Johan Kriek: Grass is definitely greener on the other side ... of the Atlantic

LONDON — Anticipation is building for today, the start of the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.

The qualifiers have been played, wild cards have been awarded, and seeds have been decided. The first ball of the first official match is to be served for the classic two-week event.

I arrived in England a week ago to play the Marsh Classic Senior tournament at the Hurlingham Club. The grass courts at Hurlingham are in great shape, which bodes well for the courts nearby at The All-England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.

The Marsh Classic is a favorite pre-Wimbledon senior event and I played some exciting exhibition matches with Illie Nastase, Mansour Bahrami, Peter McNamara, Henri Leconte, Thomas Muster, Mats Wilander and many other former top 10 pros.

French Open winner Rafael Nadal — ranked No. 2 in the world — played an exhibition match Friday at the Hurlingham Club. He is looking very sharp on the grass. Rafael is the first to admit that even though he won his second French Open two weeks ago, the title he wants most is Wimbledon. Since desire and determination are everything in tennis, he could be very dangerous this year. No one is safe.

Kriek

It is hard to believe, but this is my 27th Wimbledon. My partner, Kevin Curren, and I are gunning for our fourth consecutive Gentlemen's Over 45 Doubles title. It will be an interesting year.

PREDICTIONS: Despite Nadal's threat, I pick Roger Federer to win his fourth straight Wimbledon title. This puts him just one win away from the amazing five consecutive titles Bjorn Borg won in the early 1980s.

It will not be an easy task for Roger since he will have some serious competitors standing in his way. His first round is against French player Richard Gasquet — a very tough opponent.

England's hope for favorite son Tim Henman to survive to the finals (despite all the semifinals he has played in the past) seems hopeless. He is facing Federer in the second round — this is what I call a "bad draw!"

The only player in the field with a Wimbledon win against Federer is hard-serving Croatian Mario Ancic.

Ancic is not seeded this year, but if he gets to round 16, he will likely face Federer. That will be a "must watch" match.

The upper half of the draw is looking extremely interesting. With unpredictable American James Blake in this half, things are bound to heat up in the first week.

Andre Agassi is seeded 25th, and if he goes through his matches, he will play Nadal in the third round — another tough draw.

Actually, I would love to see these two great champs fight it out on grass — the last time for Agassi. Dare I say I think Agassi will beat Nadal? We will see.

Australian Lleyton Hewitt is playing great at the moment, winning his fourth title at the Queens Club over James Blake. He could very well be a contender for this year's final.

My dark horse for the tournament and undisputed best-looking guy on the tour is Feliciano Lopez from Spain. He is in the bottom half of the draw and is a "giant killer" as well as a "lady killer."

Feliciano is nothing like the regular clay court specialists you would expect from Spain. He is left-handed, has a wicked serve that is perfect for grass and has a great volley game. I just hope he does not spend too much time on his hair and get defaulted — or trip over one of his adoring female fans on the way to the court.

The ladies draw is a sea of Russian, Eastern European and Spanish players. There are no fewer than 14 Russians in the draw — that is more than 10 percent of the entire field of 128. Amazing!

Top seed Amelie Mauresmo of France has to be the favorite at this time; however, she could play fellow countrywoman Tatiana Golovin in the third round. This would be a tough one for Mauresmo.

Defending champion and fourth seed Maria Sharapova is also in the top half and will likely meet seventh seed Yelena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. Dementieva has had a chronic problem with her serve, so Sharapova should go on to the semis.

Bubbly Belgian Kim Clijsters is seeded second, and I predict she will have another head-to-head encounter with fellow Belgian Justin Henin-Hardenne in the semis.

If the Williams sisters start concentrating on tennis rather than fashion, celebrity-ism and TV careers on ER, they could be a threat at Wimbledon again ... but I am not holding my breath.

The most underrated dark horse is Martina Hingis. She is very focused on her comeback. Keep a close watch on Martina since, as they say, "Dynamite comes in small packages."

THE RUMOR MILL: Jimmy Connors has signed on to be a "consultant" this summer for the Andy Roddick camp. Hmmm ... very interesting is all I can say.

FUN FACTS: The battle for the "best fragrance" is on. (Hey, I am in England, so maybe I should call it the "War of the Noses.")

The sign of true star power seems to be having a signature scent. Sharapova is being pursued by sweet-smelling aromas from Roger Federer and a combination (no less) from Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. Does this make my Right Guard obsolete?

Oh, I almost forgot. It's official: retro is back. It seems that the old Bjorn Borg look of FILA clothing with short pants is making a comeback. (Thank you, thank you, thank you!) So, Nadal may be in trouble with his pirate pants ("peddle pushers?" "Capri pants?") and cutoff tops, but probably NOT!

On the other end of the spectrum, give praise to Wimbledon for its customary impeccable taste. Ralph Lauren has teamed with Wimbledon to revamp the clothes for all lines of people, including the ball kids. It looks fantastic. It is a great new look for everyone on the court from officials down to the ball kids.

Take that Serena Williams!

Enjoy the next two weeks and make sure you read my daily column. "Cheerio!" from merry olde, well, you know...

Johan Kriek holds two Australian Open Grand Slam singles titles and has won three Wimbledon "Over 45 Doubles" titles, as well as two consecutive U.S. Open Master Doubles titles. He currently works as Ambassador of Sport and Director of Tennis for WCI Communities.