Wimbledon women's seed report
SI.com's Jon Wertheim breaks down the men's and women's seeds at Wimbledon. Read on for the top first-round matchups, dark horses to watch and his predicted winners.
1.Dinara Safina: A top seed who has never been beyond the third round at the All England Club, has no affection for grass and is coming off a major Grand Slam disappointment? Doesn't bode well for an extended stay in the draw.
2.Serena Williams: There will be no "Serena Slam" in 2009. But if she serves better than she did on clay and can overcome her sister, she's a strong candidate to win. We've all been burned too many times to suggest otherwise.
3.Venus Williams: Comes in with little momentum. But since when does that matter? Venus has won Wimbledon five times this decade and is simply a different player on grass.
4.Elena Dementieva: Sadly, it appears as though her days of challenging for Slams are gone. Simply lacks the self-belief, especially on grass.
5.Svetlana Kuznetsova: French Open champion has proved to herself that she can still win big prizes. But her grass-phobia still rages. A shame, since her serve and athleticism should make her a contender.
6.Jelena Jankovic: Like so many others, J.J. is looking to extricate herself from the doldrums. Like so many others, grass is not her surface of choice.
7.Vera Zvonareva: Steadily putting together a fine career. Solid game and a mind that might enable her to ease into things.
8.Victoria Azarenka: Unclear how well she plays on grass, but with her power and depth, we can expect big things. A shame for her that she's in the Serena/Maria Sharapova quadrant.
9.Caroline Wozniacki: Not much of a track record at Wimbledon. But, again, that characterizes so many. She should win a few rounds on power alone. She's a deceptively strong fighter.
10.Nadia Petrova: An admitted head case -- it's the first step to recovery! --who seldom puts it all together. Plus, she comes in with a back injury. Still, she's fine athlete who can move, serve and play the net. Could face Sharapova in the third round.
11.Agnieszka Radwanska: The rare WTA player who thrives not with relentless power but with relentless accuracy. Should win a few rounds but one worries about her -- on a grass court -- facing a big hitter.
12.Marion Bartoli: Former finalist has a fun, quirky game that mirrors her personality. Not a real threat to win, but the quarterfinals are certainly a realistic destination.
13.Ana Ivanovic: Been a rough year for former No. 1 and her play in tune-ups -- and abrupt coaching change -- suggests the tough times aren't over. Maybe she'll win a few rounds, but then Venus awaits.
14.Dominika Cibulkova: Coming off a fine French Open. On the face of things, there's little reason she can't do well on grass. But she hasn't won so much as a match at Wimbledon.
15.Flavia Pennetta: Lost three of her last four matches at Wimbledon. On the plus side, there's this.
16.Zheng Jie: A semifinalist last year, her compact and accurate strokes -- love that backhand -- are a good fit on grass.
17.Amelie Mauresmo: Former champion should be OK for a few rounds. Unless they import French fans.
18.Samantha Stosur: If Stosur, an attacking player with superb serve-and-volley technique, can reach the semis of the French Open, who knows what awaits on grass? The abrupt coaching change is cause for concern, but star this pony in your racing form.
19. Li Na: An up-and-down player, but she beat Sharapova in a tune-up and tends to play better in bigger events.
23.Aleksandra Wozniak: To the delight of Tom Tebbutt, top Canadian continues her ascent.
24.Maria Sharapova: Still coated in the tennis equivalent of ring rust. And there is scarcely a worse tennis injury than a bum serving shoulder. Still, she's a former Wimbledon champ and the regal disposition still imposes some.
26.Virginie Razzano: Frenchwoman performed well at Roland Garros and kept it going on grass tune-ups.
30.Agnes Szavay: Finally breaking out of a slump and her domination of Venus in Paris must surely imbue her with some confidence. Big chance to take down the top seed in third round.
31.Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: The big breakthrough seems to be less a question of "if" than of "when."
32.Anna Chakvetadze: Like Szavay, she's showing signs of life after a dismal slump.
Alexa Glatch: Tough first-rounder against Peng Shuai (and Radwanska if she survives that) but a player to watch.
Sabine Lisicki: Hard-serving German has a big game.
Yanina Wickmayer: Nice three-set win over Francesca Schiavone at Ordina.
Katarina Srebotnik: Still among the better volleyers in the women's game.
Anna-Lena Groenefeld: Wish she moved better. But that serve is a cannon.
Lucie Safarova: Tends to bring her best tennis to the biggest events. Plus, she can break 120 mph on the serve gun. Likely faces Serena in second round.
Jelena Dokic: Likely second-rounder against Stosur intrigues.
Olga Govortsova: One of the better players you may never have heard of.
Caroline Wozniacki vs. Kimiko Date Krumm: The 38-year-old Krumm was playing when Wozniacki was born.
Daniela Hantuchova vs. Laura Robson: Ladies and gentlemen, rev up that hype machine.
Sabine Lisicki vs. Anna Chakvetadze: Interesting clash of styles.
Samantha Stosur vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands: Bum draw for highest-ranked American not named Williams.
Michelle Larcher de Brito vs.Klara Zakopalova: An audio daily double.
Blue-plate upset special (for second round): Iveta Benesova over Jelena Jankovic.
Cara Black and Liezel Huber: Back in winner's circle after disappointment in Paris.
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Venus Williams
Surprise winner (Dominika Cibulkova?) vs. Serena Williams
Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams
Venus Williams
