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Transition Year At All-England Club: Who To Watch

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By STEVEN WINE The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 22, 2008

The world's oldest and most tradition-bound tennis tournament is in transition. A retractable roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court is still a year from completion, but an overhead cover for fans is back after the ongoing project left them with no protection last year. Capacity has increased from 13,800 to 15,000.

A new Court 2 is nearly finished, and the old one will be used this year for the last time. That's good news for such players as the Williams sisters, because Court 2 has long been nicknamed the "Graveyard of Champions."

There are plenty of candidates to derail Venus Williams' hope of defending her title, including French Open winner Ana Ivanovic and 2004 Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.

On the men's side, Roger Federer remains No. 1 for the 229th week in a row, extending his record. He'll play the first Centre Court match to begin his bid for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title. In the past 100 years, only Federer and Bjorn Borg (1976-80) have won five in a row.

Who to watch at Wimbledon, which begins Monday (seedings in parentheses):

The Associated Press

ROGER FEDERER (1)

Age: 26

Country: Switzerland

2008 Match Record: 37-8

2008 Singles Titles: 2

Career Singles Titles: 55

Major Titles: 12 - Wimbledon ('03, '04, '05, '06, '07), U.S. Open ('04, '05, '06, '07), Australian Open ('04, '06, '07)

Topspin: Seeks his 13th major title, one shy of Pete Sampras' record of 14. ... Has won 59 consecutive matches on grass, the longest such streak in the 40-year Open era. ... Ranked No. 1 since Feb. 2, 2004, the longest consecutive stay atop the computer rankings.

RAFAEL NADAL (2)

Age: 22

Country: Spain

2008 Match Record: 49-7

2008 Singles Titles: 5

Career Singles Titles: 28

Major Titles: 4 - French Open ('05, '06, '07, '08)

Topspin: Last week became the first Spanish man in 36 years to win a grass-court title, beating Novak Djokovic in the Queen's Club final in London after beating Andy Roddick in the semifinals. ... Title came one week after he became second man to win four consecutive French Open titles; Bjorn Borg did it from 1978-81.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC (3)

Age: 21

Country: Serbia

2008 Match Record: 37-8

2008 Singles Titles: 3

Career Singles Titles: 10

Major Titles: 1 - Australian Open ('08)

Topspin: Has lost to Rafael Nadal in his past three tournaments - the final at Queen's Club, the semifinals at the French Open and the semifinals at Hamburg. ... Semifinalist or better at each of past five major championships.

ANDY RODDICK (6)

Age: 25

Country: United States

2008 Match Record: 26-6

2008 Singles Titles: 2

Career Singles Titles: 25

Major Titles: 1 - U.S. Open ('03)

Topspin: Missed French Open because of a shoulder injury. ... Has beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic this year, but lost to Nadal last week in semifinals at Queen's Club. ... Ranked second on tour to Ivo Karlovic with 380 aces.

JAMES BLAKE (9)

Age: 28

Country: United States

2008 Match Record: 30-14

2008 Singles Titles: 0

Career Singles Titles: 10

Major Titles: 0 - Best Finish: QF at U.S. Open in '05, '06, Australian Open in '08

Topspin: Tampa's Blake reached semifinals at Wimbledon warm-up in Halle last week before losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber.

ANA IVANOVIC (1)

Age: 20

Country: Serbia

2008 Match Record: 27-6

2008 Singles Titles: 2

Career Singles Titles: 7

Major Titles: 1 - French Open ('08)

Topspin: Climbed to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time after beating Dinara Safina in French Open final for her first major title. ... Withdrew from this week's tournament at Eastbourne, England, citing mental fatigue and an injured right abductor muscle.

JELENA JANKOVIC (2)

Age: 23

Country: Serbia

2008 Match Record: 33-10

2008 Singles Titles: 1

Career Singles Titles: 6

Major Titles: 0 - Best Finish: SF at U.S. Open in '06, French Open in '07, Australian Open in '08 and French Open in '08

Topspin: Lost to Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals at French Open, making her 0-4 in Grand Slam semifinals. ... Leads the women's tour in match victories this year.

MARIA SHARAPOVA (3)

Age: 21

Country: Russia

2008 Match Record: 30-3

2008 Singles Titles: 3

Career Singles Titles: 19

Major Titles: 3 - Wimbledon ('04), U.S. Open ('06), Australian Open ('08)

Topspin: Semifinalist or better at eight of her past 12 majors. ... Blew a big lead and lost to Dinara Safina in the fourth round of the French Open.

SERENA WILLIAMS (6)

Age: 26

Country: United States

2008 Match Record: 25-3

2008 Singles Titles: 3

Career Singles Titles: 31

Major Titles: 8 - Wimbledon ('02, '03), U.S. Open ('99, '02), Australian Open ('03, '05, '07), French Open ('03)

Topspin: Hasn't reached a Grand Slam final since winning the 2007 Australian Open. ... Most recent match was upset loss to Katarina Srebotnik in third round of French Open.

VENUS WILLIAMS (7)

Age: 28

Country: United States

2008 Match Record: 14-7

2008 Singles Titles: 0

Career Singles Titles: 36

Major Titles: 6 - Wimbledon ('00, '01, '05, '07), U.S. Open ('00, '01)

Topspin: Became the tournament's lowest-ranked women's champion at No. 31 with her victory last year against Marion Bartoli in the final. ... Hasn't played since third-round upset loss to Flavia Pennetta at French Open.

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