Wimbledon 99: High hopes of a home win at last

The British challenge: Rusedski and Henman are ideally placed to mount a realistic campaign for glory this year

SWALLOWING HARD, your reporter boldly goes where no tennis correspondent has gone before, at least this side of World War II, and predicts that a Briton will lift the Wimbledon men's singles trophy; A Briton, that is, other than the All England Club official deputed to bring it down to the Centre Court lawn.

The imagination can already hear the BBC's John Barrett commentating in presentation mode a week next Sunday, enthusing along the lines that the Challenge Cup is 18 and a half inches high and was bought for 100 guineas from the profits of the 1886 Championships, but is priceless in the hands of...

Ah, yes, whose hands? Tim's, or Greg's?

At 2pm today (precisely, of course, weather permitting), Pete Sampras, the brilliant American who has won the title five times, will open his latest defence on the Centre Court against Scott Draper, an Australian left-hander, ranked No 63 in the world.

At the same hour, on Court No 1, Tim Henman, from Oxfordshire, who was defeated by Sampras 12 months ago, having become the first British man to advance to the semi-finals for 25 years, will start his campaign. The British No 1's opponent is Arnaud Di Pasquale, a Frenchman, ranked No 54, whose preferred surface is slow clay.

Around this time Greg Rusedski, the British No 2, will be having a hit on the practice courts at Aorangi Park (Aorangi is Maori for "Cloud in the Sky"), or trying to relax. He is scheduled to play Australia's Jason Stoltenberg, a semi-finalist in 1996, in the third match on the Centre Court, after Sampras has played Draper, and Venus Williams and Miriam Oremans have ensured that the women also set foot on the hallowed turf on the opening day.

According to the players' mantra, we should look no farther than the next match. A few years ago we would have had little alternative. Since 1995, however, Henman and Rusedski have given rise to a level of expectation that drives a pundit's index finger through the draw sheet.

On the face of it Henman, seeded No 6, has the less hazardous route: Chris Woodruff in the second round (provided the American beats Armenia's Sargis Sargsian); a Delgado in the third round (either Ramon, from Paraguay, ranked No 93, or Jamie, from Maidenhead, ranked No 367); Wayne Ferreira, Carlos Moya or Jim Courier in the fourth round; Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Karol Kucera, or Cedric Pioline in the quarter-finals; Sampras, Rusedski or Mark Philippousis in the semis.

Rusedski, seeded No 9, will be tested from the start. He will do well to overcome the 29-year-old Stoltenberg, who would have reached the final in 1996 had he not been blown away in the semi-finals by the Dutchman Richard Krajicek.

Although Rusedski has won four of his previous five matches against Stoltenberg, five of the last six sets they have played have gone to tie-breaks. Rusedski has won four of those, but his confidence would be served better by securing more sets like their last one: 6-4, on a medium-paced carpet in Paris last November.

Winning a difficult opening match can be the prelude to a major triumph and, once the second week starts, all the survivers fancy their chances. In the fourth round Rusedski is projected to collide mightily with Philippoussis. The Australian has improved considerably since losing their first round match in 1997 (like Rusedski, he has been a finalist at the United States Open). Whoever comes through Rusedski's section of the draw is likely to be confronted by Sampras in the quarter-finals. Any player who eliminates Sampras on his favourite strip of grass deserves to win the championship be it Rusedski, or Henman a round later.

Lest we think it is all over, beware. Whoever emerges from the lower half of the draw will be the second most dangerous man in SW19, be it Krajicek, primed for a second taste of glory; Andre Agassi, free of such intense pressure to succeed after his triumph at the French Open; Pat Rafter, who has the style, ability and determination, or Goran Ivanisevic, the world's most lethal bridesmaid.

Any of the above could be tripped by Todd Martin, the quiet American, or even dear old Boris Becker, whose grin would be bigger than Rusedski's. That seems doubtful, because Rusedski's smile will stretch from Montreal to Dewsbury if his booming serve and dogged spirit prove to be decisive. I have a sneaking feeling that Rusedski's name is on the tip of John Barrett's tongue.

Above all, we must hope the tournament generates as much excitement as the final weekend at the French Open, although temper-tantrums are optional.

The women's singles has produced some marvellous finals in recent times and the cast of characters suggests the trend will be continued.

Steffi Graf - healthy, wealthy (we trust) and wise - can look forward to a rapturous welcome when she steps on Court No 1 this afternoon for her opening round match against Ludmila Cervanova, ranked No 100, the first Slovakian-born player Graf has played since Martina Hingis was reduced to tears in Paris.

Jana Novotna, who has featured in many a weepy, literally jumped up and down yesterday when asked if her dodgy ankle would withstand the rigours of opening tommorow's Centre Court action as the defending champion.

Novotna, seeded No 5, is projected to meet a revitalised Natasha Zvereva, her doubles partner, in the fourth round (at least they would be on opposite sides of the net, with less chance of another accident), Lindsay Davenport, the United States Open champion, in the quarter-finals, and renew her rivalry with Hingis in the semi-finals. It will be interesting to see if Novotna is still leaping up and down by then.

Amanda Coetzer and Venus Williams are in Graf's quarter of the draw, and Monica Seles or Nathalie Tauziat, the runner-up last year, may provide the seven times champion's last hurdle before a rematch with Hingis.

Although that appears to be the perfect script, youth may outscore experience on this occasion, with Hingis defeating Williams in the final.

Should Hingis restore her reputation as the cleverest young player on the women's tour, it is to be hoped that she will go some way towards repairing the damage caused by her lack of self-control in Paris.

Lottie Dod, the only Wimbledon singles champion who was younger than Hingis, successfully represented Britain in a variety of sporting disciplines. Shortly before her death in Hampshire, aged 88, in 1960, Lottie was interviewed by a local newspaper reporter. The young man was fascinated by her vivid memories recalling sport in the Victorian age.

Before taking his leave, he made sure to check the spelling of her surname. "D-O-D," she confirmed.

"Only one D?" he double-checked.

"Yes," she said. "If one d is good enough for God, it's good enough for me."

A little humility goes a long way.