(Probable) Road to the Gentlemen's Final for the "Big 4"

The first two rounds of the 125th Wimbledon Championships are in the books
with no major upsets thus far. Here is a look at (potential) later round
matches for the "Big 4" en route to the Final:

[1] Nadal:
3R - Muller
4R - Del Potro
QF - Berdych
SF - Murray

[4] Murray:
3R - Ljubicic
4R - Gasquet
QF - Roddick
SF - Nadal

------------------------

[3] Federer:
3R - Nalbandian
4R - Almagro
QF - Tsonga
SF - Djokovic

[2] Djokovic:
3R - Baghdatis
4R - Llodra
QF - Soderling
SF - Federer

Wimbledon "Big 4" Ranking Projections

Here are the "Big 4" ranking projections for Wimbledon:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ArXMd59RqOuFdG5QclF3QXMwSG9vRlVhM0JiSG84Q2c&output=html


The scenarios are a repeat of last month's French Open:
- Djokovic will be No. 1 if he reaches the Final, or if Nadal doesn't defend his title.
- Even if Murray wins the tournament and Federer loses in the first round, Murray cannot overtake Federer in the rankings.

"Big 4" at the French Open Semis Ends with Nadal Still No. 1

The parity in the men's game does not often allow the top four seeds to be in the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament. For the first time since 2006, the "Big 4" came through at this year's edition of the French Open.

The Nadal-Murray and Djokovic-Federer semifinals produced some of the best, if not the best, tennis this season. Not to be outdone, the Nadal-Federer final was the most competitive match these two champions have played on the red clay of Roland Garros.

In the end, after all was said and done, the status quo had been preserved. Nadal came out on top, winning his 6th French Open title and keeping his No. 1 ranking along with it. Federer made it happen for Nadal by beating Djokovic in the semifinals, ensuring that Djokovic won't be the new No. 1 and snapping Novak's 43-match winning streak in the process. It goes without saying that Nadal was more comfortable playing Federer, rather than Djokovic, in the final.

Here's to hoping that the "Big 4" comes through again at Wimbledon. Something tells me it's going to be Rafa vs. Roger once more in the championship match, should they land in the opposite sides of the draw, that is. It remains to be seen whether Djokovic or Murray has enough fight in them to reach the final of a non-Hard Court major. (Djokovic has two Australian Open titles to his name and two US Open runner-up trophies; Murray is a losing finalist at the Australian Open twice and at the US Open once.)