Wimbledon Predictions

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 1^st 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 15^th 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.

Tennis Season Predictions

Who can capture the major titles in 2017?

On the men’s side, this blogger feels there are 3 categories of players who can be ruled out: GOATs, youngsters & spoilers.

It looks unlikely that Federer & Nadal can add to their major haul. Both GOAT contenders have lost their aura & have suffered with injury lay-offs, six months in the Fed's case.

One of Nadal’s strengths used to be coming through tough 5 setters. Over the last 16 months he’s been on the wrong end of the score, with notable losses to Fognini & Pouille (both US Open) and Verdasco (Aus Open).

Alexander Zverev is perhaps the most promising of the younger generation (Thiem, Krygios, Edmund, Fritz etc.) The German may need a couple more years before he can challenge in the Slams, but should make top 15 in the rankings this year.

Then there are the spoilers, who can do damage to other contenders, but who may fall short of lifting the trophies.

Nishikori must surely improve his serve to have a chance of winning a major

Krygios is up to career high rank of 13 but has yet to go past a major QF and question marks remain over his temperament.

Finally then, the select group of possible Slam winners, who I would rank in this order: Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Del Potro and Raonic.

On the women’s tour, who can challenge Kerber at the top?

Kvitova is now out with hand injury, Azarenka is on maternity leave.

Will age catch up with Serena Williams? To date she has seemed largely immune to the ravages of time, & has that unmatched serve to get her out of trouble.

Radwanska is perhaps the best tactician on the WTA tour but ‘The Professor’ lacks the power game to capture the top honours.

Halep has finished the last three years in the top four of the rankings & the Romanian can again push for no. 1

Muguruza lifted the French crown last year, but then bombed out in round two at both the US Open & SW19. I expect her to be more consistent this season & be the closest challenger to Kerber.