Lukas Rosol, and Sergiy Stakhovsky have both made Wimbledon history before, and they are back in the main draw via qualifying. Big hitter Daniel Brands should be dangerous on grass, and young gun qualifiers like Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas represent the future of the men’s game, a rain plagued Wimbledon men’s qualifying tournament had everything, and here is your complete look at the players who survived the week and are onto the main draw.
Rosol and Stakhovsky Look To Make More Wimbledon History
Lukas Rosol and Sergiy Stakhovsky have both made the Wimbledon third round before, Rosol did so by beating Rafael Nadal, and Stako did the same by beating Roger Federer, two legendary former champions. Having gone through qualifying, Rosol will open with Henri Laaksonen and is likely to get Gilles Muller round 2, while Stako will look to serve and volley past Julien Benneteau to setup a match against Kei Nishikori. Their form is likely enough to help them get out of round 1, but they’ll need some of that old school magic to reach round 3 or further.
Bublik, Fritz, and Brands Facing Big Tests
20 year old Alexander Bublik made his slam debut at the Australian Open this year, and now he gets the difficult ask of facing Andy Murray in the opening round. Bublik is rapidly improving but a lack of experience should doom him against the defending champion.
Despite easing through qualifying and having tour experience at 19, Taylor Fritz has never won a slam match, and will be at a disadvantage on grass against big serving countryman John Isner. Taking a set would be an accomplishment against the struggling Isner, but a maiden slam win will likely have to wait for the US Open.
A one-time fourth round participant at Wimbledon, Daniel Brands has the power in his groundstrokes, and a big enough serve to perform well on grass. That said, he’s struggled to return to the tour level in the past couple of seasons and despite beating the lucky loser Bublik 12-10 in the 5th set in final round qualifying, he should be at a disadvantage against current Eastbourne finalist Gael Monfils. Brands best hope against the athletic Monfils, a far superior mover, will be that the Frenchman comes up injured.
Bolelli and Travaglia Boost Italian Hopes
31 year old Simone Bolelli has only played two tour level matches this year, but the former top 40 player has reached the third round at Wimbledon multiple times and performed well enough in qualies to be the favorite against Rendy Lu. Bolelli will also have hope to upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in round 2, thanks to his quality ball striking.
His countryman, 25 year old Stefano Travaglia has won 90 matches over the past 2 years below the ATP level and came through qualifying from outside the top 200, despite all those signs of skill he’ll be an underdog against fellow qualifier Andrey Rublev, a talented young Russian.
Ofner, Jarry, and Alex Ward Unexpectedly Qualify
21 year old Sebastian Ofner is making his slam debut before his ATP tour debut, the young Austrian dropped three sets in three matches, but qualified anyway. Ofner is 30-16 this year, after going 72-29 last season. He’s certainly a name to watch, but facing tour veteran Thomaz Bellucci he’ll be an underdog. Ofner could be the next great Austrian player, building on what Dominic Thiem is doing on tour.
Nicolas Jarry made his debut representing Chile at the French Open, in his second career slam main draw he’ll face struggling French veteran Gilles Simon after edging through qualifying and dropping sets in his final two matches. Jarry is a young talent at 21, but grass is most likely his worst surface.
27 year old Alexander Ward is ranked outside the top 400, and the Brit has never won a tour level match but he beat a pair of tour veterans to qualify and now he gets to face his countryman Kyle Edmund in the opening round. Ward is a feel good story, but he’s ranked poorly for a reason.
Young Guns Whittington, Rublev, Garin, and Tsitsipas Looking for Breakthroughs
23 year old Aussie Andrew Whittington has been improving by leaps and bounds as of late, he made his slam debut in Melbourne this year and had three quality wins in qualifying, include a fifth set win in the final round to reach the main draw. Whittington will be favored against Thiago Monteiro in round 1, and will get either Karen Khachanov or Andrey Kuznetsov in round 2. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him in ATP main draws soon, especially if he can reach the third round. He’s surprisingly struggled a bit this season, with a 13-16 record after 56 wins last season.
19 year old Andrey Rublev will have taken part in every Grand Slam main draw after he faces Travaglia of Italy in round 1. Rublev will face Jordan Thompson or Albert Ramos in round 2, and has a great chance at making the third round given the draw. He’s rapidly rising on tour, and was a favorite to qualify, he also already has a slam win under his belt.
21 year old Christian Garin was not favored to come through qualifying but did so anyway with a 12-10 5th set win, Garin is making his Grand Slam debut, he’ll be a heavy underdog against Jack Sock, but should compete hard.
18 year old Greek hope Stefanos Tsitsipas has four losses on tour this year but far from losing hope, he has a winnable match against Dusan Lajovic after coming through qualifying with a five set win, and a win from a set down. Tsitispas has a big enough game to already compete at the tour level, and the time will come when he’s a legitimate ATP contender.
The Rest of the Qualifiers
Fringe ATP player Ruben Bemelmans has won a match at Wimbledon before but he lacks a tour win this season. He’ll be a clear underdog against veteran Tommy Haas after playing nine sets of tennis in qualifying.
Despite a poor 9-14 match record this season, Illya Marchenko has a top 100 caliber game and will have a chance against Jiri Vesely in round 1. Marchenko won at match at Wimbledon 2010, and he’d love to nab another well into his tennis career.
Peter Gojowczyk is making his Wimbledon debut, the 27 year old German has won matches at the US Open before, blazed through qualifying, and likes fast surfaces. With a 24-11 record this year, he will have every shot against Marius Copil in round 1.
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