2015 Wimbledon Preview: Grand Slam Glory in the UK
The men’s field
The contenders
Novak Djokovic
The world number one from Serbia is an outstanding 41-3 on the year. He has been close to unbeatable to say the least. Spending 152 straight weeks as the number one player in the world, Djokovic must be considered the favorite to win every tournament he competes in. Losing to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final was definitely heartbreaking for Djokovic, but don’t be surprised if Novak turns that loss around very quickly. In 2014, Djokovic lost in the finals of the French Open and ended up winning Wimbledon just weeks later. While Djokovic is one of the favorites this year at Wimbledon, keep in mind that Djokovic did not play a warm-up tournament prior to Wimbledon and out of the three losses he has this year, two of them have come against grass court notables Roger Federer and Ivo Karlovic.
Roger Federer
The Swiss Maestro unfortunately is nearing the end of his illustrious tennis career. However, this doesn’t mean Federer can’t get it done on the grass courts of Wimbledon. You can never count out a seven-time Wimbledon champion, especially someone who has won 17 Grand Slam titles. Though 33-years-old, the world number two is showing glimpses of his old self. He has gone 34-6 in 2015 and recently won the Gerry Weber Open. Failing to drop a set at the ATP World Tour 500 series warm-up event in Halle, Germany, Federer defeated big serving Ivo Karlovic in route to a victory over Andreas Seppi in the finals. Federer knows Wimbledon is his best chance to win his first Grand Slam title since he won Wimbledon back in 2012. Contrary to the other Grand Slams, Federer can use his finesse to shorten the points, use his backhand slice to dictate points, and use his volleys to keep his opponents on edge. First serve percentage will be key for Federer the entire tournament. If he serves near 65 percent like when he beat Djokovic in the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2012, look out for Roger.
Andy Murray
We all know immense pressure is put on Andy Murray to win at his home court tournament. Winning Wimbledon in 2013 took the monkey of his back, but for the British fans, one Wimbledon will most likely not be enough. Thus far this season, Murray has been a consistent force in the Grand Slams. The two-time Grand Slam champion has made the semifinals of this year’s French Open and has also made the finals of the Australian Open before that. Including the Grand Slam success this year, there are more signs that point to Andy Murray making a run at Wimbledon. Just last week, Andy impressively won the ATP AEGON Championships held at The Queen’s Club in London as he defeated Fernando Verdasco, Gilles Muller, and Victor Troicki on route to defeating Kevin Anderson in the finals. Murray is one of the fittest players on tour, and if he is healthy and confident, only Novak Djokovic can outlast him on the court.
The pretenders
Rafael Nadal
It’s hard to believe, but the 14-time Grand Slam champion and two-time Wimbledon champion is now ranked 10th in the world. It is undeniable that Rafael Nadal is not the same player from last year. Usually around this time of year, we are talking about how Nadal whipped through the French Open. But this year is different as Nadal has struggled. He has gone 33-10 on the year, as handled easily by Novak Djokovic at the French Open, and suffered a first round loss to world number 75 Alexandr Dogopolov at the recent ATP AEGON Championships at The Queen’s Club. Nadal is known to lose to lowly-ranked players at Wimbledon. In 2012, Nadal lost to world number 100 Lukas Rosol and in 2013, he lost to world number 125 Steve Darcis. Last year, he lost in the fourth round to teenager Nick Kyrgios. It is likely that Nadal makes it the fourth straight year where he loses before the quarterfinals.
Grigor Dimitrov
Early in his career, the crafty Bulgarian drew comparisons to Roger Federer. He was even called “Mini Fed” due to the similarity between him and Federer’s strokes, movement and craftiness. Currently, Dimitrov is far from being “Federer-like.” The Bulgarian is an unimpressive 18-11 this year. Since losing in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, Dimitrov has gone cold. He has only made two semifinal appearances and has made zero final appearances in the tournaments he has competed in this year. At an important Wimbledon warm-up tournament for Grigor, he failed to gain some confidence as he lost in the second round to Gilles Muller at the ATP AEGON Championships. Wimbledon will be a difficult stage for Dimitrov to get back on track and turn his year around.
Tomas Berdych
Tennis fans are still asking “When will Tomas Berdych win his first Grand Slam?” The number four player in the world can beat anyone. He has the power from sides, consistency, tactical strokes, movement, serve, height and physical attributes to win a Slam. I guess playing in era that has Federer and Nadal owning 31 Grand Slam titles doesn’t help, but until he wins that first Grand Slam and relives the pressure put on him by himself and those around him, Berdych will continue to be a “pretender” in the Slams.
The sleepers
Kevin Anderson
The 6’ 8” South African has played well as of late. The former University of Illinois tennis player has used his big serve to notch wins over Stan Wawrinka and Gilles Simon en route to losing in the finals to Andy Murray at the ATP AEGON Championships. Since turning pro in 2007, Anderson possesses a career high 78 percent first serve percentage points won. It is the highest it has been throughout his career. Anderson is similar to American John Isner, who has thought to be a contender at Wimbledon due to his big serve. Anderson however, has better footwork, is more mobile, and is stronger at the baseline. Watch out for the world number 14 to fly under the radar.
Milos Raonic
The 24-year-old Canadian is number eight in the world and could take Wimbledon by surprise. After undergoing surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his right foot, the 6’ 5” Raonic decided not to play the French Open as a safety precaution. Assuming he is well-rested, there is no reason for the former world number four to make some noise. He made the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2014 and should look to equal that result and retain the points he achieved last year. Better yet, he should look to up that result and make it to his first Grand Slam final. If Milos somehow doesn’t run into Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray, it could be the year of the Canadian.
The women’s field
The contenders
Serena Williams
The world number one Serena Williams is, without a doubt, the favorite at Wimbledon this year. She has gone 32-1 this year and has the momentum going into Wimbledon, coming off her win at the French Open. Serena has won 20 Grand Slam titles and that speaks loudly to the rest of the field of women. Let’s be honest, nobody in the field has the talent or mental capacity to beat Serena when she is on her game. Serena won the French Open not playing her best tennis, and if she turns up the heat and plays close to her peak, the Wimbledon trophy will be waiting for her.
Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova is the number two player in the world behind Serena Williams. Though a distant second to Serena, Kvitova should have the next best odds to win Wimbledon for the third time in her career. Winning in 2011 and the 2014, Kvitova knows what it will take to win it again. She will need to use her big lefty serve big while showing consistency in being aggressive from the baseline. Kvitova, will look to achieve back-to-back Wimbledon titles but if she were to accomplish the feat, she will most likely have to do it by defeating Serena in the finals.
Lucie Šafářová
Another Czech lefty, Lucie Šafářová will be in the running for the Wimbledon crown this year. Before her French Open finals appearance, many tennis fans never heard of the now world number six. Taking momentum into Wimbledon should aid Safarova to keep pushing forward and achieving success on one of tennis’ biggest stages. What people tend to forget is that Safarova made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon last year as a higher seed with naturally, a tougher draw. With a better ranking, an easier draw usually follows. Saforova, like her compatriot Petra Kvitova, could potentially knock Serena off her pedestal.
The pretenders
Maria Sharapova
The four-time Grand Slam champion has had a solid 2015 to date, as she has gone 29-6 so far. Maria had success at the Australian Open this year, reaching the finals, but her round of 16 loss to Safarova at the French Open is a loss that should not go unnoticed. Even though she was under the weather, her serve continue to be spotty. The speed is not there, the direction is not there, and there are too many free points given due to double faults. Though Maria won Wimbledon back in 2004, she hasn’t won the event in 11 years and no positive signs point to her ending that streak.
Simona Halep
We might have already seen the best tennis from Simona Halep. In her last two tournaments, Halep has lost to world number 70 Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and world number 43 Kristina Mladenovic. While Halep is still the world number three, it is troubling to see losses to players who she is supposed to be beat. One thing that she has going for her is that she made the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2014, but it looks like the Romanian has a lot of work cut out for her in order to reach the semis once again.
Carla Suarez Navarro
The Spaniard is currently the world number nine and has done well to stay within the top-10 of the rankings. She has gone 35-12 this year, but has played a ton of matches. 47 matches is a lot, no matter who you are. Navarro’s favorite surface is clay and she has never made a semifinals appearance in any Grand Slam tournament. Thought she is in the top-10 of the world, Navarro has provided little to no evidence that she will contend this year.
The sleepers
Angelique Kerber
The left-handed Kerber is currently the 10th ranked player in the world. Though she didn’t do as well as she hoped for in the French Open, bowing out to Garbine Muguruza in the Round of 32, the German recently won Birmingham which is grass court tune-up tournament prior to Wimbledon. On her way to the championship, she defeated established players in Jelena Jankovic and Sabine Lisicki. Kerber will look to ride her five match win streak going into Wimbledon.
Sloane Stephens
In 2013, the young American was ranked a career high of #11 in the world. Currently, she is 43rd in the world, but one may argue that she is inching back to her 2013 playing days. Sloan made it to the round of 16 of the French Open and split sets in a loss to Serena Williams. If Sloane is hitting her shots, the only two players on tour with more firepower from the baseline are Serena and Petra Kvitova. Sloan made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2013 so she is no stranger to success on the grass. If Sloane really wants to make a push to get back into the mix of the top 20 of the world, Sloan will need to make a sneaky push into the later rounds of Wimbledon.
