No Clear-Cut Men’s Favorite

Handicapping Wimbledon on the men’s side is no simple task, made much more difficult for these three reasons:

* Almost no one--at least those with solid grass-court credentials--is playing well lately.

* Those playing well--the Spanish Armada--don’t have much of a chance on grass. And that’s what the Armada says.

* The ever-present rain has thrown a curve into the players’ preparation. And frankly, Pete Sampras is getting tired of all World Cup, all the time.

MEN’S FAVORITES

Sampras: He is saying all the right things, but he sounds awfully weary of the all-consuming grind, the relentless drive toward history. He summed up his performance in 1998 by saying: “Mediocre at best. It obviously has not been the year I’ve been hoping for.”

Then, why is Sampras listed here?

It’s not easy to ignore the numbers. The four-time champion has won 32 of his last 33 matches at Wimbledon.

Richard Krajicek: Among the top 16 seeded players at Wimbledon, he has the fourth-best winning percentage on grass in his career [40-14]. Krajicek is one of four former Wimbledon champions among the top 16 seeded players.

There is a question about his fitness, however, as he withdrew from an event at Rosmalen, the Netherlands, last week because of knee problems.

Patrick Rafter: His game started to come together at an event last week at Rosmalen, where he reached the final. Rafter, the 1997 U.S. Open champion, has a huge serve, yet has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon.

MEN’S CONTENDERS

Yevgeny Kafelnikov: Winner of the event in Halle, Germany--defending his title in the process. But his first-round draw is a potential nightmare: big-serving Mark Philippoussis.

Cedric Pioline: A Wimbledon finalist in 1997 and a French Open semifinalist in 1998. The biggest mystery is how this nice, mild-mannered guy got thrown out of Nottingham, England, last week. Just what did he say in French anyway?

Andre Agassi: Another former champion with one of the best service returns in the game, praying there is no Marat Safin-like ambush in the early rounds.

Tim Henman: A British miracle, why not?

MEN’S OUTSIDERS

Greg Rusedski: Would be listed with the contenders, but his injured ankle might prevent him from playing.

Petr Korda: The 1998 Australian Open champion nearly beat Sampras last year in the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing, 6-4, in the fifth set.

WOMEN’S FAVORITES

Martina Hingis: It will be interesting to see how she rebounds after a one-sided loss to Monica Seles at the French Open.

Jana Novotna: On the verge of Wimbledon victory twice, stopped in the final by Graf in 1993 and Hingis in 1997. Showed a fighting spirit against Anna Kournikova at the French Open, and then almost beat Seles.

Arantxa Sanchez Vicario: Also a two-time finalist at Wimbledon, the 1998 French Open champion seems invigorated by the challenge of the teen set. Her form was impressive at Eastbourne, England, where she rallied to beat Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. But she was hampered by a right thigh injury, losing to Novotna in the final.

WOMEN’S CONTENDERS

Seles: Not to be underestimated after the French Open.

Steffi Graf: Another week of solid matches and Graf probably would be listed among the favorites. Didn’t lose quietly against Kournikova at Eastbourne in the quarterfinals.

Venus and Serena Williams: So far, Serena seems to be making a faster adjustment to grass. At Eastbourne, Venus suffered one of the most one-sided defeats in her short career, winning only three games against veteran grass-court player Natasha Zvereva.

Kournikova: The 1997 Wimbledon semifinalist was moving along nicely until she toppled on the grass against Graf at Eastbourne, injuring her thumb and pulling out of the semifinals.

WOMEN’S OUTSIDERS

Lindsay Davenport: Not crazy about grass, but said the same thing about clay, all the way to the French Open semifinals.

Conchita Martinez: The former Wimbledon champion is trying to regroup after a disappointing showing on the clay of Roland Garros.

BROTHER ACT

Perhaps twins Bob and Mike Bryan of Camarillo can provide something of a lift to American men’s tennis-- eventually, at least--after their stellar collegiate careers.

The twins turned pro earlier this month after Bob won the NCAA singles title and then combined with Mike for the doubles championship. Earlier, they helped lead Stanford to its 16th NCAA team championship.

They are not trying to qualify at Wimbledon, opting for smaller satellite events before playing at Washington and Los Angeles in July. Bob received a wild card into the main singles draw at the U.S. Open, and the 20-year-old twins got a wild card into the main doubles draw.

“[We’ll] probably take a lot of lumps in the beginning,” Bob Bryan said. “Hopefully our games will rise and we’ll get comfortable with it. Just like every new level, it’s going to be hard.”

Said Mike Bryan: “I feel the same way. When we came to college, we were kind of intimidated. [It] took us a few months to get going. I feel it’s going to be the same way on the pro tour.”

Davis Cup captain Tom Gullikson talked about the advantage of having had a twin brother on the tour. His brother Tim, who died in 1996, started on the pro tour a year before Tom did in the ‘70s.

“As Tim would say, if he could be here, he was the pathfinder,” Tom Gullikson said. “When Timmy beat [John] McEnroe in 1979 on Court 2, about a thousand people came up to me and said, ‘Good match.’ Finally, instead of saying, ‘I’m Tom, I’m not Tim,’ I started saying, ‘Thanks.’

“So you can gain confidence from your twin’s good wins, and nobody will know the difference.”