and Victoria Azarenka to get to this point. She has the kind of game to give Wozniacki some difficulties, but I like the third ranked Dane to prevail here. I am high on Wozniacki to win a couple of Slams in her career, but she needs to beat people that she is better than unlike her upsets at Australia (Na Li) and the French (Francesca Schiavone). Wozniack in straight sets.

Marion Bartoli vs. Tvetsana Pironkova – Pironkova has been the surprise on the women’s draw of late due to some of the upsets in her part of the draw. With Oudin and Schiavone out, the Bulgarian who has only been as high as 40th in the world two years ago defeated Vera Dushevina in her last match to get to this point. However, I like the Frenchwoman Bartoli to get to the quarterfinals because she can overpower Pironkova plus she has the experience of making it to the finals at Wimbledon before.

Klara Zakopalova vs. Kaia Kanepi – This is in my opinion the worst match out of all 16 on Monday because of the lack of star quality. Kanepi is here because of her upset of Sam Stosur in the first round while Zakopalova defeated Italian Flavia Pennetta, the number 10 seed in round 3. I like Kanepi in straight sets, but I am only picking the Estonian on a hunch.

Vera Zvonareva vs. Jelena Jankovic – Zvonareva was once ranked as high as a top ten player in the women’s game, including making a semifinal at the Australian Open two years ago. Now she has fallen to the 21 seed at Wimbledon, but is still capable of making deep runs in majors including upsetting rising Belgian Yanina Wickmayer in the 3rd Round. However, I like the 4th ranked Serbian Jankovic to move on in 3 sets. Jankovic always seems to go under the radar in slams because she does not beat the top players, but I think she has the game to advance here in 3 sets.

Na Li vs. Agnieska Radwanska – This matchup features two of the top ten seeded players in the women’s draw. Na Li has become one of the few Asian women to advance to the top ten, including a semifinal run at the Australian Open in January. I like the Chinese woman to advance over Radwanska because Radwanska is known for having one of the slowest serves in the game and Li has the ability to attack that serve. Li in straight sets.

Now, on to the Gentlemen’s portion of the draw:

Roger Federer vs. Jurgen Melzer – We all know the story behind the six-time champion here at this Wimbledon. Federer nearly avoided a colossal upset in the first round by coming from two sets down to defeat Colombian Alejandro Falla. However, Fed has seemed to find his game again after a straight sets victory over Arnuad Clement in Round three. However, Jurgen Melzer has been the surprise in the men’s game by moving up to sixteenth in the world due to his semifinal run at the French Open . Even though Federer is now number two in the world, I think he has shaken off the inconsistent play from the first two rounds and will win this match in straight sets.

Sam Querrey vs. Andy Murray – If you are looking for an American to root for other than Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey is the man for you. Even though Querrey has not fared well in majors in the past, he has the ability to give Murray a tough challenge. The Scot that all the England fans hopes finally brings a title to the Brits has not been tested in these first three rounds, but just like the top players in this tournament, I think Murray is due for a test. Querrey plays some tight sets, but I like Murray in 4 in this match.

Novak Djokovic vs. Lleyton Hewitt – When reading up on all the expert picks for Wimbledon, a popular surprise was the Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Even though his ranking has declined over the years, Hewitt came into Wimbledon on a roll including finally defeating Roger Federer at the annual grass tune-up tournament. Novak has settled in nicely after a tough five setter with Olivier Rochus in Round One that ended two minutes before curfew in London under the Centre Court roof. This will be the match of the day in my opinion, and I like Hewitt in 5 sets because this guy will battle for every point and has the advantage over the third ranked Serbian who still struggles with his fitness on the court.

Andy Roddick vs. Yen Hsun-Lu – This might be Andy Roddick’s best chance to take home a Wimbledon title after his crushing defeat last year to Federer in the epic five set final. This year, Roddick’s serve is right where it always is and is coming off a solid final two sets in a four set win over Philip Kohlscriber. Lu is the surprise of the men’s draw where most thought Croatian Marin Cilic would be Roddick’s adversary. I like Andy in straight sets to advance in this match against the man from Chinese Taipei

Rafael Nadal vs. Paul Henri-Mathieu – Nadal is finally back at Wimbledon after injuries kept him from defending his title next year, but he had some scares during his first week at Wimbledon including 5 sets win over Robin Haase and Phillip Petzschner. He even got a warning because of alleged help from his Uncle Tony in the players’ box. But, I think Nadal will finally find his form against the surprising Frenchman Mathieu who beat Thiemo De Bakker, who beat John Isner in Round 2 after Isner’s 70-68 5th set win in Round One. Nadal in straight sets.

Julien Benneteau vs. Jo-Wilfreid Tsonga – The French men have done surprisingly well at this year’s Wimbledon, and two of them are featured here in this match. Tsonga has been to the finals at the Australian Open once, but other than Australia, he has not fared well at the other majors– going as far as the 4th Round in the other three. Benneteau has done surprisingly well as the 32nd seed Frenchman beat Italian Fabio Fognini to get to this point. In this match, I like Tsonga to break through to the quarterfinals in 4 sets.

Robin Soderling vs. David Ferrer – This matchup features two of the top ten seeded players in the men’s draw with the winner likely to face Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals. Soderling has had a great year, including getting to the final at Roland Garros by upseting Federer in the quarterfinals. He has brought that dominant play to the grass courts by not dropping a set or having his serve broken through his first three matches. Ferrer is a solid player, but the Spaniard is much better on clay than he is on grass, going as far as the 4th Round in 2006. I like the Swede Soderling to advance in straight sets and get another shot at Nadal.

Tomas Berdych vs. Daniel Brands – This match is by far the least talked about in the men’s Round of 16 matchups, but I think this has the chance to have some drama. The Czech Berdych made it to the semifinals at the French Open, but has not looked as dominant at Wimbledon, needing five sets to survive a third round match with Denis Istomin. Meanwhile, the German Daniel Brands, who had never played Wimbledon before this year, is in the fourth round after five set upsets over Nikolay Davydenko and Victor Hanescu. Brands also forced Tsonga to five sets in the first round at the French Open against Jo-Wilfreid Tsonga. This will be closer than what the experts think, to quote Lee Corso, but I like Berdych in four sets because all those five setters will take a toll on Brands eventually and Berdych has got a lot better at winning the big points in matches after his collapse against Federer in Australia a year ago.

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