Top Four Men All Healthy for Start of Wimbledon; Venus, Kvitova Favorites on Women's Site
ANDERSON: 10 to 8:00 here in the UAE. You're watching CNN. This is Connect the World. I'm Becky Anderson. See you in court: half a million people will be delighted to hear that this Monday as they get set to go to the world's most iconic tennis tournament: Wimbledon, where there are some burning questions this year. Could we see a Federer versus Nadal final? And will Serena Williams' sister Venus grab the spotlight just days after legal trouble over a fatal car crash. Christina Macfareland, my colleague, is so close to the action, she is practically on center court for us right now. Christina, tennis's big four expected to dominate the men's draw.</s>CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, Becky, that is the expectation, because the big four, as we've known them, and as we've known them for the past decade, that is Murray, Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are back as the top four seeds in this competition for the first time since 2014. Between the four of them they've swept the past 14 titles here at the All England Club. And earlier today, Andy Murray began the defense of his title on Centre Court. And he went through his first round quite easily in straight sets. He, of course, is tracing his third Wimbledon title here and also looking to retain his world number one spot over the next fortnight. And all this, of course, just 24 hours after it was announced that he'll be expecting his second baby as well. But I think a lot of the fans here very keen to see a Nadal-Federer final. They, of course, are the first two players to take the first two grand slams of the year, the Australian Open and the French Open, the 10th for Rafa Nadal. They -- if they are able to face each other in the final, it will be 11 years since they did so the first time around. It really is turning into a vintage year for this pair. And as Federer neatly summed up in his press conference yesterday, there are so many story lines around this year's championship, you don't know where to look and you don't quite know where the winner is going to emerge. Take a listen.</s>ROGER FEDERER, TENNIS STAR: It's very even, you know, when we put it all out on the line. Everybody has got their own little story right now, but I don't -- me, everything that happened sort of before in Queens for Andy or whatever doesn't matter so much because I feel like Andy is one of the best players in the first week of Wimbledon. So, I don't worry too much for him there and that he can play himself into shape hopefully for week two. Look, Novak is just coming back from (inaudible) now. Rafa is coming in red hot from the clay. So, I see positive for them rather than negative and some shape, which I'm sure people will try to see it that way, but I see that they are going to be tough to beat here.</s>RAFAEL NADAL, TENNIS STAR: I feel better, obviously, but always a (inaudible) I am able to play well from the beginning.</s>STAN WAWRINKA, TENNIS STAR: As you can see in every tournament, you have some great match, great tennis, Roger and Rafa coming back to the best level. That's always going to be something special. They've been here for so many years, winning so many titles. It's always amazing as a fan to watch them play. And you have the young generation pushing and pushing, becoming better every year. So, it's going to be, I'm sure, a big Wimbledon.</s>MACFARLANE: One other interesting nugget, Becky, is that the top four players ranked here, and the top four players -- the top five ranked players in the world, including Stan Wawrinka who you just saw there, now aged 30 or over, which is a first in the Open era. So it seems that experience counts for something.</s>ANDERSON: Such old me -- I'm joking. Whippersnappers still. Women's draw, then, it seems wide open with the absence of Serena Williams and Sharapova, of course.</s>MACFARLANE: Yeah, it certainly does seem that way. And I think in their absence all eyes are on the two former champions who are the only former champions to be playing this fortnight: Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova. Now, Venus Williams has been up on Court 1 and she has gone through her first round today, although it was somewhat troubling for her going to a tiebreak in the first set and not particularly easy. It was just 23 days ago now that she was involved in a car accident that lead to the death of a 78 year old man, something now she is facing a lawsuit against. And, you know, we haven't seen much of her in the buildup to this Wimbledon tournament and really the first time we've had the opportunity to talk to her and a question about her came in the past 10 minutes. She's been in her press conference. And I can tell you that when a question was put to her about that incident, she became visibly upset, her eyes misted over and she really couldn't speak. She actually had to leave the press conference and then come back again in order to -- and then continued to talk about the tennis. So, she is one of the main contenders here, as is Petra Kvitova, of course, back from that horrific knife attack and out on court right now one set up.</s>ANDRESON: Christina is in southwest London for you today. Thank you. From Venus, then, to Earth. We are always on our game, offering you news that is all encompassing. For more grand slamming news and features use the Facebook site, Facebook.com/CNNConnect. I'm Becky Anderson. That was Connect the World from me, the team in Atlanta, London, and here in Abu Dhabi as ever. Thank you for watching. CNN continues after this short break. END