Wimbledon’s 2010 edition isn’t a full five days old, and the World Cup doesn’t start the elimination round until Saturday, but the likelihood of one country producing champions from both events is fading.
Through Friday’s early action at Wimbledon, only six of the 14 countries that emerged from group play still had a player alive in singles competition.
The swan dives of Italy and France in group play left Germany and the United States with the most players left in Wimbledon and a team alive in the Cup.
The U.S. is an odds-on favorite to produce the women’s champ (Serena or Venus Williams), but the American soccer squad is a 33-1 long shot to win the title.
Germany is 10-1 to win, but of the six German players still alive at Wimbledon, four are unseeded. Men’s No. 29 Phillipp Kohlschreiber will battle fifth-seeded Andy Roddick today, and No. 33 Philipp Petzschner must take on second-seeded Rafael Nadal tomorrow.
On paper, Spain has the best shot of producing a winner from both events. The Spanish bring Nadal, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez to the table, along with one of the pre-tournament favorites to win the World Cup.
The Spanish side takes on Chile Friday. Wins by Spain and Switzerland would put the two teams in a three-way tie with Chile at six points.
The Swiss winning the World Cup would be a shocker on par with native son Roger Federer not reaching the finals of men’s singles.
Brazil is more intriguing, pairing the most successful side in World Cup history with Thomaz Bellucci, who went four rounds deep at the French.
And then there’s England. The British haven’t celebrated a Wimbledon champion since Virginia Wade in 1977, and have been without a male champion since 1936.
England’s soccer squad hasn’t taken the world championship since 1966. They start the elimination stage Sunday against nemesis Germany, while fourth-seeded Andy Murray carries the weight of the country’s tennis fanatics on his shoulders.
UPDATE: Moments ago, Spain defeated Chile 2-1 and Switzerland tied Honduras 0-0 meaning Spain and Chile advance to the elimination stage.
Keep up to date with all the latest updates from Wimbledon at Tennisnow.com.
Posted: 6/25/2010 10:46:05 AM by
Adam Shrum | Filed under: brazil, cup, england, federer, ferrer, football, france, germany, italy, lopez, murray, nadal, netherlands, rafael, roddick, roger, serena, soccer, states, united, venus, williams, wimbledon, world, andy