You may have noticed there’s quite a rivalry brewing at the top of the men’s tennis mountain between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. You can put that to rest for now.
Federer is the absolute runaway favorite to win the . He’s won the last three years in a row, and hasn’t lost a match on grass since 2002. Nadal beat Federer earlier this month to win the French Open, but the man from Mallorca is a clay-court specialist. His career record on grass is 5-4, and he’s never gotten past the third round at Wimbledon.
If Nadal isn’t the one to end Federer’s Wimbledon win streak, who is? Andy Roddick would certainly like another shot at it. He lost to Federer at the finals in both 2004 and 2005, taking just one set in the process. But the 2003 U.S. Open champion is still the best bet among the American contingent. Roddick has won the last three Wimbledon warmups at London/Queen’s Club, and his record on grass over the past three years is an outstanding 32-3. All three losses were to Federer at Wimbledon.
How about Mario Ancic? The last time Federer didn’t win Wimbledon, he was bounced out of the first round by Ancic in straight sets. That was before Federer went on his tennis rampage. He’s beaten Ancic three times since, including the last French Open. As for “Super Mario,” the No. 9-ranked player in the world has never gotten past the semifinals at a major tournament. But his one ATP victory was on grass, at last year’s event at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
Lleyton Hewitt is also looking for some revenge at SW19. Before Federer assumed his tennis throne, Hewitt was the top player on the planet, winning the 2002 Wimbledon championships. Those were the days. Hewitt had a 7-2 career mark against Federer before the Swiss superstar put on the afterburners and won nine straight matches against Hewitt, a streak that includes victories at Wimby in 2004 and 2005. Folks in Hewitt’s native Australia have several colorful words to describe Federer that are unprintable here.
British hopes rest almost exclusively on Tim Henman. The local boy also used to own Federer, beating him at the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2001. Although none of his 13 singles tournament victories came on grass, Wimbledon is easily Henman’s forte. He’s been to the semis four times and the quarterfinals on another four occasions since 1996. But Henman’s tennis career seems to be on the downslide at age 31, thanks in part to lingering back problems. This may be the year that Scotland’s Andy Murray takes over for Henman as the favored Brit.
Speaking of back trouble, Andre Agassi missed the last two Wimbledons due to injury, but he’s looking for one more shining moment at SW19. It won’t be easy. The last time he won this event (and the only time) was 1992, when he still had long hair. The bulk of his career success has been on other surfaces. That leaves James Blake as the best of the Americans behind Roddick. Blake is the No. 7-ranked player on the circuit and beat Roddick before losing to Hewitt at last week’s Stella Artois final. Stardom is just around the corner; now all Blake has to do is find a way to beat Federer. His career record thus far? A big 0-4, each time in straight sets.
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by Shawn Sillinger 
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