Firstly my thoughts on the male contenders.
Andy Murray might have been my tip for the men’s title, but
had a shocker at Queens and how is his hip ? Nick Krygios has the same ailment.
Raonic has the power, but does he have the subtlety? He also
has an exceptionally tough draw, if he makes quarters he’s seeded to face three
of the Big Four.
Grass is by some distance Wawrinka’s worst surface, & he
faces a tough opener with the rising Russian, Daniil Medvedev.
Alexander Zverev has won three titles this season but lost in
the 1st round Roland Garros, and was smashed in the Halle final by
Federer. They could meet again in the quarters if the German can get past
Raonic.
Nadal looks to have a good draw, but has often suffered with
his knees on the grass.
Djokovic has not been his best lately, until winning Eastbourne
yesterday. The Serb has a tough draw however with Del Potro & Lopez in his
section.
Which brings us to Federer. He faces a potentially tough
opener with the mercurial Dolgopolov.
Raonic & the talented Dimitrov are also in the same section as the
Swiss maestro. His 24-2 record for the season & his grass pedigree makes
him the favourite.
Moving on to the women, let’s start with the Eastbourne
finalists.
Karolina Pliskova has the power game to profit on the grass
& she has the silverware from the seaside to prove it.
Wozniacki by contrast is a retriever, who after 2 lean years
is back in the top ten. They’re seeded to meet in the quarters.
Another counter-attacker, Halep, has been the form player on
clay by some distance, but I can’t see her defensive game winning here.
Muguruza has been in patchy form, won only one game at
Eastbourne.
Jo Konta appears to suffer at SW19 with the pressure of home
expectation, & can she can recover from her back injury in time?
Kerber is still clinging onto the no.1 ranking, but like
Murray seems to be struggling with the burden of defending the no.1 position
form the chasing pack. Her form is unimpressive-currently only at 15th
in the YTD rankings.
Petra Kvitova won in Birmingham despite a long lay-off, but she
herself has doubted if she has the stamina for a two week tournament.
Ostapenko is similar to Kvitova in game style but takes even
more risks in going for the lines. She went all in & took the title at
Roland Garros, but I can’t see her taking the jackpot in SW19
Aga Radwanska has had her best results here, but has a tough
opener v Jankovic. Possibly Bacsinsky will win that section.
The big-serving Pliskova is my tip to take her maiden Slam
title.
