n the earnest hope that they may be granted some of that World Cup weather, Wimbledon's thoroughbreds are fidgeting in the starting stalls, so it's time to raise the tapes on the finest classic in the tennis business. Being traditionalists, but by no means stick-in-the-muds, the All England Club will be presenting their usual Centre Court hors d'oeuvre, served up these days at 1.30pm precisely, as our champion and everybody else's number one, Roger Federer, marches forth to commence the defence of a title he has already captured three years in succession.
It is also a tradition to feel a touch sorry for the unfortunate chap whose name has come out alongside the champion's, but any sympathetic noises should be stilled, since the man Federer must beat in order to crack Bjorn Borg's grass court sequence of 41 victories, Richard Gasquet, declares he is well able to take care of himself. Having won the Nottingham title on Saturday for the second straight time, the 20-year-old Frenchman proudly declared himself "the Federer of Nottingham."
Not content with that, the youngster who clocked up one of the four wins that were achieved against the super Swiss in the whole of 2005, and who ran him very close indeed in a tight three-setter at Halle a dozen days ago, opined that he has a small chance of an apple-cart upset "because Roger could be nervous." That may sound a touch cheeky, but the great man himself has conceded that there will be a flutter or two as he embarks in pursuit of the championship that could elevate him alongside such Open era greats as Borg and Pete Sampras as a four-straight champion.
Federer certainly won't be fretting about shattering Borg's 41 since, a bit surprisingly, he claims not to take much note of such marks, even a high altitude one like this. The opponent and the tournament are what counts, he maintains. Gasquet qualifies as familiar opposition, the fifth time they have gazed at each other across the net. The one which Gasquet will recall most fondly was at Monte Carflo in the spring of last season, when he edged the Alp aside in a tense third-set tiebreak. There will, without doubt, be a few muted cries of "Allez France" as Gasquet crosses the threshold of the sport's cathedral, but glory for le tricolore would rate very high on Richter Scales, particularly Federer's.
Assuming, as we are entitled to, that Roger the Magnificent will not stumble, it is Tim Henman he is likely to face in the second round, always providing the British number three can repeat what he did here three years ago by defeating Sweden's Robin Soderling. It is a fair assumption, since Henman, though taking to the grass bereft of a ranking for the first time in a decade, is in prime form and reporting no creaks from his back. The match is accorded second spot on Court One.
The Centre Court filling for the men's matches sandwich is granted to a familiar face, though not a Wimbledon champion yet, in Justine Henin-Hardenne. The third-seeded Henin-Hardenne, fresh from conquering Eastbourne and racking up her third Grand Slam triumph in four years on the clay of Roland Garros, is likely to be tried but not unduly tested by Meng Yuan, a Wimbledon debutant from the fast-multiplying squad of Chinese women being groomed for the big time before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Meng is 20 and comes from Hu Nan, though she now lives in Hong Kong. She has played only one previous Grand Slam, having qualified for the Australian Open in January and got to the second round. She also made it into the third round of Indian Wells as a qualifier.
Belgium's other top contending lady and the tournament's second seed, Kim Clijsters, kicks off Court One proceedings against one of the host of "ovas" and "evas" in the women's line-up. Kim's "eva" is Vera Zvonareva, a Moscow lass of 21 summers who dusted off the grass court cobwebs in some style by winning the Birmingham tournament eight days ago, the fourth singles title of her career. Vera may not end up winning but if so she won't be able to put it down to lack of time on the turf.
There is sure to be a warm welcome on Court Two for the returning Martina Hingis, whose second career this year has been such a resounding success. Indeed, the lady who won Wimbledon in 1997 as a 16-year-old and is tilting for a second honour here at the grand old age of 25, won the Italian Open last month and will fancy her chances of creating a little mayhem deep into the tournament. Its reputation for dramatic upsets notwithstanding, Court Two should not provide the setting for what would be the highlight of her life so far for the Hingis opposition, Olga Savchuk, an 18-year-old Ukrainian, who pushed as far as the third round of this year's Australian Open as a qualifier and is, of course, another Wimbledon debutante.
Fresh from his triumph on Dutch grass at s'Hertogenbosch on Saturday, Mario Ancic is also out on Court Two, matched with Spain's Nicolas Almagro. The weekend's triumph provided further proof that the tall Croatian known as Super Mario and Little Goran (after his hero, Ivanisevic) is one of the top threats to Federer's hegemony. Almagro is a clay court specialist, but a fine one in the tradition of his compatriot Rafael Nadal, so he will be hoping to extend the lanky Ancic.
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