Here we are again folks: it’s that time of year. Excitement and
anticipation is bubbling up within you, simmering under your skin as you try to
sleep until it reaches boiling point and you can physically wait no longer.
Like a child desperate to unwrap their gifts and hoping to sneak a peak of the
man himself. Twas the night before….the Championships Wimbledon?!?
Yes, it’s Wimbledon Eve everyone and that means one thing
only! It is time for unnecessary pre-tournament analysis and predictions that
will most likely not come true!! Yay!!! But we do it
anyway because somehow to just watch and enjoy the matches for what they are
would be too simple….so let’s start!
There is no better place to start than with this year’s top
seed, defending champion and world number 1: Andy Murray. Sorry, Sir Andrew Murray. A two time Wimbledon winner
already, both of which victories were completed in stunning straight sets.
Furthermore, he has literally just announced that he and wife, Kim, are
expecting a second child. When he steps on centre court tomorrow to open play
the whole crowd will be behind him and his draw looks reasonable as he is guaranteed
to avoid Federer and Djokovic until the final. When you put it like that…
chances sound good! But wait one minute…in a year already hampered by injury,
more doubt surrounds his recently sustained hip injury which saw him pull out
of two exhibition matches. He was even seen with a slight limp during a
practise session. Perhaps worryingly, he has lacked competitive grass court
matches since losing to Jordan Thompson at his first outing. This lack of play
could prove costly unless he can play himself in to the tournament. I don’t
think he will win but it is not impossible.
Rafael Nadal
comes in as the French Open champion. Winning ‘La Decima’ he looked in supreme
form but since then there have been no sightings of the lesser spotted Rafa!
Basically, it’s hard to know where his grass court game is right now because he
has not showed us. This could be smart from Nadal in the respect that most
pundits seem to be talking more about Federer and Murray. This takes
expectation from Nadal which may relieve him of pressure and allow him to sneak
his way to the latter stages where it would be hard to bet against him. It also
means he is likely well rested and ready to come out fresh. Or…it could
backfire badly! Nadal has a history of early exits at Wimbledon which will have
no doubt affected his confidence on grass. His lack of match play could make
him very vulnerable to a first week upset. My gut feeling says quarter-finalist.
Novak Djokovic is
a mixed signal. He swings between looking dangerous and vulnerable from week to
week. However, he is the second seed and a three time Wimbledon champ. This is
talent that does not evaporate overnight! He does come into this tournament
with the Eastbourne trophy under his belt: a much needed confidence boost. In
fact, he won the 250 series title without losing a set. This is an encouraging
sign that his grass court game is in good shape. What will stop Novak will
probably be his mental/emotional focus during the tournament. This we cannot
yet predict. However, in Eastbourne he looked settled and happy. He has spoken
about feeling liberated and only has to equal last year’s 3rd round
defeat to break even in terms of points. This could definitely take the
pressure off and assist his Wimbledon bid. He has enlisted the help of Mario
Ancic alongside Andre Agassi which could also help inspire him. However, the
announcement was last minute which suggests that the new team hasn’t spent much
time together. This could be an issue. His draw looks pretty tough. At best, I
think Djokovic can make the semi-finals this year and he would probably take
that result gladly.
Roger Federer. He
has won too many Wimbledon matches to list in his career. He comes in as winner
from Halle. He is quite good on grass! Enough said. Very strong chance indeed.
Could lift the trophy.
Funnily enough, if you’d asked me a couple of months ago
what my gut feeling was about Wimbledon I would have whispered to you: ‘I think
Stan Wawrinka will win…’ As I write
this now, I don’t know what my gut was thinking that week! I must have ate
something a little funky. There is no reason to suspect he has a chance.
Wawrinka looks uncomfortable on grass. He does not talk like someone who
believes he has a chance. He showed no sign of form at Queens. Yet, still I can’t
shake the feeling that he may pleasantly surprise! He showed no form before he
made it all the way to the French Open final, after all….? In reality, he
probably won’t win but I hope he makes the semis and surprises everyone.
The best of the rest?
Thiem….not
yet! Not never, but not yet.
Zverev could cause problems but
probably won’t win in 2017.
Same for Kyrgios.
Raonic won’t repeat last year’s
appearance in the finals.
My surprise candidate? Dimitrov may do better than expected!! My outside bet? If anyone outside the
big 5 wins, it will probably be Marin Cilic!
I think he will make the semis.
The best thing to remember? Christmas is only one day…..Wimbledon
is two weeks long…so enjoy the festivities!!!
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