Top Half – First Quarter

Realistically, this is probably Masha’s quarter to lose. She looked fantastic on grass before losing to Serena last year, in a match that was much closer than the scoreboard. Obviously, her current form is a lot better than last year, and she should be able to hammer through a significant portion of her quarter.

The crash course fourth rounders are Caro/Julia or Jarka and Sam/Masha. Sam seems to be slowly figuring out grass, and using her serve to her advantage. I think there might be some really intriguing early round matches here, but I’m taking Masha to make the semis.

Quarterfinal: Wozniacki vs. Sharapova

Top Half – Second Quarter

This quarter is absolutely jam packed with potentially delicious match-ups, including one right from the off, Bojangles/Simona. While a quick glance might point towards an easy Nails/Serena quarterfinal match. However, there are dark creatures that lurk in the depths of this quarter.

To start: Sabine. Simply put, I’m not sure there’s a picture of her in the last month where she is not beaming ear to ear. And she’s playing absolutely amazing tennis. She’s reached the quarters here before, and her serve is absolutely devastating. When her forehand is on and she’s not being psycho aggressive, which she seems to be getting a handle on, she can simply blow people off the court on fast surfaces. I’m really liking her chances for the upset of Na Li in the second round.

Also in the category of “playing well and had success here before” is Marion, who had a career run at Roland Garros and just won Eastbourne. She’s oozing confidence, and to be honest, when she’s in the mood, she’s one of the best fighters on tour, even if that constant bouncing makes me want to throw something.

In all honesty, your guess is as good as mine for this quarter. It’s impossible to count Serena out at Wimbledon, and she has a good draw. At the same time, questions about her health remain, and she was missing a lot of easy shots in Eastbourne. That’s not the kind of thing you can just iron out in a week after being away from the game for a year. I’m going to go out on a crazy freaking limb and say…

Quartefinal: Lisicki vs. Bartoli

Bottom Half – First Quarter

In my opinion, this is the most wide open quarter and is most likely to field a surprise semifinalist. I would say the four favourites would be Vika, Dani, Pavs and Petko, probably in that order. Vika’s health has been iffy all year however, and Dani faced injury problems in Eastbourne. I’ll roll the dice a bit on this on and say that Pavs finally makes her breakthrough, with a favourable draw and prime time ground strokes.

Quarterfinal: Petkovic vs. Pavlyuchenkova

Bottom Half: Second Quarter

Another wide open quarter, there’s some sleepers here who have a real chance at going far. Kvitova, Wicky, Kuz, and JJ stand out. Venus and Bepa are the favourites however. I’m not so sure Venus is going to do too well here, to be honest. Going with the favourites here.

Quarterfinal: Kvitova vs. Bepa

Semifinals: Sharapova vs. Bartoli, Pavlyuchenkova vs. Zvonareva
Final: Sharapova vs. Zvonareva
Champion: Sharapova