Its that time of the year again in Tennis where we will get to witness the stars of the game going head-to-head at the All England Club to get their hands on the trophy of one of the most recognized and prestigious tournaments in the sports world.
The immaculate grass and the all-white dress code has left a distinct image in the minds of people since years and still attracts them in large numbers. Wimbledon is all set to start on July 3 at the All England Club in London and the fans are as excited as always.
Here are the key things you need to know now that the draws are out.
Men’s Preview
The top seed and defending champion Andy Murray surely doesn’t go in as the favourite in the tournament who is not in the best touch after being handed a shock defeat at Queen’s in the first round by Jordan Thompson.
However, we have seen the best of Murray at Wimbledon in the past few years and he hasn’t failed to make it to the quarter finals of the tournament since 2006 and has won the title twice.
A potential quarter final against Stanislas Wawrinka is on the cards for Murray, giving him an opportunity to seek redemption for the semi final loss against the swiss at Roland Garros.
The second seed, Novak Djokovic isn’t in the best form of his life and desperately needs an inspirational performance to lift him up. Djokovic didn’t do well in last year’s Wimbledon and had exited in the third round.
The form slump that the Serb is going through has made him to participate in Eastbourne to play a warm-up tournament on grass for the first time since 2010. But the draws have not made things any easier for him.
He could meet the tall argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro in the third round which promises to be a mouth watering battle.
The comeback of Roger Federer has been nothing less than a fairy-tale and the Swiss would be hoping to continue his good form to clinch the Wimbledon Trophy for a record eighth-time surpassing Pete Sampras.
He defeated Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open Final and there are good chances that we will get to witness one of the greatest rivalries in Tennis again in this year’s Wimbledon Final.
The road to the final isn’t going to be so easy for him as Grigor Dimitrov is a potential fourth round match for Federer. But given the form that he is in, it’s safe to say that he would at least make it to the semi-finals.
Coming to the fourth seed, Rafael Nadal who is looking threatening as ever after clinching the 10th French Open(without dropping a set!) at this year’s Roland Garros.
History is also in his favour as the Spaniard had won his two Wimbledon titles after he won the french open without dropping a set. Nadal is expected to meet the 21-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov, a promising youngster with a menacing serve in the third round.
A quarter final clash against Marin Cilic is also on the cards. All things said, if the spaniard gets his touch in the initial rounds on grass, there is little anyone could do to break his rhythm.
Apart from the top four, Stanislas Wawrinka always remains a major contender for any slam. However his movement has not been proven to be suited on fast grass which has been the reason why he has never been beyond the quarterfinals of the grand slam.
Besides him, the likes of Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem and Marin Cilic would also be raring to go hard at their opponents and could trigger potential upsets.
Women’s Preview
The Wimbledon ladies’ title is up for grabs for anyone this year. The world number one Angelique Kerber is going through a form slump and the defending champion Serena Williams is not participating owing to her pregnancy.
Maria Sharapova will also not feature in the slam as she is recovering from injury.
Petra Kvitova is a major contender for this year’s title as she has made a spirited comeback from a hand injury which she suffered when she was attacked at her home in Czech Republic last year.
She took part in the French Open but didn’t go further than the second round. She made her return to the grass courts and won the title in Birmingham in preparation for Wimbledon.
Despite of all her struggles, she has the vigour and potential to clinch this year’s Wimbledon title.
Angelique Kerber suffered a shock exit at Roland Garros in the first round making her the first world number one in sixteen years to exit a grand slam in the first round.
Things haven’t improved for Kerber as she was defeated by Johanna Konta at the AEGON international. Such results in the build up to Wimbledon has further dampened her hopes of making an impact this year at the All England Club.
There will be a lot of expectations from Simona Halep to go deep into the WImbledon this year despite having given away a great opportunity to win the French Open after choking against Jelena Ostapenko in the final.
Venus Williams will look to set her focus back to tennis after she was involved in a tragic car accident earlier last month.
The third seed, Karolina Pliskova has performed well in her last three majors making it to the finals, quarters and the semis and could be a potential threat to others. Caroline Wozniacki, Elina Svitolina and Johanna Konta are all players to watch out for.
All eyes would be on Jelena Ostapenko as she prepares for Wimbledon as a grand slam champion. It would be interesting to see how she copes up with this pressure. There is no doubt about her ability to win matches after her great show at the Roland Garros.
The expectations like always are pretty high for this year’s Wimbledon too and considering how open both the Men’s and Women’s divisions are, the tennis that is going to be played for the upcoming two weeks promises to enthral the legions of fans it has around the world.
