With Nadal Out of Wimbledon, Federer Proceeds Warily

Roger Federer's prospects of reclaiming his Wimbledon crown, recapturing the No. 1 ranking and breaking Pete Sampras's record of 14 major titles brightened considerably with the withdrawal of the grass-court classic's defending champion, Rafael Nadal.

But as Wimbledon gets underway today on the lawns of the All England club, several challengers refuse to concede such a major point.

Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martín del Potro and American Andy Roddick may lack games as complete as Federer's, but each can sense the opportunity created by Nadal's absence. And each is eager to prove that, like Nadal, he, too, can rise to the standard set by the five-time Wimbledon champion and, if not derail the argument that Federer is the greatest player in history, at least delay the coronation.

Federer, 27, insists he can hear their footsteps and is taking no opponent lightly.

"There are so many guys who are dangerous and up-and-coming still," conceded Federer, who in Nadal's absence inherits the honor of opening play on Centre Court today. "Maybe it's hard for them to win the tournament, but on any given day they can create a huge upset."

In the women's game, the pressing question isn't which top players will show up for Wimbledon this year. Rather, it's who will show up mentally.

Top seed Dinara Safina was left in tears by her meltdown in the final of the French Open this month, losing all nerve and resolve when presented the opportunity to win her first major.

While Wimbledon officials have the prerogative of ignoring the world rankings in seeding the tournament, given the peculiar challenges of grass-court tennis, they chose to adhere to the computer-generating pecking order and install Safina as the top seed.

That, in turn, placed two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams as the second seed and defending and five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams third. Placed on opposite sides of the draw, the sisters could meet in the championship for a fourth time.

From there back, the women's field is littered with players who are rehabilitating from injury (2004 champion Maria Sharapova and 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic) or seeking to reclaim lost form (Serbia's Jelena Jankovic and new mom Kim Clijsters).

Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova, who steamrolled Safina in Paris, appears the sturdiest of the challengers. But it's hard to pick against Venus, whose physique and temperament are ideally suited to grass, which demands quick reflexes and a quick mind.

Even Serena, who concedes supremacy to no one, tips her elder sister as the favorite.