Wimbledon Men's Preview
Wimbledon tennis championships encapsulate the British summer and the eyes of the sporting world will once again be focused the luscious grass courts in South West London. The question remains who will take home the grand prize at this year’s championships; Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal once again head the field on contenders at the 2019 championships. They will have to contend with threats throughout the tournament.
Novak Djokovic
The world number one and number one seed at Wimbledon will be looking to secure his 16thGrand Slam and his fifth at Wimbledon. The 33-year-old Serbian looks to continue his terrific year and follow up with his second Grand Slam of the season after having won the Australian Open in January. For, Djokovic the tournament, the seedings and the draw do not affect his mindset, “For me the goal is the same always: it doesn’t matter if I’m second or third. [But tennis] is not only about grass. The season is not only on grass. All the players work so hard to be where they are, then arrive here, they see [they might be] in a tougher draw because of that.”
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is already the most successful male tennis player history and despite being 37-years-old he is striving for his ninth Grand Slam at the All England Club. Federer is ranked third in the world and is in great form on grass courts after winning at Halle last month. This tournament win lead to him being ranked number 2 at Wimbledon and makes him a major threat to once again lift the trophy at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal won the last the last Major, winning his twelfth Rolland Garros title and his 16thGrand Slam. Nadal will be looking to win his second consecutive Major of the season but only his 3rdWimbledon title. Despite Nadal being ranked higher in the world rankings than Federer he is the third seed in the tournament due to the seedings being based on your form on grass courts. This has led to Nadal voicing his displeasure at the ranking system, “doesn't seem right”. To make matters worse Nadal faces the toughest draw out of the three major contenders with him potentially facing the erratic Nick Kyrgios in the second round. He, however, believes this is a blessing in disguise, “I won 2010 I think here after a very, very tough first couple of rounds. Sometimes that helps, especially in this event, that you arrive here without playing much on this surface.”
The Dark Horses:
There are multiple threats to the big three in this tournament with the biggest coming from the 2018 finalist Kevin Anderson. The 6 foot 8 South African is seeded number 4 in the tournament and with his big powerful serve poses a real threat and could once again cause a big upset in Wimbledon. Anderson believes there is no guarantee this year despite his performance last year, “I’m sure there will be some special memories going back there, but, first and foremost, it’s a new year and a new opportunity. It doesn’t really matter what happened last year when you’re on the match courts.”
Another big server Marin Čilič will be looking to upset the tournament favourites. The tall, rangy Croatian will once again be looking to prove his tennis pedigree in the major tournaments. He will look to compete in his second Wimbledon final and add to his sole US Open Grand Slam.
Alexander Zverev, the young German star, will be aiming to win his first major title. This, however, is a difficult task as he is ranked number 6 in the tournament and will have a tough road to the final. He will be relying on his powerful hitting and the big serve that he possesses to cause an upset this year at Wimbledon.
British number one Kyle Edmund is very confident in his ability and believes that this could be his year to claim his maiden Grand slam title, “I believe that. I know I have the game for it. There's a point where you really have to start believing it if you want to do it”. The 24-year-old Brit who is seeded 30this looking to carry his great from into Wimbledon after a recent semi-final loss at Eastbourne.
