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With the main draw at Wimbledon starting on Monday, fans all over the world will be anxiously watching their favourites in action and relentlessly rooting for their victory. Be it Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal on the men’s side or Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and others on the women’s, their fans wait for that moment when they raise the trophy on the finals day.
Yet, as time tells the tale, we find that Grand Slams are not about the stories of the victors alone. Many other heroes do play cameos and gain their share of stardom. Wimbledon has had many such stories.
As we move into the fortnight, let us look at some of the players from the lower rungs who could perhaps enjoy some stardom this Wimbledon.
Caroline Wozniacki (16) (Denmark)
1R opponent: Shahar PeerRanking: 16Best performance: 4th Round (2009, 2010, 2011)
Many have written her off. Yet, at 23, the former World No. 1 does have time to regain her lost charm and the game to climb upwards in the rankings ladder. Her performances at Wimbledon have not been great though. The last time she reached the third round, she was at the top of the game. Since then, she has taken a plunge in the rankings and has fallen out of the top 10.
This could be an opportunity for Wozniacki to recoup. After her semifinal loss last week at Eastbourne to Angelique Kerber, she sounded pretty confident of her game. With her much-publicized relationship with Rory McIlroy now a thing of the past, she could spend some more quality time on her practice and aim at improving her performance. The Dane could be untroubled till the third round, where she could face Samantha Stosur. Her fourth round opponent is likely to be Li Na. In case Li Na fails, the quarter is open to a few contenders, one of them being Wozniacki.
Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgaria)
1R Opponent: Varvara LepchenkoRanking: 37Best performance: Semifinals (2007)
Pironkova is a former semifinalist and one of those women whose tennis climbs several notches upwards when she steps onto grass courts. She is famously known for her ability to upset higher-ranked players at Wimbledon. Given her track record, she cannot be dismissed as just another player. Further adding to her prospects is the fact that she is enjoying the best year of her career in 2014. After winning her first title in Australia early this season, she has managed to put in a string of decent performances.
Pironkova started the year ranked outside the top 100 and is now inching closer to her career-high ranking. She is also bestowed with a relatively easy draw. If she crosses her first round hurdle, she could face Sara Errani and Ekaterina Makarova in the second and third rounds respectively. After that looms fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round, in a repeat of last year’s matchup at the same stage.
Madison Keys (USA)
1R Opponent: Monica PuigRanking: 47Best performance: 3rd round (2013)
Madison Keys is the youngest title winner on the WTA tour this year. At 19, she won her first title this week at the AEGON International beating Germany’s Angelique Kerber. Many see her as the best bet for American tennis in the future. She possess a powerful serve and has recorded the fastest delivery on the WTA tour this year.
In her first round, she faces a tricky opponent in another up and coming player - Monica Puig. Keys could then face Klara Koukalova in the second round and Jelena Jankovic in the third. She defeated Jankovic in the first round at Eastbourne. Propelled by that performance, she could create an upset or two this Wimbledon.
Feliciano Lopez (Spain)
1R opponent: Yuichi Sugita (Q)Ranking: 25Best performance: Quarterfinals (2005, 2008, 2011)
Feliciano Lopez is the odd one out among the Spaniards. He possess a great grasscourt game, a big lefty serve and wields the racquet with a single hand. These attributes make his game worth watching on grasscourts. In fact, he reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals even before his illustrious compatriot Rafael Nadal – back in 2005 – and has repeated the performance every third year. Interestingly, 2014 is the third year since he reached his last quarterfinals in 2011.
Lopez has had a wonderful run this month on the grasscourts of England. He reached the finals at Queen’s Club, only to lose a tightly contested three-setter to Grigor Dimitrov. The next week, he went on to defend his AEGON International title at Eastbourne, defeating Richard Gasquet in the title clash. In doing so, he is became the first person since Lleyton Hewitt (2001) to reach two back-to-back finals on this surface.
Lopez enters Wimbledon as the 19th seed. He opens against qualifier Yuichi Sugita and could face the dangerous Alejandro Falla in the second round. He has a relatively easy road to the quarterfinals after that though, with his possible opponents in the third and fourth rounds being John Isner and Stanislas Wawrinka respectively. That said, fatigue could play spoilsport after two full weeks of tennis.
Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
1R opponent: Ryan Harrison (Q)Ranking: 13Best performance: 2nd round (2011, 2012, 2013)
The Bulgarian is having the best year of his career in 2014. Touted for long as one of the next generation players to look out for, Dimitrov is finally having his breakthrough year. The 23-year-old started the year with an astonishing rum at the Australian Open, where he reached his first quarterfinal at a Major. He had earlier never been to the fourth round at a Slam. Dimitrov exited from Melbourne with a gritty show that gave Nadal run for his money.
The Bulgarian has won three titles this year on three different surfaces, the latest coming at Queen’s Club. He is comfortable on hard and grass courts, though he is projected as an all-surface player. He is posited in the second quarter of the draw. Dimitrov opens against American Ryan Harrison and could face Alexander Dolgopolov in the third round. He could then face a great hurdle in the fourth round in the form of David Ferrer. Ferrer, with his experience, would be no pushover even if he is playing on his worst surface. If Dimitrov manages to oust Ferrer, he could face Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. The young Bulgarian is staring at yet another potential second week stay at a Major.
