Christmas Eve....

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 3^rd 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!!!