With the draw finally out and some very interesting clashes waiting patiently in the wings; just what can we expect from Wimbledon 2014?
World number two, and current Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has, respectfully, been seeded number one for this year’s Wimbledon Championships, and recent French open champion Rafael Nadal comes in as number two seed, so where does that leave defending champion Andy Murray; who finds himself ranked at world number five. Murray comes into Wimbledon seeded third, and a possible mouth-watering semi-final opponent of Novak Djokovic, can he go all the way again? One thing is certain, like every year all of the United Kingdom will be backing him.
Last month’s French open final proved to be one of the most physical, emotional and entertaining matches of the year so far, is there any reason to doubt that world number’s one and two, Nadal and Djokovic will be red-hot favourites to be in the men’s final, perhaps only a handful of players can enter the fray and disrupt that, but who? The biggest threat to the title outside of Nadal and Djokovic is of course Andy Murray or seven-time champion, and grass court legend, Roger Federer, anyone who knows tennis, knows better than to write off the ailing Swiss maestro when he steps onto a grass court. Can anyone else really be considered a title contender? With young guns Ernests Gulbis and Milos Raonic making great inroads into the French Open, perhaps they come into the tournament as dark horses, and why not? With massive serves, huge backhands and booming forehands perhaps it’s worth keeping an eye out for these two emerging talents throughout the two weeks.
Lurking dangerously in Andy Murray and sixth seed David Ferrer’s quarter of the draw is recent Queen’s champion, young Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, many people’s prediction for a future world number one and grand slam champion. Can the youngster make real marks in this tournament or is a good showing at a grand slam too big of a step up from winning a 250 tournament at this stage of his career? All things considered, he’ll have considerable amount of attention throughout. Other possible names to look out for in the men’s draw to cause an upset are flamboyant Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Gael Monfils, who always put on a show no matter where in the world they are, and finally not forgetting big serving Czech, and former finalist, Tomas Berdych, who is seeded to meet Novak Djokovic in the QF’s, another juicy clash to look forward too.
On the Women’s side, is there really anyone else to look to but Serena Williams; with her massive serve, great athleticism and a competitiveness that at times cannot be beaten, despite her early loss at the French Open, she most definitely comes into the Championships as a heavy favourite, perhaps second only to Russia’s Maria Sharapova. For the second time The Russian enters Wimbledon as the French Open Champion, and yet again she finds herself in the same section of the draw as her most formidable opponent, Serena Williams, so one thing is for certain, there will definitely be a great chance for someone on the opposing side of the draw to make the finals, possibly even win.
The bottom half of the women’s draw looks to be a very interesting half, with no clear favourite to reach the final, other than third seed, Romanian Simona Halep, but with all the pressure on her to back up her recent grand slam final appearance, this is time to see what the young gun is actually made of. Also lurking in the bottom half of the draw are eighth seed, Victoria Azarenka, sixth seed and former Champion Petra Kvitova and current Australian Open Champ Li Na. Will one of them make a dash for the final? Given recent form it would be hard to see any of the them making it to the final Saturday of the tournament, but as is the nature of women’s tennis the game is always unpredictable, so watch this space!
So with England firmly out of the world cup all British hopes once again rest on Andy Murray’s shoulders, perhaps even more than ever before, he comes into this year’s tournament as defending champion, can he stay that way two weeks from now? Only time will tell, all I can say is, ready, begin play!
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