WIMBLEDON '95: SERVICE RECORD OF; THE MEN'S SEEDS

1 ANDRE AGASSI

UNITED STATES

25

1

Debut 1987. Twice a quarter-finalist, winner in 1992. Beaten by Todd Martin in fourth round last year

Impressive. Has won three of his 10 tournaments and been runner- up in three others. Suffered setback with hip injury in French Open

Speed, tenacity. Power and accuracy of groundstrokes. Much improved mental resilience, and still one of the best returners of serve in the business

As a baseliner, he is not a natural grass-court player, in spite of his victory three years ago. Disrupted preparation will not have helped him

Las Vegan who forsook the Nick Bollettieri Academy to team up with coach Brad Gilbert, author of Winning Ugly. Girlfriend is Brooke Shields

A fattened-up Brad Pitt

"Are you making a pass at me?" (To woman questioner during press conference in Frankfurt, 1994)

2 PETE SAMPRAS

UNITED STATES

23

2

Debut 1989. Semi-finalist in 1992, winner in last two years

Lost final of Australian Open to Agassi, and with it his world No 1 ranking. Disastrous season on clay, culminating in first-round elimination in French Open

A huge server, Sampras plays as close to textbook perfection as you can get, although his strokes are even more pleasing on the eye than that suggests

Sampras' weaknesses - on grass, at any rate - are almost a contradiction in terms. But he can be slow to adapt tactically, and he has been very unsettled by the illness of his former coach Tim Gullikson

Born Washington DC. Lives in Tampa, Florida. Not ashamed to contrast the quiet life he happily leads with the flamboyance of his great rival Agassi

Farley Granger (the weak one in Strangers on a Train)

"Andre is a great talent. Great for the game"

3 BORIS BECKER

GERMANY

27

3

Debut 1984. Youngest ever winner in 1985. Three titles in all. Beaten in semi-

finals last year

Won his only title at Marseilles in February. Lost in first round of Australian Open, and in third round of French Open

Imposing presence and athletic, all-court game. Apt to remark on how much bigger tennis players have become in his 10 years at the top, but still has more than enough muscle of his own

Temperamentally suspect. Witness his defeat in the French Open by a Romanian qualifier when he allowed difficult conditions to distract him

Family man - wife Barbara, 18-month-old son Noah - with homes in Monte Carlo and Munich. Wunderkind days seem long gone

Klaus Kinski

"People have accused me of many things over 10 years. Some had grounds. Some didn't"

4 GORAN IVANISEVIC

CROATIA

23

6

Debut 1988. Semi-finalist in 1990, runner-up in 1992 and 1994

No titles, and has only reached one final - in Hamburg

A well-timed Ivanisevic first serve is still Wimbledon's most lethal weapon, especially coming from a left-hander. Improved groundstrokes under Australian coach Bob Brett

Uncertain volleyer. Mental frailty leads to tendency to "disappear" during matches. Only seems to do well in even-number years

Born in Split. Has a home there and one in Monte Carlo. Croatian nationalist who feels he is fighting his country's cause when he steps on the court

Jeff Goldblum

"They expect me to promote my country and they are disappointed, like me, when I lose" (on his compatriots)`

5 MICHAEL CHANG

UNITED STATES

23

5

Debut 1988. Best effort was last year, when he was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Pete Sampras

Beat Andre Agassi in Atlanta for one of two tournament wins. Runner- up in French Open

One of the quickest players around. A much improved serve, and tremendous accuracy on his groundstrokes. A great tactical thinker

Small physique (5ft 9in, 10st 10lb) means he is always likely to be overpowered on grass, where the ball is past you before you have even started to run

Born in New Jersey, now lives in Nevada, where he indulges his passion for fishing. A devout Christian whose family loom large in his life. Coached by his brother Carl

Keanu Reeves

"I'd like to thank God for the talent He's given me"

6 YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV

RUSSIA

21

7

First appearance was last year: lost in the third round

Won in Milan (beating Becker in final) and St Petersburg. Reached his first Grand Slam semi-final in French Open

Natural balance and touch, precision of his shot-making, mobility around the court. Height (6ft 3in) helps power in the serve

Inexperience. A bit of a dreamer, whose dislike of grass was obvious last year. He may struggle to overcome it

Born and lives in Sochi on the Black Sea coast, where he likes to fish. Goes gambling with his Ukrainian friend Andrei Medvedev

Jason Connery

"I'm only 21, I really think that my Grand Slam tournament is still in the future"

7 WAYNE FERREIRA

SOUTH AFRICA

23

8

Debut 1990. Best effort was last year, when he was beaten in quarter- finals by Todd Martin

Won in Dubai and Munich, where he beat Michael Stich in final

Under-rated all-court player. For a six-footer, plays a very compact game. Quick around the court, and tactically astute

Tendency to fade towards the end of big tournaments. Other than last year's Wimbledon, has never got beyond the last 16 in 19 Grand Slam appearances

Born in Johannesburg. Has an apartment in Paris. Talented all- round sportsman who has represented Transvaal at cricket, football and badminton

A young Robert Redford

"The first time I got in the top 10 I didn't feel I belonged there. But not now"

9 MICHAEL STICH

GERMANY

26

10

Debut 1989. Followed his win in 1991 by reaching the quarter-finals two years running before losing in first round last year

Two runners-up places (Stuttgart and

Munich) to show for 14 tournaments

Big serve, penetrating groundstrokes. Has a hard edge to his game and a merciless way of finishing off opponents

Inconsistency. Vulnerable in the early rounds. Temper occasionally gets the better of him.

Born just outside Hamburg, now lives in Salzburg. A footballer and golfer married to an actress. Has attempted to soften his image of late, playing to the crowd

Richard Gere

"The problem is that nobody writes what I'm saying. They just write what interests them"

10 MARC ROSSET

SWITZERLAND

24

13

Played every year since 1990. Never got further than the third round

Victory over Kafelnikov on clay of Nice has been the highlight

One look at Rosset - 6ft 7in and 14st - tells you most of what you need to know about his game, which is built around a huge serve

Even on grass, a light touch is needed sometimes. Rosset lacks both this and the track record at Wimbledon to suggest he could do much this time

Member of the Monte Carlo set, though born in Geneva. Won the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics

Jean-Claude Van Damme

"I preferred the nasty old Connors" (on the mellowing of Jimbo)

11 JIM COURIER

UNITED STATES

24

14

Debut 1989. Runner-up in 1993. Lost in second round last year

Built on an impressive start when he won in Adelaide in January. Beat Agassi in final in Tokyo, and won two other titles. Reached fourth round of French Open

After a long spell out of the running last year, has quietly returned to form. Retains a bludgeoning forehand and a considerable capacity for hard work

Baseline game fundamentally unsuited to grass in spite of his success in reaching the final in 1993

Floridian Francophile who enjoyed an outstanding junior career. Big baseball fan. Plays drums and guitar

Woody Harrelson

"I don't know if the way I am now has any reflection on the way I play, but I'm happy, so that's OK"

12 RICHARD KRAJICEK

HOLLAND

23

15

Debut 1991. Best year was 1993 when he reached the fourth round

Won successively in Stuttgart and Rotterdam towards the end of the winter, but has faded since then

Ranks with Ivanisevic as one of the Tour's biggest servers. Ought to make him a tougher opponent on grass than he has been so far

Still waiting to break into the big time. A semi-final place at the 1992 Australian Open is the best he has to show for 17 Grand Slam appearances

Born in Rotterdam, lives in Monte Carlo. Son of Czech immigrants

Tim Robbins

"I have a mental block over Grand Slams"

13 STEFAN EDBERG

SWEDEN

29

16

Debut 1983. Twice a winner (1988 and 1990). Lost in third round last year

No titles. Only final reached was in Doha, Qatar, in January. Beaten by Stich in second round of French Open

One of the game's great stylists, whose serve-and-volley game is a model of its kind. A lithe mover about the court

Seems to be fading fast, having dropped from being No 3 seed last year. At 29, is unlikely to recover the form that brought him glory at the turn of the decade

Born in Swedish port of Vastervik, 100 miles south of Stockholm. Now lives a quiet life in London with his wife and daughter

Jason Donovan

"I enjoy being out there still, and it's when you are playing against the best guys that makes it special"

14 TODD MARTIN

UNITED STATES

24

17

Debut 1992. Beaten by Pete Sampras in last year's semi-final

Won in Memphis in February, but has done little since then

At 6ft 6in, built to serve big, which makes him a much tougher proposition on grass than other surfaces. Sound all-court game

After his Wimbledon semi-final last year he reached the same stage of the US Open but has hit an indifferent patch. Still to show he has the ability to impose himself on a tournament

Mid-Westerner (born Illinois, lives Michigan), who was a star player at Northwestern University. Tallest man to finish a year in top 10 since ATP rankings began in 1973

Jeff Daniels

"I don't think it's an advantage to be on the court an obscene amount of time." (On his propensity for five-setters)

15 ANDREI MEDVEDEV

UKRAINE

20

18

Two appearances. In 1993 (lost second round) and 1994 (lost fourth round)

Quarter-finalist at Australian Open; won on clay in Hamburg. First- round loser on the grass of Halle in Germany last week

One of the most naturally talented players around, with a flair that makes him a big crowd-pleaser. Explosive forehand

Youth and lack of a killer instinct. Has a defeatist side when things are not going well, and effects of knee surgery still trouble him occasionally

Born and lives in Kiev, but prefers to be called a Russian rather than a Ukrainian. Three times the Soviet Union junior champion during his teens

Nicolas Cage

"I've always smiled like this"

16 GUY FORGET

FRANCE

30

21

Debut 1983. A quarter-finalist in each of his last three appearances - 1991, 1992 and 1994

Has worked his way back after surgery on his right knee, coming good at Queen's last week when he lost to Pete Sampras in the final

Along with Ivanisevic one of only two left-handed seeds, but makes more of this advantage than the Croat thanks to variety of serve at his disposal. Reckons grass is his best surface

Struggles to live with the best. In 39 Grand Slam appearances has never got further than the quarter-finals. Age may now be against him

Born in Casablanca, lives in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Collects surfboards. Married with a four-year-old son

Don Johnson

"I wish I had been born in England." (Reference to his love of grass)

THOMAS ENQVIST

SWEDEN

21

19

One appearance, in 1993. Knocked out in first round

Beat Agassi to win in Philadelphia, one of three titles. Replaces Sergi Bruguera in draw, but not seeded

Solid all-court game. Arrives at Wimbledon having had an outstanding six months on the Tour. Has nothing to lose

A clay-court specialist whose experience of Wimbledon is minimal. Too young to be a real contender yet

Born Stockholm, lives in Monte Carlo. Plays a form of indoor hockey called

innebandy

Colin Firth

"I've only won one match on grass but I like it all the same"