Denis Kudla: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

American Denis Kudla (#112) defeated James Duckworth (#169) of Australia in the first round of Wimbledon 2013.  This is his first time into the second round of a grand slam. He will next meet Croatian Ivan Dodig (#54) in the second round.

Bobby Reynolds: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

American Bobby Reynolds (#149) won his first round match here in Wimbledon against another American, Steve Johnson (#120).  He will next meet Novak Djokovic in the second round.  He has reached a career high of #63 and has reached the third round here in 2008, his best performance as of yet.

Alison Riske: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

American Alison Riske (#126) won her first round match against Swiss player Romina Oprandi (#34) 67(5) 75 31.  She then defeated Polish player Urszula Radwanska (#40) in the second round, 46 63 64.  She lost to Estonian player Kaia Kanepi (#46) in the third round, 62 63.  This is the deepest she has ever gotten in any grand slam.

Petra Martic: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of Wimbledon 2013

Croatian player Petra Martic (#141) won her first round match here in Wimbledon 2013 against Georgian Anna Tatishvili (#78) 61 16 63.  Martic has reached a career high of #42 and has reached the second round here twice, in 2010 and 2011.  She won her second round match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, ranked #77 in the world, 76(7) 61.  She lost to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the third round 61 46 62.

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Czech player Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (#118) wins her first round match this Wimbledon 2013 against Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova (#42) 57 60 61.  She lost to Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova (#72) in the second round, 57 36.

Michal Przysiezny: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Polish player Michal Przysiezny (#126) defeated German player Philipp Petzschner (#98) 63 76(6) 60 in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon.  He also reached the second round here in 2010.  He was ranked as high as #76.  He will next meet Kevin Anderson of South Africa (#23)

Go Soeda: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Japanese player Go Soeda (#129) defeated Austrian player Andreas Haider-Maurer (#108) in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon, 76(6) 75 61.  He also reached the second round here last year.  His opponent in the second round will still be determined.

Jimmy Wang: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Chinese-Taipei's Jimmy Wang (#152) defeated American Wayne Odesnik (#104) in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon 67(5) 64 26 63 75.  He has reached the second round here twice, in 2006 and 2007.  He has reached a ranking of #85.  He will next meet German veteran Tommy Haas (#11) in the second round.

Jan-Lennard Struff: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of 2013 Wimbledon

German player Jan-Lennard Struff (#115) defeated Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia (#124) 64 61 63 in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon.  It's his first time ever in the second round of a grand slam.  This is actually only his second grand slam.  He will next meet Jeremy Chardy of France (#27).

Mariana Duque-Marino: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 201 Wimbledon

Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia (#117) won her first round match against Julia Goerges of Germany (#36), 64 67(3) 75.  She reached as high as #94 and it's the first time she reached the second round of this grand slam.  She will next meet local favorite Laura Robson (#38) in the second roun.

Flavia Pennetta: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Fourth Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta (#166) defeated local girl Elena Baltacha (#167) 64 61, in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon.  She was then granted a walkover as her second round opponent Victoria Azarenka withdrew due to injury.  She then defeated Frenchwoman Alize Cornet (#31) in the third round, 06 76(4) 62.  She will next meet Belgian Kirsten Flipkens (#20) in the fourth round.  This is the third time she has reached the fourth round here,  2005, 2006 and now 2013.  

Michelle Larcher De Brito: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Michelle Larcher de Brito of Puerto Rico, reached the second round of the 2013 Wimbledon, by defeating American Melanie Oudin (#123) 76(7) 16 64.  She then outclassed Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the second round 63 64.  She has reached as far as the third round of the French Open.  She will next meet German player Karin Knapp (#104) in the third round.

Karin Knapp: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Fourth Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

German player Karin Knapp (#104) defeated Czech player Lucie Hradecka (#89), 63 63, in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon.  She then defeated Czech player in the second round, Lucie Safarova (#30) 46 64 64.  In the third round, she defeated Michelle Larcher De Brito of Portugal (#131) 75 62, the girl who upset Maria Sharapova in the second round.  She will next meet former Wimbledon finalist, Marion Bartoli of France (#15) in the fourth round.  Knapp reached as high as #35 in the world.

Petra Cetkovska: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Czech player Petra Cetkovska (#196) defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia (#64) 63 61 in the first round of the 2013 Wimbledon.  Petra has reached as high as #25 in the world.  She then dispatched Caroline Wozniacki (#9) 62 62 in the second round.  She lost to her third round opponent American Sloane Stephens 67(3) 60 46.  Cetkovska has reached the fourth round here in 2011.  She also reached the third round of the 2013 French Open, so her feat here equals what she has done in Paris.

Eva Birnerova: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Czech player Eva Birnerova (#152) defeated American Varvara Lepchenko (#29), 62 46 64, in the first round of this year's Wimbledon.  She has reached as high as #59 in the world and has reached the 3rd round of the Australian Open.  She then defeated Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko (#69) in the second round 63 64.  She lost to Puerto Rican Monica Puig (#65) in the third round, 64 36 46.  This is the first time she has reached the 3rd round of Wimbledon.

Nicolas Mahut: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, currently ranked #224 in the world, won his first round match against Czech Jan Hajek, currently ranked #92 in the world, 62 64 63.  He will next meet Tommy Robredo of Spain, ranked #30 in the world.  He has reached as high as #40 and has reached the third round of all the grand slams except the US Open.

Sergiy Stakhovsky: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Ukrainian player Sergiy Stakhovsky, currently ranked #116 in the world, defeated Brazilian player Rogerio Dutra Silva, ranked #100 in the world, 64 60 64.  He then shocked the tennis world when he won his second round match against defending champion, Roger Federer (#4) in the second round, 67(5) 76(5) 75 76(5).  Stakhovsky has been ranked as high as #39 in the world.  In the third round, he will meet Austrian Jurgen Melzer, ranked #36 in the world.

Julian Reister: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

German player Julian Reister, currently ranked #139 in the world, won his first round match against last year's conqueror of Rafael Nadal, Czech player, Lukas Rosol, 63 46 76(5) 67(7) 64, currently ranked #34 in the world.   Reister has reached as high as #92 in the world.  He lost to Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the second round, ranked #36 in the world, 63 67(2) 67(5) 26.

Dustin Brown: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

German player Dustin Brown, currently ranked #189 in the world, defeated Spanish player Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, currently ranked #79 in the world, 63 63 63 in the first round of Wimbledon 2013.  In the second round, he won over former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, ranked #82 in the world, 64 64 67(3) 62.  He will next meet Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, ranked #111 in the world, in the third round.  Both guys have an even chance of making it into the fourth round.

Adrian Mannarino: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Third Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, currently ranked #111, defeated Spanish player, Pablo Andujar, currently ranked #52 in the world, 61 62 63.  He goes straight to the third round as his second round opponent American John Isner, currently ranked #21 in the world, withdrew due to injury.  Adrian was ranked as high as #49 before and this is the farthest round yet that he has reached in Wimbledon.  He will next meet German Dustin Brown, ranked #189, in the third round.  He has a very good chance of making it into the fourth round here for the first time in his career.

Stephane Robert: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 Wimbledon

Frenchman Stephane Robert, currently ranked #165, won his first round match against Colombian Alejandro Falla, currently ranked #74 in the world, 63 76(5) 75.  He will next meet countryman Benoit Paire, ranked #25 in the world in the second round. 

Lukasz Kubot: Breakout Player for Wimbledon 2013

Polish player Lukasz Kubot is our breakout player of Wimbledon 2013.  Currently ranked #119, he defeated Russian player Igor Andreev (#414), 61 75 62, in the first round.  He had a walkover in the second round courtesy of Belgian Steve Darcis (#110).  In the third round, he defeated Frenchman Benoit Paire (#25) 61 63 64.  In the fourth round, he defeated another Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (#111) 46 63 36 63 64.  He will meet fellow Polish player Jerzy Janowicz (#22) in the quarterfinals.

Steve Darcis: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of Wimbledon 2013

Belgian player Steve Darcis gave the 2013 Wimbledon the biggest shocker by defeating two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the first round, 76(4) 76(8) 64.  Steve Darcis' best performance was the third round of the 2012 French Open. 

This year, he lost in the first round of both the Australian and French Open.  He was once ranked as high as #44.  He withdrew from his second round match due to injury. He was supposed to meet Polish player Lukas Kubot, himself ranked #119 in the world.

Wimbledon 2013: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Should Dominate On Grass

Although Andy Murray looks like the guy to beat on his side of the draw, I don't think he'll be able to stand the media scrutiny considering how the British press it.  So instead, I pick Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to pick the semifinal slot on their side of the draw.  He has less press pressure to mind and he can really play, considering he was able to reach the semifinals in Paris, even with the press pressure.  Aside from Murray, his possible tough opponents include Ernests Gulbis, Fernando Verdasco and Marin Cilic.

Wimbledon 2013: Rafael Nadal May Top His Tough Draw

Rafael Nadal has the toughest draw among the top four guys as he may have to meet Roger Federer in the quarters just so he can get his semifinal slot - and to win the title, he may have to defeat Novak Djokovic!  And along the way, he may have to suppress Stanislas Wawrinka and talented new player Benoit Paire.  Not a very easy road to another grand slam title.

Wimbledon 2013: David Ferrer Has Good Chance to Reach Semifinal

David Ferrer gets a good draw for Wimbledon 2013 as he is my pick to get the semifinal slot on his side of the draw.  Seeded #4, David wouldn't have to meet any of the former top 4 until the semifinals.  This time, it might be Novak Djokovic he might meet.  He has some really tough opponents on the way though including Alexandr Dolgopolov, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori.

Wimbledon 2013: Novak Djokovic Should Reach the Finals

Novak Djokovic should be able to get the semifinal slot on his side of the draw even though he may meet a very tough opponent at the quarters of his draw through former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych.  His other prospective opponents include Ryan Harrison and veteran Tommy Haas.

Wimbledon 2013: Vika Azarenka Tries To Make A Breakthrough

Victoria Azarenka has already won two Australian Open titles and this year, she was able to reach the semifinals of the French Open.  Now, she trains her sights at this year's Wimbledon and tries to make a breakthrough in that grand slam.  She has some possible tough opponents on her way including the two Serbians, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic and former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.  However, I pick Vika to get the semifinal slot on her side of the draw.

Wimbledon 2013: Maria Sharapova A Likely Finalist Once Again

It was in Wimbledon 2006nwhere Maria Sharapova was introduced to the world.  Seven years later, she gets another chance at  a title as she appears to be the strongest player in her side of the draw.  Her strongest opponents could be Lucie Hradecka, Marion Bartoli and Sloane Stephens.  However, she should be the one to get the semifinal slot on her side of the draw.

Wimbledon 2013: Agnieszka Radwanska Has Good Chance to Reach Semifinals

Agnieszka Radwanska has been a finalist here at Wimbledon, and with the draw she has this year, she has a good chance of reaching the semi's again.  The finals might be a bit harder since Serena Williams is on her side of the draw.  She has some opponents waiting for her though.  She might meet grass court specialist Tsvetana Pironkova, veteran Daniela Hantuchova and local heroine Heather Watson.

Wimbledon Women's Draw 2013: Serena Faces Many Grasscourt Specialists on Her Side of the Draw

I just saw Serena Williams' draw in this year's Wimbledon. Amazing how she got this draw! If all the stars line up and she faces Zheng Jie, Tamira Paszek, Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber - wow! All these women, unknown maybe to non-tennis fans, have reached either the quarters or the semi's, of well, Wimbledon!! The stars have made sure Serena does not do another walk in the park to win her next grand slam. She has to play already at a very high level in each round, starting at the second round pa lang. If she can pull it off, bow na talaga ako sa kanya!  Of course, she might have to win over Maria Sharapova again in the finals.

Top 36 Women Players - Americas

Every end of the year, I hold a fantasy tennis tournament featuring players grouped according to continents. So I divided the whole world into 3 different regions.  The first region is the Americas which include the countries in North and South America.

I will update this list every month until the fantasy tournament happens first week of December.  Only the top 4 players from each country are included.

Here are the top 36 players from the Americas.

#1 USA - Serena Williams
#2 USA - Sloane Stephens
#3 USA - Varvara Lepchenko
#4 USA - Venus Williams
#5 Puerto Rico - Monico Puig 
#6 Canada - Eugenie Bouchard
#7 Argentina - Paula Ormaechea (#81)
#8 Canada - Aleksandra Wozniak
#9 Canada - Sharon Fichman 
#10 Colombia - Mariana Duque-Marino
#11 Brazil - Teliana Pereira
#12 Canada - Stephanie Dubois
#13 Colombia - Catalina Castano
#14 Argentina - Maria Irigoyen (#185)
#15 Argentina - Florencia Molinero (#230)
#16 Paraguay - Veronica Cepede Royg
#17 Venezuela - Adriana Perez (#247)
#18 Venezuela - Andrea Gamiz (#288)
#19 Bolivia - Maria Fernanda Alvarez Teran (#297)
#20 Argentina - Catalina Pella (#318)
#21 Chile - Fernanda Brito (#362)
#22 Chile - Cecilia Costa Melgar (#376)
#23 Chile - Daniela Seguel (#404)
#24 Peru - Patricia Iveth Ku Flores (#411)
#25 Chile - Camila Silva (#450)
#26 Paraguay - Montserrat Gonzalez (#456)
#27 Colombia - Yuliana Lizarazo (#515) 
#28 Venezuela - Gabriela Paz (#619)
#29 Paraguay - Camila Giangreco Campiz (#623)
#30 Peru - Bianca Botto (#687)
#31 Paraguay - Isabella Robbiani (#759)
#32 Brazil - Vivian Segnini (#809)

 


 

Serena Williams: How Do You Improve Something That is Already Perfect

When I first saw the Williams sisters play in the late 90s, I realized that the women's game has been elevated to a higher level - and I thought that would be it - and that was basically it for a decade and a half afterwards.  However, seeing how Serena practically obliterated everyone in her path here in Paris this fortnight, just shows that that higher level of play I was talking about - has been elevated two, three notches higher this time around - and all the other talented women players - Maria, Vika, Agi - they all now have to really improve their games.  I am really impressed at how Serena just perfected every single asset that she already had!  How do you perfect something that is already flawless to begin with!  It's like a chess game.  Now that Serena has made her move, I am waiting to see how the rest of the women players find a way to beat her - and Wimbledon is just a month away.......

Pablo Cuevas: Breakout Player of the 2013 French Open

Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay, currently ranked #762, is the Breakout Player for this year's French Open.  He reached the second round of the French Open after defeating Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, currently ranked #110, 63 26 63 57 75. He lost to Gilles Simon in the second round, 76(2) 16 16 16.

Breakout Player French Open 2013: Petra Cetkovska

Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, currently ranked at #198, is the Breakout Player for the French Open 2013.  She is slated to meet Roberta Vinci of Italy, currently ranked #15 in the world.  She edged Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the second round 75 26 64, currently ranked #19 in the world.  In the first round, she won over another Russian, Olga Puchkova, 60 62, currently ranked #79 in the world.  So that's two victories over players ranked way above her.

This is no surprise though because just about a year ago, Petra was ranked as high as #25 in the world, and she has reached the fourth round of this tournament in 2008.

Anna Karolina Schmiedlova: Player Ranked Outside the Top 100 Who Reached the Second Round of the 2013 French Open

Slovakian player Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, currently ranked #150 in the world, reached the second round of the 2013 French Open, after upsetting Yanina Wickmayer, 76 26 62, currently ranked #41.  She lost to American Jamie Hampton in the second round.

French Open 2013: Elite Women's Team Country Award

The USA wins this year's Elite Women's Team Country Award in the 2013 French Open.  This year's honor roll include Serena Williams, Sloane Stephens, Jamie Hampton and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.  This is really a surprise since clay is not really a surface Americans are known to excel in.

French Open 2013: Elite Men's Team Country Award

Spain retains the Elite Men's Team Country Award for the 2013 French Open, an award they also won last year.  This year's team is composed of Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Tommy Robredo.