The oldest tennis tournament is all set to kick off at the Lawns of Wimbledon. Players will be looking for some motivation and momentum ahead of the Olympics. Big names like Nadal, Sharapova and Azarenka will be missing this year’s tournament.
There are possibilities of history being made in this year’s Wimbledon. Novak’s triumph will make him the first man to hold five consecutive grand slam titles. Roger Federer will become the first man to win 8 Wimbledon titles if he wins July 10 final. Serena may win her 22nd Grand Slam title to stay level on top with Steffi Graff.
Men’s Singles:
Last two years of Wimbledon final was Novak Vs Roger, and Novak Djokovic claimed the title on both the occasions. But this time, these two may face early in the semi finals.
Roger has seen a dip in his form after the back injury which forced him to quit the French Open. He has not won more than two consecutive matches since his return from the injury. This is also the first time in 11 years that Federer has not reached the final at Halle.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori will pose a serious threat to Roger Federer if they potentially face in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic on the other hand is on peak of form after claiming the Australian Open and French Open already this year. Novak will be the favorite to win the clash. He will try to become the first man since Roger (2003-07) to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles.
He will also have an eye on becoming the first man since Rod Laver to claim the ‘Calendar Slam’. Big serving Canadian, Raonic will be the toughest hurdle in Djokovic’s path.
The other half of the men’s draw consists of a pack of ‘Dark horses’. These players have the potential to make major upsets. Wawrinka- Murray may meet at the semi finals. Murray’s form and draw should make his progress till the semi final an easy one. His biggest threat on the path will be Nick Kyrgios, who has shown his capability to win on big occasions. Murray will have high confidence after winning Queensland title. He can reach finals easily if he can maintain the momentum for two weeks.
Wawrinka does not have an easy passage. Fritz, his first round opponent will be a tricky player to handle. If he gets through the initial rounds, Theim will be his potential last 8 opponent. Theim defeated Roger at Stuttgart semis and eventually won the title. He also reached semi finals at Halle.
Women’s draw:
Serena’s wait to tie all time Grand slam title record is getting longer. Her last Grand Slam victory was here a year back. She has lost 2 finals and semi final at majors after that. After easy initial rounds, her major hurdle will be in the 4th round where she will meet Roberti Vinci.
Serena’s only loss against Vinci came in last year’s US open semifinal. Sarena may pass the test, but with few hick ups. Her next competitive opponent will be the World number 3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi finals. Serena has won all 10 matches against her so far. Considering her current form another grand slam final seems to be a sure one.
The other half has some big names and stiff competition. World number 2 and the French Open winner Gabrine Muguruza will not be having an easy path to reach her second consecutive Wimbledon final.
She may face a bunch of former top 10 players, the most important being Venus Williams. The eldest of Williams sisters showed some signs of her past best by improving to 6th in the rankings. Venus will be looking to add her first major title since winning 2008 the US Open.
World number 4 Kerber, this year’s Australian Open winner, has seen a big dip in form since her the Australian Open win. She has not reached a single tour final after that. It will not be an upset if she does not reach the second week of the tournament.
Madison Keys will be a player to watch this Wimbledon. The Word number 10 has made a steady progress since her Wimbledon quarterfinal last year. She will look to reach deeper rounds this year. Her service has seen a vast improvement over the year and grass courts are surely going to make those serves a better weapon for her.
Indians:
Indians are having many chances of titles this time. Martina Hingis will try to win women’s doubles and Mixed doubles titles with Sania Mirza and Leander Paes respectively. Leander will look to go deep into men’s doubles to try gaining some form and confidence ahead of the Olympics. World number 10 Rohan Bopanna will also look to improve his performance ahead of the Olympics. A good performance here will certainly boost India’s medal chances at Rio Olympics.
You may also like reading
