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By Chris Oddo | Saturday, June 27, 2015

 
Novak Djokovic Wimbledon 2015

Now that Stan's shorts have withdrawn from Wimbledon, whose title is it to win?

Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty

The Friday before Wimbledon is a Manic time. Draws full of names beckon to tennis fans, saying “Tell me who is going to win and why!!!” Previews are everywhere—on TV, on Twitter, in the newspaper, written in the sky and painted on billboards—and talking heads are frothing at the mouth, eager to give you their dark horses and upset specials.

More: Wimbledon Men's Singles Preview | Wimbledon Women's Singles Preview

Us? We’re no different at Tennis Now. We just want to tell you all how excited we are about Wimbledon, 2015. And what better way to do that than talk about the draws, so here goes…

Is Novak Djokovic’s draw really that easy? 1st-round Kohlschreiber, who’s a proven grass-court player. Second-round Hewitt, who is a former champion playing Wimbledon for the last time. Third round Tomic, who is a better player than he was when he reached the quarterfinals in 2011. All draws are easy for Novak Djokovic, relatively speaking. But those three opponents don’t strike me as “cupcakes.”

On the other hand: Yes, Andy Murray’s draw is that difficult. If Tsonga, Nadal and Federer keep their ends of the bargain, Murray will have to really come up with some princely tennis to even make the final.

Serena v. Venus slated for Manic Monday tilt: How great would it be to see 21 Wimbledon titles combined (10 singles, 5 doubles for each plus Serena’s mixed dubs) square off against one another in the round of 16? There’s much tennis between now and the round of 16, but the draw gods delivered what could be an epic sisterly battle if the “seeds hold.”

Players who really could use a pick-me-up performance at Wimbledon: Grigor Dimitrov needs to dig deep and battle through some matches here. Otherwise the vibe going into the rest of the year will be horrible. Same for Eugenie Bouchard. She’s lost 10 of 12, but an upside surprise (at this point is that 3rd-round?) is essential. Others? Simona Halep can’t afford a flop on the women’s side. She’s built too much momentum in the last year to see it all tumble down in two majors.



Stan Wawrinka is playing with house money: After winning Roland Garros, the Stanimal can do whatever he wants. He shouldn’t feel pressure—he doesn’t need to. He should just go out there, serve big and hit out and see what happens. If he plays 92 percent as well as he did at Roland Garros he’ll reach the semifinals.

Thing that surprises me: Maria Sharapova has only been past the round of 16 once since 2006. In her first three Wimbledons she went title, semi, semi. Since then she is 21-8 with a final to her name.

Andy Murray looks like the best grass-courter in the world: With an 83-16 career record on the surface, Murray is second only to Roger Federer among active ATP players in grass winning percentage. Plus, he’s in his prime age-wise. But looking like the world’s best grass-courter and being it are two different things. Besides, why debate? The Wimbledon winner is the world’s best grass-court player. That was Novak Djokovic last year, and it has been Roger Federer seven times since 2003. So Murray’s got something to prove. Plus the ghost of Fred Perry keeps saying na na na na na—I’ve got three Wimbledon titles and 8 majors!

Don’t count Rafa out: If there’s one advantage of losing at Roland Garros, it’s getting a lot of rest before Wimbledon. This year Nadal had a few extra days after Paris, and he’s also benefitting from the three-week grass season. He showed good form in winning the Stuttgart title, and we’re not so sure we should read too much into his loss to Dolgopolov at Queen’s a few days later. From where we’re sitting, Nadal has been steadily improving since the season began. Expect Rafa to meet Murray in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and don’t necessarily expect him to lose that match.

Is Belinda Bencic playing too well? One of the greatest story on the women’s side this grass season has been the consistent, elevated play of Belinda Bencic. Just 18, the Swiss is serving better than she ever has, and has clearly taken to the grass more than any other surface. But after Saturday she has played 13 matches in three weeks. Granted, she’s had two final runs in three events, but what will she have left when she faces the extremely dangerous Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round at SW19?


Can you picture a Sabine Lisicki-Petra Kvitova quarterfinal? If you can, we’re a lot alike. Lisicki has reached the quarters in five of her last six Wimbledons, including a trip to the final and a semi. She’s flat-out amazing at this event, and she could very well win it one day.

Madison Keys has a great draw: But then again, she has one grass-court match under her belt, and in it she was thumped by Belinda Bencic, 6-2, 6-2. Recently recovered from a debilitating illness that hit her after the French, is Keys in good enough form to capitalize on that draw?

Does it really matter if a player does well in a tune-up? Sam Querrey is playing the Nottingham final tomorrow? Does it mean anything? Stan Wawrinka lost to Kevin Anderson at Queen’s. Is Anderson primed to win Wimbledon? Ana Konjuh won her first career title at Nottingham two weeks ago, but it feels like a year! The moral of the story? These titles do matter for the individuals who won them, but for some being hot doesn’t necessarily carry over from venue to venue.

With that said, players who looked good on grass this season, in no particular order: Jerzy Janowicz, Ana Konjuh, Belinda Bencic, Viktor Troicki, Andy Murray, Kristina Mladenovic, Katerina Siniakova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Kevin Anderson, Gilles Muller, Roger Federer, Ivo Karlovic, Angelique Kerber, Sabine Lisicki, Johanna Konta, Karolina Pliskova, Rafael Nadal, Gilles Simon. Who did I leave out?

How will Djokovic respond to losing at Roland Garros? Well the Serb, who is 41-3 on the year, lost at Roland Garros in 2014, too, and he went on to win Wimbledon. All kidding aside, Djokovic is the best player in the world right now, and it doesn’t matter which surface. That said, this Wimbledon feels more four or five-pronged on the men’s side than one-pronged. Djokovic. Murray. Federer. Nadal. Maybe Wawrinka. It’s hard to say who is going to win the title. Oh, I know… Marin Cilic.


The women’s side seems more wide open and limitless than the men’s: The big story on the women’s side is Serena Williams vs. Serena Williams. Most believe that the 20-time major champion is going to make a play for the calendar Slam and the only thing that can stop her is wanting it too much. Williams is a dominant figure in women’s tennis, and if she brings her “A” game she could run away with it. But that doesn’t make the women’s draw boring. There is mystery in Williams’ struggle, and even if she does dominate, the race for the other final spot will be plenty dramatic. The only thing we know is that somebody from the lower half will make the final. Her name might be Petra, but given that Kvitova is appearing at Wimbledon without a warm-up event for the first time, we’re not so sure we can anoint her the shoe-in.

 

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