Who Will Win Wimbledon 2013?

We were discussing surprises and results on Wimbledon with a tennis coach who used to train the best tennis players in the world. First, we considered the very unusual situation on the women’s side of the major.

Why did Maria Sharapova lose to #131 Michelle Larcher de Brito?

That being said, Larcher de Brito flat out outhit Maria Sharapova, whose serve was even more of a disaster than usual.

What do you think about Serena Williams loss to Sabine Lisicki? Did you watch the match?

I watched. It’s no surprise that Serena Williams has no net game. She never did, but her serve, her movement, her athleticism, her power, and her confidence more than compensated. All of which let her down. She was oddly passive on her groundless, not going big at multiple times when she normally would have done so. Instead of the expected 20 aces on the slick grass, she had under 10. Meanwhile, Sabine Lisicki did what you are supposed to do against a better player. She went for broke and put enough shots in, along with numerous unforced errors, that Lisicki was able to win.

Who will win Wimbledon on women’s side?

I don’t think Sabine Lisicki can repeat this performance, I don’t think Sloane Stephens is ready, I don’t think Petra Kvitova is good enough, so I have to go with Agnieszka Radwanska, the smartest player on the tour.

Now let’s have a talk about men’s tennis. Roger Federer who was considered as a possible winner of this grass-court Grand Slam lost to #116 Sergiy Stakhovsky. What happened?

Stakhovsky is an old fashioned serve and volleyer on both serves and just took the match to Roger Federer.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic, Steve Darcis, John Isner and Radek Stepanek  withdrew. Victoria Azarenka, Steve Darcis, Marin Cilic also pullout. What was going on in London?

I wish I knew. The club says everything is fine, but this reminds me of global warming. It seems a bit much to be coincidence. One player pointed out a perfectly round bare spot right in the middle of the healthiest part of the court, the size of a golf hole.

Who will win Wimbledon among men?

My guess is Novak Djokovic over Andy  Murray, but you couldn’t get me to place a bet.