So, the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club kicks off its annual shindig tomorrow. I’ll be making my now annual pilgrimage to SW19, armed with tent and a good book, with a view to getting Centre Court tickets on day three. I know there are a few other tennis nerds here, so let’s have your picks.
MEN
Winner? It’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Djokovic, Federer or Murray winning the title. Murray could do it: he ran Djokovic pretty close in Paris and is better on grass.
Who would you most *like* to win? Murray, Wawrinka or Nishikori.
Dark horse? Alexandr Dolgopolov – one of the most fun players to watch (I saw him last year on an outside court and he was sensational), and capable of beating almost anyone on his day.
Plucky Brits? James Ward has performed heroically in the Davis Cup and has been gifted a big opportunity by the withdrawal of David Ferrer, against whom he’d have had no chance, replaced by Luca Vanni, whom he should beat. Kyle Edmund looks like a very good player; who knows how he’ll fare in the first round? He’s playing Dolgopolov!
WOMEN
Winner? Only a fool bets against Serena. It’s become increasingly hard to watch her of late, though, what with the anguished sighs, drama queenery and general air that she’d rather be doing anything else.
Who would you like to win? Carla Suárez Navarro is my favourite player but it would take a miracle for her to triumph. Radwanska, Bacsinszky and Cibulkova would be acceptable substitutes.
Dark horse? Daria Gavrilova, if she’s fit, could surprise a few people. And beware Camila Giorgi, whose diminutive size belies a power that is as awesome as it is erratic. On *her* day she could blow anyone off court.
Plucky Brits? Robson and Watson will do well to progress to the second round, the former playing only her second match in a year and a half, the latter against Caroline Garcia. I’ll be keeping an eye out for Naomi, very charismatic and sporadically brilliant, who I saw going down all guns blazing against Wozniacki last year.
I’m hoping that Roger has one last hurrah, but he looks increasingly vulnerable over five sets in the later stages. I can’t see Nadal sustaining a serious challenge, particularly if he fulfils the projected quarter-final meeting with Murray. I’m also hoping that the one-trick ponies Roanic and Anderson don’t progress very far – the big servers once threatened to be the death of the men’s game, and those two seem to be dragging it that way again.
I notice that you haven’t mentioned Kvitova as a contender in the Women’s draw, which I find surprising as she’s the defending champion and rather handy. I had high hopes for Sabine Lisicki as a continuing threat , but her meltdown in the 2013 final against Marion ‘Not A Looker’ Bartoli seems to have seriously dented her long-term confidence.
Good point. She was genuinely awesome against Bouchard in the final last year. If she plays like that not even Serena can stay with her – but I can’t see her doing it this year. Of the many fine Germans, Kerber would be my tip to go the farthest.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday: Serena’s opponent in the first round is a very promising young Russian called Margarita Gasparyan. It’s a bastard of a draw for her, having fought through qualifying, and she shouldn’t have a ghost of a chance. But if she catches Serena cold, she might surprise a few people. Remember where you heard the name first!
Not a big tennis fan, but would love to see Federer once more. He is such a graceful player, never seems to break sweat, a wonderful player to watch. Know next to nothing about the womens game, who is that German girl who made to the semis last year or the year before ?
Are you thinking of Sabine Lisicki? She actually reached the final two years ago; I mentioned it above.
And yes, I do realise that I’m starting to come across as a Lisicki stalker 😉
I’m off to centre court on the 11.15 Overground from Camden Road today.
Murray and Serena this year, Djokovic has shown he is beatable, Federer is still a big danger and can never be written off, Nadal has crumbled so thankfully we won’t have to endure his arse picking and finger sniffing antics for long this year.
Love watching Tsonga but can’t see him troubling the big 3, Wawrinka may be a threat – I know, not exactly an outsider is he?
I’d like Murray to win a second time as it would be a definitive moment but , romantically, wish Federer a last hurrah too.
As for the women, hard to look beyond Serena but maybe Sharapova can raise her game one more time.
Sharapova can only win it if someone else beats Serena.
Lots of people I’d want to win the mens – Fed or Murray equally, Stan the Man next. Can’t help feeling Djokovic will want to reassert his dominance and would be silly to bet against. A semi with Djokovic vs Stan The Man looks odds-on, and should be awesome. The other half of the draw could see anyone from Murray, Federer or Tsonga come through – can’t see Nadal lasting much beyond the first week.
In the womens so few players appear to be capable of putting two weeks worth of consistent tennis together, really hope that Kvitkova can do so as I think she could run Serena close.
With the weather set to be hot and sunny, it’s really going to favour the big servers – but also Nadal, who likes it when the ball bounces high.
Expect there to be fewer rallies than some years and more tie breaks, it’s more likely that the top players will get through and less upsets.
Murray seems to finally be enjoying his tennis and it was great to see him playing at Queens with a smile rather than a scowl.
He has got a nightmare draw though,Tsonga in the 4th round, followed by Nadal, Federer & Djokovic in the final, is really going to test him & he could run out of steam.
The conditions should suit Wawrinka well & let’s hope for a rematch against Djokovic in the semis as it should be a belter.
@aging-hippy Spot-on. Serena absolutely has Sharapova’s number, for which I’m grateful. Sugapova is one of my least favourite players to watch (and listen to – that godawful shrieking, Christ!), with her grimly attritional and rather one-dimensional game.
Enjoy it @neil-dyson! Did you get lucky in the ballet? We’ve never had any luck with that, hence my having to resort to extreme tactics.
Murray’s draw does look horrible, but I think it’s very possible that neither Tsonga nor Nadal will make it to their alloted slot against him. Tsonga is a bit too unreliable these days, while Nadal has shown a repeated vulnerability against free-swinging big hitters on grass, and he might come a cropper against Troicki in the third round.
@moseleymoles there’s certainly a lack of someone who can challenge Serena at the moment (consistently at any rate), since Henin and Clijsters retired. But a lot of players are getting close, and there will be a breakthrough soon I suspect.
@rosbif I thought yesterday that Steffi Graf would probably wipe the floor with Serena, as she could live with her hitting and out-run her massively. Could we say that Sampras and Agassi, Graf’s rough compatriots in the mens game, would get past the semis nowadays? Djokovic has got everything that Agassi has in terms of retrieving, and a whole lot more., and both Djokovic and Murray I think would cope with Sampras’ serve rather better than Pioline or Ivanosevic.
I am lucky to belong to a family that circulate 2 centre court debenture tickets so I usually get to 4 or 5 days each year, in previous years though I have managed to get Court Number 1 tickets three times in the ballot.
It was hot yesterday, we were sat in direct sunlight all day, and it’s only going to get hotter today and tomorrow, make sure you’re prepared for that @rosbif.
I’m also not thrilled about enduring Andrew ‘Friend of the Murrays, don’tcha know?’ Castle smugging his matey way through the fortnight.
Smug twerp, remembered principally for fronting an ambulance-chasing No win No fee lawyers commercial on TV. And being pretty crap at tennis.
Anybody else thinks Tim Henman is sounding like Jack Dee?
Well, you’d sound that miserable if you were holed up next to Andrew Castle… 😉
The standard of play in the mens’ game has been incredible for the past few years, with, probably, three of the greatest players of all time competing against each other. On the other hand, the standard of the womens’ game is utterly abysmal. Serena will, yet again, lift the trophy,probably having spent less time on court in the fortnight than some men will spend winning one match. She’s clearly hugely overweight, yet still able to pound the rest of the feeble opposition into the turf.
Agree with some folks about the women’s game which has become grotesquely unwatchable because of all the shrieking and wailing. Sharapova makes noises literally all of the time the ball is in play. If you keep on defeating people because you put off your opponents by making stupid noises, it’s not surprising that your your actual tennis isn’t going to improve. Mind you, The Voice UK is essentially a screaming competition, why shouldn’t this be extended into other BBC-sponsored events?
And while I’m here, will people please stop calling it “grunting”? If I bought a James Brown record and he made one of those noises, I’d be dubious about its authenticity.
On the men’s side, I kind of like Nadal because he is clearly a bit weird and mad. Andy Murray looks increasingly like John Laurie in the 39 Steps, which is not a bad thing. Unless you’re Robert Donat. And I’d watch it anyway for McEnroe, who is simply one of the best commentators of anything in the world. Whoda thunk it?
That’s the one, will pay attention in the future!
@black-type Lisicki is an easy player to get behind: she combines easy power (holds world records for fastest serve and most serves in a match!) with often very deft touch. She’s also an engaging character, and one of very few I’ve seen who are courteous to the ball kids, Tamira Paszek being another.
I agree about the shrieking, which I’ve been moaning about for years. I wouldn’t say it’s that widespread though: Sharapova and Azarenka are obviously the worst offenders, and if I were an umpire they’d certainly fall foul of the hindrance rule. But most players fall within what I’d call acceptable levels of noise, given the extreme exertions they’re putting their bodies through. It can also be accentuated when watching on telly, because of the court microphones. A few years ago I was at Wimbledon for Kuznetsova v Schiavone, and was expecting to be deafened: it turned out not to be anything like as bad as I expected. It’s not just the women, by the way. David Ferrer is *bloody* loud as well, as is Nadal, though I haven’t seen him in person.
AAARGH! For “most serves in a match” read “most aces in a match”.
Hey wouldn’t an “edit” function help? 🙂
Incidentally @ianess, if you really think Serena is “hugely overweight”, you must have a very singular definition of the term.
Like a lot of sportspeople, she probably is “overweight” by most definitions. But most of that weight seems to be muscle. You could break rocks on that arse.
She’s no Victoria Coren-Mitchell.
I’ve seen her in the too, too solid flesh. Her ass entered the court about 10 minutes after she did. There’s a fair amount of muscle, but, a fair amount of fat too. Like many female tennis players, her fitness levels leave much to be desired. Not to worry-she’ll blast her way through the feeble opposition, probably not even dropping a set.