Wimbledon 2007: Ladies' Quarterfinal Preview

The 2007 Wimbledon Ladies' Quarterfinals are almost set. Despite delayed by rain like everything else during the wettest Wimbledon on record the four quarterfinal matches will be played on one day, thus providing an orgiastic feast of high stakes tennis all in one place. I hope to experience this in person one day, but until then I'll be watching on TV and the web like 99.99% of the spectators who are interested in the results. Without further ado, here are my predictions for Day 9.

Justine Henin BEL (1) vs. Serena Williams USA (7). For the second Grand Slam in a row the showdown between Serena Williams and Justine Henin is the most anticipated match of the tournament. In fact, some people have wondered if Henin hadn't skipped this year's 2007 Australian Open would the result have been different? It's hard to imagine there could be even more drama in Serena's next round after the operatic turn that her fourth round win over Daniela Hantuchova took towards the end of the second set. In fact, I don't think the match will be great, similar to the blowout by the Belgian on clay last month. This time, I expect that the American will overpower her opponent on the faster surface of clay, further stymieing Henin's attempt to win a career Grand Slam. It's true that Henin has been in two Wimbledon finals and is playing excellent tennis but she hasn't had to play anyone remotely close to Serena's ability on grass prior to this match. Some people are already calling this match the equivalent of the final, but I think there are atleast three players in the bottom half of the draw (one of them whose last name is Williams) who take exception to that chracterization and intend ti do something about it. PREDICTION: Williams in 2 sets.

Jelena Jankovic SRB (3) Marion Bartoli FRA (18) vs. Michaella Krajicek NED (31). This surpising quarterfinal matchup is a coming out party for the younger sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek at the tournament where her brother achieved his greatest success on a tennis court and the hard-hitting French player. However, after Jankovic survived a near death experience against hard-hitting Czech youngster Lucie Safarova in the third round I was convinced that she would have had no trouble against the dubiously fit Bartoli but perhaps her excessive playing schedule finally caught up with the Serbian diva. Which one of these players will get to her first Wimbledon semifinal? It's hard to bet against the storied Krajicek name at Wimbledon, but it will be a tough, scratchy match.
PREDICTION: Krajicek in 3 sets.

Nadia Petrova RUS (11) vs. Amelie Mauresmo FRA (4). Ana Ivanovic SRB (6) vs. Nicole Vaidisova CZE (14). This was the trickiest quarterfinal to anticipate because this section of the draw has two great fourth round matchups like Petrova versus 2007 French Open finalist Ana Ivanovic and hard-hitting Czech teenager Nicole Vaidisova versus the reigning Wimbledon champion Mauresmo. However, I truly believe that Mauresmo has the game and experience to defeat the up-and-coming Vaidisova, who is one of my personal favorite players who has yet to win a Grand Slam, but at age 18 she has a great future ahead of her. Interestingly, Vaidisova has won the last two times the two have played making their head-to-head record even at 2-2. Petrova really has no right to win this 4th round match but I just think that Ivanovic has to have a let down at some point and believe that it's time for Petrova to make another run at a major. However, I would not be surprised at all to see Ivanovic in this quarterfinal, possibly even playing Vaidisova.

PREDICTION: Mauresmo in 2 sets or a toss-up between Vaidisova/Ivanovic.

Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (5) vs. Venus Williams USA (23). This is an even more unlikely quarterfinal than the Jankovic/Krajicek quarter. Svetlana "the most talented of the Russians" Kuznetsova has been cutting through the draw like a scythe. Venus "3-time Wimbledon Champion" Williams has been lucky to get through two of her first three matches.
However, Venus has been in this position many times before and if she gets past Maria Sharapova in the fourth round it's unlikely any player will be able to stop her from getting to her sixth Wimbledon.
PREDICTION: Venus Williams in 2 sets or tossup between Kuznetsova/Sharapova.