Which Seeds Will Grow in the Wimbledon Grass?

Speculation about who will win the 2010 Championships Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, probably began right after last year,  when it took five sets for Roger Federer to beat Andy Roddick,5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14, and just two sets for Serena Williams to beat her sister Venus, 7-6, 6-2. Typically, player seeding is aligned with ranking, and that’s true for Wimbledon, although there are some interesting departures, particulary in the top 10 seeds on the men’s side. Although Rafael Nadal has regained the #1 ranking over Roger Federer, Federer is seeded first, apparently because of his Wimbledon record of 6 wins. He’s going for his 7th, which would tie the record how held by Pete Sampras.

And, hey, Andy Roddick is the #5 seed! Reaching last year’s final is apparenty why Andy Roddick has been kicked up to the 5 spot,even though his ranking is #7. As 5th seed, Roddick edges out Nikolay Davydenko, who is ranked #5, but seeded 7th. Another departure is David Ferrer, ranked #11, but seeded ninth. Because Juan Martin Del Potro, ranked #8, is out with an injury, that leaves the #8 spot open for Fernando Verdasco, who ranks 9th. Robin Soderling, ranked #6 is also seeded 6th. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is ranked #10 and seeded 10th.

The Women
The women’s side of the lawn is less complicated, and the Williams sisters are crowding each other at the top as the #1 and #2 seeds. Unlike the men, there are no discrepancies  between rank and seeding. Serena Williams ranks #1 and is the top seed. Venus is #2 in both categories. Although Venus has won Wimbledon 5 times, unlike Roddick, she didn't get the bump up in the seeding. It's getting harder and harder for her  to compete with sister Serena. The top 10 seeds this year might have looked a little different if Elena Dementieva, who is ranked #4, had not withdrawn because of injury. And the bottom of the top 20 seeds will look different because the #20 seed, Dinara Safina, has withdrawn because of a back injury. Here are the rankings and the seeds:


1. Serena Williams

2 Venus Williams

3 Caroline Wozniacki

4 Jelena Jankovic

5 Elena Dementieva

6 Francesca Schiavone

7 Samantha Stosur

8 Agnieszka Radwanska

9 Kim Clijsters

10 Na Li

Rank and seeding aside, think about your picks and see if they change over the next two weeks. The draw will probably have a lot to do with it. Here is the Wimbledon website:
http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/index.html