Wimbledon 2010: Predictions and Picks

The Wimbledon tennis championship is widely accepted as the most important tournament on the pro tennis calendar. Over the years, top-ranked players of every generation have dominated the courts at the All-England club. As a matter of fact, most past champions of Wimbledon have achieved number-one ranking at some point in their career. In this article, I will preview the 2010 Wimbledon championships and offer predictions on which male and female player will emerge as champions of Wimbledon.

After a disappointed run at the 2010 French Open, defending champion Roger Federer will look to rebound from the heartbreak loss at his favorite tournament of the year-the Wimbledon championship. Despite some inconsistent results in 2010, Federer remains the best player on fast surfaces. Roger is especially good on grass court, having won 6 of the last 7 Wimbledon titles including five in a row from 2003-2007. This is mainly due to the fact the great Swiss player has a game that is a perfect fit for grass. Federer is one of the best servers in the game (if not the best) and his powerful forehand is a huge weapon on this surface.

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If Roger Federer were to defend his Wimbledon title, he will have to once again contend with his eternal nemesis Rafael Nadal. The hardworking Spaniard has just completed an undefeated clay court season, culminated with a terrific victory at the French Open. Nadal will look to repeat what he managed to pull off two years ago which was to win both the French Open and Wimbledon. He will certainly not be lacking in confidence as he has again regained the number-one ranking. Nadal's main problem at Wimbledon will be to overcome a slew of young and upcoming stars, whose games are better fits on grass than his. The best scenario for Nadal is that he will be given a dream draw that is lacking of Andy Murray, Del Potro, and Andy Roddick. If this does happen, Rafael Nadal has a very good shot at winning the title.

My predictions for 2010 Wimbledon Men's Singles: Federer defends title; Del Potro and Murray play well.

Much like Roger Federer on the men's side, Wimbledon 2010 is Serena Williams' tournament to lose. Serena has the two weapons that one needs to do well on grass-a booming serve and crushing forehand. As of now, no one in the women's game could match Serena's power and determination. The top-ranked player is most vulnerable on clay and most invincible on grass. Unless there is a serious injury, Serena Williams should have little troubles retaining her Wimbledon title.

Serena's biggest obstacle is no other than her big sister Venus, whose career record on grass is highly exceptional. In fact, Venus Williams' five Wimbledon titles are only two behind Graf's and four behind Navratilova's. Like her sister Serena, Venus is gifted with a powerful serve. She is also known for her outstanding movement on grass-something that has allowed her to be so successful at Wimbledon.

Other contenders for the title include Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova, and Justine Henin. Clijsters and Sharapova both have dangerous ground strokes that could give the Williams sisters some problems. Unfortunately, they lack a big serve that could trouble the sister duo. Justine Henin has worked hard to add more power to her serve and forehand, yet it is still a working progress. Whether the improvement will allow her to be more competitive on grass remains a question mark.

My predictions for 2010 Wimbledon Women's Singles: Serena beats big sister Venus in the final to repeat as champion.