Mal's Picks
	Washington Former ATP Tour pro MaliVai Washington is providing ESPN.com with in-depth analysis during Wimbledon. Washington, a tennis analyst for ESPN, reached the 1996 Wimbledon final.

How strange is Wimbledon right now? Every year since 1923, an American has been in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, and when Jeff Morrison lost in the third round, that streak was broken. With that said, a guy who has never won a major before will win, unless Lleyton Hewitt can live up to his seeding.

You have to look at the tennis Hewitt has played thus far and think that he's the heavy, heavy favorite to advance because he hasn't lost a set in the championship.

Lleyton Hewitt (1), Australia, vs. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia
Hewitt takes on Youzhny, who is ironically playing very good on grass again. For the second straight year he's made the round of 16, but he hasn't been on Centre Court yet. When he gets on Centre Court it will be the biggest match of his career. If he can handle the pressure and play the tennis that he's played on grass the past two years, he has a shot at beating Hewitt, albeit a small shot.
Pick: Hewitt

Sjeng Schalken (18), Netherlands, vs. Jan Vacek, Slovakia
These are two of the most unlikely round of 16 opponents. They are two players who in their careers have played good tennis, but it's hard to believe one of the two are going to be in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

Schalken in his career has been a solid player, but he's never been one to win a lot of tournaments. He's never been a player to push for the Top 20 in the world. It's great to see a veteran make his first fourth round of a major and to do it at the biggest tournament in the world -- Wimbledon.

I hope Vacek doesn't walk out onto the court content with what he's done already: Coming into 2002 he'd never won a match at at Grand Slam. He should look at a round of 16 match as a huge opportunity to advance to the quarterfinals of a major. He needs to be hungry.
Pick: Schalken

Tim Henman (4), Great Britain, vs. Michel Kratochvil, Switzerland
There's no way in the world that Henman should not make it to the semifinals of this year's Wimbledon. The only person that I see stopping him on his way to the final is Lleyton Hewitt. Regardless of how Kratochvil plays, Tim Henman wins this match.
Pick: Henman

Feliciano Lopez, Spain, vs. Andre Sa, Brazil
There's no such thing as an easy draw when you're making your way through a Grand Slam, but without question these two have had the good fortune of playing players that they legitimately have a great shot of beating every time they get on the court.

With the exception of Lopez playing Guillermo Canas, who was seeded 10th, but who also is a Spaniard, Lopez had a relatively smooth road to the 16s. But, Andre Sa, like Lopez, is having his best Grand Slam ever.
Pick: Toss-up

Xavier Malisse (27), Belgium, vs. Greg Rusedski (23), Britain
Greg Rusedski said in his press conference that he feels he's one of the players to beat in this tournament. Rusedski has never lacked confidence and he doesn't mind telling people. Now is the time for him to back up his words.

We've always known that with his huge serve he was a legitimate threat at Wimbledon. If he plays controlled, aggressive tennis the way he did against Andy Roddick, he'll beat Malisse. But Malisse is young and he's flashy with a lot of talent and also doesn't lack confidence, which can be a dangerous combination.
Pick: Rusedski

Mark Philippoussis, Australia, vs. Richard Krajicek, Netherlands
This will be the matchup of the returning wounded -- Philippoussis off of his knee problems and Krajicek off of his knee and elbow problems.

They are always dangerous when they are on grass for one reason: their serves.

Krajicek was very fortunate to get past James Blake in the second round and since then he's just kind of cruised through. Philippoussis has had the tougher draw and is certainly playing better tennis now than he has in 12 months. He made a very bold statement earlier this year when he said his goal this year is to win Wimbledon. He said he thought it would be a shame if he didn't win Wimbledon at some point in his career. Now is his time to show what he can do because this matchup will be the toughest of the tournament.
Pick: Philippoussis

David Nalbandian (28), Argentina, vs. Wayne Arthurs, Australia
Nalbandian has got to be riding pretty high right now. Coming into 2002, he'd only played one Grand Slam in his career, and now he finds himself in the round of 16. But Wayne Arthurs in one of those players who I thought at the beginning of the tournament could be a dangerous threat to anyone because his serve is so big and it's not very often that you play lefty's on the tour. If his serve is clicking, he should not only beat Nalbandian but also move on to the semifinals.
Pick: Arthurs

Nicolas Lapentti (22), Ecuador, vs. Arnaud Clement, France
Clement last year was a surprise finalist at the Australian Open. For a guy who is very low-key, doesn't make a lot of commotion at tournaments, you don't hear his name a lot as a favorite, he's quietly made his way to the second week of Grand Slams pretty consistently in the last year and a half. No one was talking about him coming into this year's Wimbledon, but for the second year in a row he's in the round of 16. Clement's got to be the favorite against Lapentti who prior to this year had never been past the second round at Wimbledon.

Most of this match will be played from the baseline and very seldom do you see that on men's tennis in grass. Neither spends a lot of time coming to the net to attack. Even though Lapentti's the 22nd seed, I was impressed with Clement's performance over Todd Martin in the second round, I would never have predicted that. To beat Martin, Clement's got to be playing well. He will keep his momentum going through to the quarterfinals -- but don't expect this match to be two hours or less, expect it to go four hours.
Pick: Clement