World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic is comfortably at the top of the women’s singles draw, but the second half holds the most potential at next week’s Grand Slam tournament.
Helmed by No. 2 Jelena Jankovic, the bottom half also includes 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, 1999 winner Lindsay Davenport, and four-time champion Venus Williams.
Venus and Serena Williams are on opposite sides of the draw, potentially leading to an All-Williams championship match. They have not met at Wimbledon since the final in 2003 which Serena won in three sets.
Three first round matches merit close watching during the opening two days of play. Serena Williams, a two-time winner at Wimbledon, is expected to begin her campaign against Kaia Kanepi, a quarterfinalist earlier this month at the French Open.
Defending champion Venus Williams pulled British hopeful and wild card Naomi Cavaday, and should 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo recover from her thigh injury in time to compete, she will face resurgent American Ashley Harkleroad in the first round.
First Look at the Top Eight Wimbledon Seeds
(1) Ana Ivanovic (First Round: Rossana De Los Rios)
Top seed Ana Ivanovic’s recent accolades include winning her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros, along with taking the No. 1 ranking away from Maria Sharapova, but like many of the other top players, her preparation for Wimbledon did not include any actual matches.
This will be a new experience for Ivanovic, who has never entered a Grand Slam as a top seed or faced the pressure of being expected to win. She has a relatively good draw and should have a clear shot to the quarterfinals, where she could play eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze.
Prediction: Semifinals
(2) Jelena Jankovic (First Round: Olga Savchuk)
The personable Jelena Jankovic is quickly becoming the Tour’s best bridesmaid. She has stood at the Grand Slam altar four times in the semifinals, but has not been able to win just one more round to reach a Championship.
Her personality has brought her more fans than her results of late, and although she is seeded No. 2, this could be her toughest draw at a Grand Slam. If the draw holds, she’ll play defending champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, and if she wins that match, her reward may be a semifinal against Maria Sharapova.
Prediction: Runner-up
(3) Maria Sharapova (First Round: Stephanie Foretz)
The biggest question surrounding Maria Sharapova is not whether she can win her fourth Grand Slam title, but will her serve even lead her into the second week of the tournament. She had a disappointing run at the French Open and produced some of her worst serving since suffering a shoulder injury in 2007. I can’t see Sharapova going far on the fast lawns at Wimbledon if she duplicates her Paris statistic of forty-three double faults in just four rounds.
Sharapova is in the toughest quarter of the draw with Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina, Nadia Petrova, rising star Victoria Azarenka, and experienced veteran Lindsay Davenport.
Prediction: Semifinals
(4) Svetlana Kuznetsova (First Round: Mathilde Johansson)
Calling Kuznetsova’s draw tough might be an understatement. If the seedings hold Kuznetsova will play Alona Bondarenko in the third round, one of the most talented young women rising through the Tour ranks and a player who has beaten Kuznetsova in both of their previous meetings.
If the Russian makes it to the fourth round, she could then play Grand Slam giant-killer Agnieszka Radwanska, followed by Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. Given Kuznetsova’s recent inconsistency and her 6-2, 6-2 loss to Caroline Wozniacki at Eastbourne, she could become the first top player to fall in the first week.
Prediction: Quarterfinals
(5) Elena Dementieva (First Round: Maria Elena Camerin)
Not surprising given the speed of grass and her own serve struggles, Elena Dementieva has never been a major contender at Wimbledon. After looking at her draw, don’t expect that to change this year.
She is in the same tough quarter as Sharapova and could face Lindsay Davenport in the third round. While Dementieva can handily outrun Davenport, Lindsay will have the advantage in the service department. Lindsay’s serve has led her to seven consecutive second week appearances at the Championships, and although she is not yet her old self, Davenport has a legitimate chance at making her streak extend to eight.
Prediction: Fourth round
(6) Serena Williams (First Round: Kaia Kanepi)
Serena Williams could have a tough first round encounter with Kaia Kanepi, but after that, I like her chances of emerging victorious from the top half of the draw. She has a trio of inconsistent top players in her quarter, namely Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amelie Mauresmo, and Marion Bartoli.
Kuznetsova has a draw that will give her nightmares before she heads home, Mauresmo is nursing a thigh injury, and although Bartoli is currently still alive in the draw at Eastbourne, she previously lost three straight first round matches.
Prediction: Champion
(7) Venus Williams (First Round: Naomi Cavaday)
Defending champion Venus Williams is in the tough half of the draw, but she should easily set up a fourth round meeting against Daniela Hantuchova—if Hantuchova’s foot holds up that long. The Slovakian has been off the Tour since April because of a stress fracture in her right heel.
If Hantuchova is fully recovered, she might be able to pressure Venus, but I would expect the best match of the bottom half to come in the quarterfinals between Venus and Jelena Jankovic. Jankovic holds a surprising 4-3 record over the four-time champion and was the last player to defeat Venus at Wimbledon.
Prediction: Quarterfinals
(8) Anna Chakvetadze (First Round: Stephanie Dubois)
If you are looking for a surprise at Wimbledon, keep your eye on Chakvetadze.
The 21-year old Russian has reportedly started working with Carlos Rodriguez and although Rodriquez never coached Justine Henin to a Wimbledon title, he might be able to help Chakvetadze reach the second week for the first time in her career.
Prediction: Quarterfinals
To view a real-time copy of the 2008 Wimbledon draw, please visit the official website.
All in all, this is the most balanced draw we’ve seen in a while. It should make things interesting.
I can’t believe your pick for Venus vs. Jankovic! If I’m not mistaken, 3 of 4 of Jelena’s wins agaisnt Venus have come on clay. Jelena was able to grind out long points agaisnt Venus. With the speed of the grass courts, Venus will over power her. I’m looking for Venus to make it to the final.
Jankovic should also have a pretty interesting 3rd round match agaisnt Wozniacki.
And I think you were to kind for Kuznetsova. Kuzzy is my 2nd favorite player, but she is in a serious funk. Her best chance at a major was the French and she totally choked. Then losing early in Eastbourne, I think her confidence is at all time low. She won’t make it past the 4th round.
I believe Jankovic has a good chance to go deep at Wimbledon not only because of her draw, but this is probably the first time in a long, long time that she has entered a Grand Slam rested and uninjured. She has not played since Paris—very unusual for a workaholic like her!
You are correct – three of those wins were on clay, but one was grass. Venus packs a lot of power, yet Jankovic has proven that she is one of the Tour’s best movers and her variety will help her deal with Venus’ attempts to rally from the baseline.
So who did you pick, Will? Serena? Venus?
Jelena hasn’t played since Paris? What a shock! I think that’ll be a factor in her performance in this tournament. She depends on match play as her preparation for every tournament. She might have a little rust on her.
Aaress, that’s a tough question. After Marion Bartoli made it to the finals last year, I said I would never make predictions again. That being said, I never like to say Venus will win because that has the potential to set me up for a huge dissapointment. You never know what you’ll get with Venus. My heart is telling me she can win this title and take down Serena or Ivanovic in the final. My head is telling me to expect the worst. But this is her favorite tournament, and we know what magic can happen when Venus steps on that green grass. Venus will win.
Aaress, Venus and Serena ARE in the doubles. and seeded 11th. how that works i do not know.
Will i agree about Venus sometimes being disappointing. but i think she really beleives in herself on grass, and although it might be a bumpy ride i think she can make it 5 wimbledon titles in a couple of weeks time.
Venusfan, thanks for the update. I have not checked out the doubles draw yet, but that it really interesting that they were seeded so high.
Wimbledon does skew the seedings for the men, favoring past grass success. They didn’t usually for the women. But, looking at Venus and Serena in doubles, Venusfan, I think they may have considered their singles pedigree vis-a-vis grass court success in the past.
Unfortunately, I get a feeling this year may be a letdown, regardless of the open draw.
I’m hearing alot of talk about the william sisters and the top seeds from Serbia going far and/or winning Wimbledon. Two weeks ago, Maria was #1 and defending Aussie champ. Even before Henin retired, people were showing Marie alot of respect but from all my reading in the last week, I might have thought she also retired. In two weeks when she is crowned champ, she won’t be forgotten so quickly again.
Steve, it’s Maria’s own fault that she isn’t the favorite here. She hasn’t won here since 2004, her performance at the french was terrible (she should’ve beaten Safina), and her serve is still an issue. She has too many questions to be favored as the champion, but I, along with a lot of people, believe Maria can make it deep in the second week. No one ever counts her out!
I’m going out on a limb here. My guess is that Dinara Safina will bounce back from her disappointing loss in Paris and make it to the Wimbledon Final. Safina is having a good year it’s just a matter of her playing to her potential.