* !Picby Pete Bodo*
WIMBLEDON, England—Well, it turns out I was not quite the genius I imagined myself. About, oh, 3,000 of my colleagues also selected yesterday's match between Caroline Wozniacki and Tamira Paszek as their upset special. Hail, by match time, Paszek might have been the real-world favorite!
It must be painful, what Wozniacki's going through, but she's digging in her heels and, depending on how you look at it, indulging in denial, stonewalling—or telling the simple truth when she says that she's not concerned about her drop from the top, that it's all part of a player's natural cycle, that she's had such ups and downs plenty of times throughout her career.
Personally, I don't see how she could have gone through anything like this before, when you consider the order of magnitude. Unless I misremember, her rise to the top was smooth and relatively stress- and problem-free. So I've got to stick with the theory that this slump—if that's the right word, as opposed to, say, "settling"—is all new territory for her. It's certainly the first real crisis of her pro career.
The WTA's two major experts on crises, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, are both in action early today. Serena finally got the invite to the Centre Court to open the proceedings today, while Sharapova finishes up her match with Tsvetana Pironkova.
If wanted to assign a name to this day, you could call it the day of the Big Boom, as in big serve. Among the heavy artillery on display today will be Serena, Ivo Jarlovic, Milos Raonic, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, Marin Cilic, and Juan Martin del Potro. The main event in that regard is likely to be the No. 1 Court showdown between Raonic and Querrey.
The sleeper of the day, I think, is the Grigor Dimitrov vs. Marcos Baghdatis match, on that jewel of a show court, Court 12. The capacity there can't be more than six or eight hundred, with a proper—and shaded—stand on just one sideline. It really is a gem that captures that age-old meme of tennis match as garden party—although someone unfortunate enough to get hit in the face by a Dimitrov forehand might find the "garden party" bit something of a stretch.
For quirky match of the day, I have to go with Jesse Levine vs. David Goffin. Those of you who are unmoved by the prospect of goliaths like Querrey and Raonic blasting serves at each other might enjoy this clash of the little men, both of whom are crafty. Had Levine gotten Goffin a few weeks ago, he'd have more reason to feel confident going in; but hey, Jesse has to look at it this way: I could have gotten Rafael or Roger in round two.
My upset special, ATP division: Xavier Malisse over No. 13 seed Gilles Simon. On the WTA side, I'll go with a feel good story for the British—Anne Keothavong over No. 10 seed Sara Errani.