 "Photo: Alastair Grant/The Associated Press")
At the midway point of the greatest tennis tournament of the year, there are endless possibilities for Wimbledon’s conclusion.
In the men’s and women’s brackets, which enter the round of 16 today, the top three seeds of are still alive.
For the men, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokavic all remain. In the women’s tournament, Dinara Safina, Serena Williams, and defending champion Venus Williams will keep playing in the second week.
Perhaps the biggest surprise at the All England Club is 17-year-old Melanie Oudin, who won three qualifier matches just to be able to play on the grandest stage of tennis.
Oudin, the Georgia native who first watched the Williams sisters at Wimbledon when she was seven, shocked the world getting past former top ranked player Jelena Jankovic in a three-hour match on Saturday.
“I saw Venus and Serena playing here and was like, Mom, I really want to play there one day,” Oudin said.
The United States is pleased to see an American woman other than a Williams advancing to the second week at Wimbledon.
In the men’s bracket so far it has been all about the Andys.
Andy Roddick is the lone American male remaining in the tournament. Roddick is trying to reach his third Wimbledon final, where he has lost in his previous two appearances. He is set to face the 20th seed Tomas Berdych in the round of sixteen.
The other Andy, or at least “the other” in the U.S., is from across the pond. The British are looking for Andy Murray to be their first Wimbledon champion in over 70 years.
All eyes in the United Kingdom will be on Murray, the third overall seed, who will play 19th seeded Stanislas Wawrinka today.
As expected, Roger Federer is attempting to become the all-time leader in grand slam victories with a sixth Wimbledon title.
The path to what could be his fifteenth grand slam title was made easier before the tournament began with the announcement Rafael Nadal would skip the third grand slam of the year due to an injury.
Nadal’s injury flared up in last month’s French Open when he was ousted by Robin Soderling, who later lost to Federer in the French finals.
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