Wimbledon - Four to Watch

It's that time of year again, June 2011 the start of one of the most spectacle sporting tournaments in Britain it's of course Wimbledon. Strawberry's will be out, thousands will be sitting on Henman Hill watching all the action unfold over the next two weeks, while many will do the same as they watch the action unfold on television, Britain will be rooting for Andy Murray while a host of other British stars will also take centre stage such as Elena Baltacha, Laura Robson and James Ward the Brit who managed to reach the Semi Finals of Queens just a week ago. The anticipation ready for Wimbledon is always exciting but who will conquer SW19 this year, of course all the big names will be the favourites from Federer to Nadal to Murray to Roddick, and in the Womens' draw the likes of the Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova and recent Grand Slam winner Li Na all have what it takes to win a major title. I like to keep my eye on some outsiders though, every year you just hope somebody can break through and reach the Semi Finals unnoticed, we have seen it in the past with Rainer Schuettler and Tommy Hass in the Men's draw, and the unexpected women's pair of Pironkova and Kvitova stunned many Tennis fans last year, as they managed to reach the Semi Finals of the Women's draw.

Here are my four to watch at Wimbledon this year...

Milos Raonic
Tennis pundits often talk about the promise of young Canadian Milos Raonic; some often say he could be the next breakthrough star in Men's Tennis. Currently ranked 26th Raonic is a dangerous competitor on the ATP tour, with a big serve and a flat dangerous forehand this year has seen the 20 year old beat some very good players on the tour. Earlier in the year he reached back to back finals on the hard courts claiming one title out of two attempts. While on grass most players will go into this Wimbledon Championship with a bizarre feel about themselves, with not many grass court tournaments around compared to Hard court and Clay court, some players haven't had the chance to muster there potential leading up to Wimbledon. Raonic however recently played in the Gerry Weber Open where he lost to the dangerous Philipp Petzschner in three sets. Raonic though will be one the outsiders for the Wimbledon Championships this year, but with Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon in his section of the draw he may have to do battle against some quality players. This 20 year old rising star is capable of pulling anything out of the hat though.

Richard Gasquet
Gasquet seems to be improving in every tournament that he plays in this year, Gasquet has managed to climb the rankings to reinstate himself as one of the best players on the ATP Tour. Gasquet is a quality player with a ferocious backhand and a dangerous all round game from the back of the court. We have often seen the Frenchman pull of some incredible shots due to his defensive style of play. Gasquet has had a very good year on the tour as he showed all of his attributes on the clay court only a month ago, where he managed to oust Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych in Italy; however at the French Open he bowed out in Round 4 against the then unbeaten Novak Djokovic who hadn't lost a tennis match all year. The grass court is a whole different surface however, and Richard Gasquet has the all round technique to go very far in this year's tournament, a former Semi finalist at Wimbledon the 25 year old can be a very dangerous player when it comes to Grass, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gasquet reach at least the quarter finals this season, even though he has the frailties of surrendering a healthy two set lead.

Sabine Lisicki
Onto the Women now then and for one glamorous girl from Germany, the Wimbledon tennis championships couldn't have come at a better time. Recently claiming the Aegon Classic after beating an on form Daniela Hantuchova in two comfortable sets the young emerging 21 year old in the name of Sabine Lisicki has all the qualities to be a star of Women's tennis. Before suffering an injury on the tour last year, Lisicki managed to reach a career high of 22 in the rankings in August 2009. An exciting player to watch she was slowly on the rise in the year 2009, but like I said an injury in 2010 scuppered her plans of being a real success on the WTA tour. Coming back into action at the start of this year, Lisicki has grown in confidence as the season has gone on. A decent clay court campaign certainly got her back in the swing of things, as she clamied wins over Marion Bartoli and Li Na. At the French Open a decorated performance against World number 3 Vera Zvonareva certainly raised a few eyebrows, as the young German could of easily beaten a two time Grand Slam runner-up. Going into SW19, Lisicki has performed really well like mentioned above she claimed the Aegon Classic at Birmingham a couple of weeks ago, at Wimbledon though she could potentially face Li Na the French Open women's champion in Round 2. If that match happens, tennis fans around the World cannot rule out Sabine Lisicki of claiming a win in that one. Li Na looks pretty good on all surfaces, but last year when Francesca Schiavone won the French Open, she bowed out early doors at Wimbledon. Lisicki is a dangerous player, who can well cause a few shocks if she battles past Li Na in a potential Round 2 clash.

Petra Kvitova
I think we all know about young Petra Kvitova by now, the 21 year old managed to break onto the scene at last year's Wimbledon where some excellent displays saw her reach the Semi Finals of SW19. This season Kvitova hasn't stopped performing, a girl who has grown in stature has all of a sudden found herself in the top eight of the WTA rankings. She has all the potential in the world to win a Grand Slam, and as her Grass court record proves, she is a good bet of lifting the Wimbledon crown in a couple of weeks time. Already winning three titles this year and beating some of the best players in the World, such as Clijsters, Stosur, Azarenka and Li Na the youngster from the Czech Republic will be one of the favourites. Only yesterday she was edged out in a very good three set match, in the final of the Aegon International against Marion Bartoli. Kvitova has been consistent on all surfaces this year, it's highly likely that she will whizz through the opening rounds, and if she makes the latter stages she is capable of beating any player on the tour, especially as both Williams sisters are just coming back from injuries, and Kim Clijsters has pulled out, it's anybody's to win and for Petra Kvitova she has a very good chance of doing so.

I have always said that this girl Sabine is to watch for. I think Petra needs to become mentally stronger and make less UE. She should have won the match with Na Li in French Open 2011.

I agree with Raonic and Kvitova but Gasquet has not fulfilled the promise he showed in the early stages of his career. I don't think Liscki will have any impact on Wimby.

There is hardly anyone outside top 20 who looks likely to make any impact. Maybe Isner be able to create few upsets. I saw Delpo at Queens and he was not moving very well on the grass.