The grass season got one more tournament this year with the addition of Mercedes Cup being moved from clay to the green stuff. Besides this logical, but gutsy change, Halle and Queens became ATP 500 tournaments instead of ATP 250s. Conclusion: the grass season has gotten more oomph and more players are given more opportunities to prepare for Wimbledon.
One of the beauties of tennis is that every surface is so different. You can’t take the same approach to clay court tennis as you do to grass courts (read What you need to do to play well on grass) and it’s always been quite a challenge for players to quickly transition from one surface to the next during the intense tennis summer months.
Wimbledon is starting on the 29th and here are some things to ponder ahead of it:
Nadal’s form is still hard to predict. After winning Stuttgart, he lost in the first round in Queens to Dolgopolov. Grass court can be a penalty shootout and he should fare better in the best of five format, but if he comes up against a big hitter, life will not be easy for him.
Tennis reporter Matt Cronin tweeted that 2015 might be Roger Federer’s last real chance of claiming slam number 18. I still feel that as long as he plays competitively he will have a chance to lift the trophy on SW 19. His game is so well suited to grass courts and he has a spectacular record on the surface (7 Wimbledon and 8 Halle titles to start).
Will Djokovic’s confidence be dented after his surprising loss to Wawrinka in the RG final? His possible dream scenario of the winning all four slam titles was ruined and despite his amazing year so far, it must have been a major dampener of the mood. But he’s obviously still one of the favourites.
Murray won Queens for the fourth time and looks revitalized in 2015. He’s played great on both clay and grass courts and never really looked to be in trouble in Queens. I would claim Murray to be a bigger favourite than Djokovic to win Wimbledon. He’s much more comfortable on the surface, has a very positive vibe to his year so far and has worked harder than ever on his game.
Outsiders or fantastic four only? Hard to say. Troicki has played great, but reaching far in a slam seems beyond him to me. Big servers are always dangerous, like guys with a “cich” at the end of their name: Raonic, Berdych, Cilic and Karlovic. If they can get into the tournament with a few confident wins they have enough game to make trouble for the big four.
Nishikori? A more than consistent performer so far this year, but not exactly a grass court natural. I have a hard time seeing something special for him in Wimbledon.
The kids? Kyrgios, Kokkinakis, Zverev? A high possible upset rate, but I would say maximum fourth round for one of them.
Then we have the question of Dimitrov, one of the most written-about players on the ATP Tour. The big future star name who has had a mediocre year. Since tennis is all about confidence, it’s hard to see him changing this situation in a hard-fought and competitive tournament such as Wimbledon. I’ve previously urged for a coach change from Roger Rasheed and I still think that’s something that could be beneficial for him.
To summarize, I think the Wimbledon winner will be one of the big four and my favourite ahead of the tournament is Andy Murray.
But what do I know? Give me your own thoughts in the comments field.
