Dateline: 07/02/00

Only six male seeds will enter Wimbledon's second week this year, and, as if Pete Sampras, the top seed, needs any help, the only one left in his half of the draw is Thomas Enqvist (9), who is not at his best on grass. Sampras was slowed somewhat by tendinitis in his left leg against Karel Kucera in the second round, but he had the good luck of two full days' rest before his third round match and, after a slow start, looked comfortably mobile defeating Justin Gimelstob to advance. If his injury remains as manageable in the remaining rounds, Sampras is almost certain to reach the final. If he's hampered, though, it's possible he could have some trouble with Jan-Michael Gambill, who is playing near the top of his game, or Wayne Ferreira, who has won five of their eleven previous matches. I don't think he'll be that hampered, though. More likely, he won't drop another set before the final.

The bottom half of the draw has the more compelling match-ups. In the third round, Andre Agassi (2) came back from 5-2 down in the fifth set against Todd Martin, surviving two match points before finally prevailing 10-8. His fourth round, against David Prinosil, is likely to be fairly easy, but then he'll face either Tim Henman (8), who seems always to play his best at Wimbledon, or Mark Philippoussis (10), who is capable of overpowering anyone on a good day. The Henman vs. Philippoussis match should be one of the best on the male side, as will the victor's likely encounter with Agassi.

Whoever comes through that quarter will, I hope, face Patrick Rafter (12), the only seed left in his quarter. Rafter seems to have largely recovered from his shoulder injury, and when healthy, he is the best serve-and-volley player in the game. Rafter will first have to beat Thomas Johannson in the fourth round, then a 6'7" opponent in the quarterfinals. Two identically huge guys, Alexander Popp and Marc Rosset, square off for a place in the quarters, and on grass, a player of that size is likely to be tough to break if he's having a decent day.

The top female seed, Martina Hingis, has advanced easily thus far, but she'll face Anke Huber in the fourth round, then, if form prevails, first Venus Williams, then sister Serena. Venus would probably be the toughest of the three matches. Martina is rarely beaten unless she is overpowered, and Venus is the most powerful of the three. Serena has been sidelined by injuries for several months and probably has not had enough match play to handle Hingis. Huber is a solid and fairly powerful player, but probably doesn't have quite enough weaponry.

In the bottom quarter of the draw, the second seed, Lindsay Davenport, has an unpredictable opponent in Jennifer Capriati. Lindsay seems to be recovering from a strained back, but if she's hampered and Capriati is at the high end of her recently wide performance spectrum, she could run into some trouble from Capriati. I expect, though, that she'll advance to meet the winner of Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario vs. Monica Seles. Monica isn't fond of grass, and I think Arantxa will prevail, but only to be overpowered by Davenport in the next round. If I'm right, then Davenport will go on to meet one of the four unseeded players in the third quarter. The best known of these is Jelena Dokic, who seems to do especially well on grass and is my pick to make it through to meet Davenport in the semis.

Our forum discussion on the men's draw is currently focusing on whether Pete Sampras is fit enough to win. What do you think?

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