THE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WIMBLEDON - FULL DRAW ANALYSIS, PREVIEW AND PREDICTION (thanks Birdman for the draw!) POSSIBLE OPPONENTS: RAFAEL NADAL: 1R - Martin Klizan 2R - Lukas Rosol/Benoit Paire 3R - Ivo Karlovic 4R - Richard Gasquet QF - Milos Raonic/Kei Nishikori/Philipp Kohlschreiber SF - Roger Federer/Stanislas Wawrinka F - Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray Verdict - If there ever was a definition of nightmare draw, this is it. First up, Klizan. Klizan is in excellent form this year, with a 16-5 W/L record and a title at Munich (where he beat Youzhny, Haas and Fognini to win). His Slam showings have been consistent so far this year. Klizan also famously took the first set off Rafa in their encounter from the second round of Roland Garros last year. He hits big and clean, and is very, very dangerous for a player like Rafa. Second is probably the last man Rafa would want as his second round opponent. Nothing needs to be said about the bomb-serving, destructive Rosol, whose knockout of Rafa here two years ago changed Rafas fortunes at Wimbledon since. Which way would a rematch go? Rafa did thrash him at Doha earlier this year, but you never know. It is Wimbledon... Third is Dr. Ivo, the worst possible opponent Rafa could draw on a grass court so early. If Ivo is hitting his serves (as he usually does), Rafa could be in a world of pain. The grass will not be kind to Rafa in the first week, and neither is the draw. In the fourth round, either Gasquet or Monfils await, both troublesome, aggressive Frenchmen. Rafa does own them both, so dont expect an upset here, and dont expect any upsets as we go deeper into the second week and the grass grows shallower and shallower. #5 is Milos Raonic, another big-serving troublemaker. Raonic has never done well at Wimbledon, however, so Rafa might just end up facing Nishikori (who troubled him this year), and Kohlschreiber (who beat him on grass 2 years ago) The semi will be GOAT of Grass Federer, and the final - Rafas nemesis Djokovic. Rafa must be cursing his luck right now. NOVAK DJOKOVIC: 1R - Andrey Golubev 2R - Radek Stepanek 3R - Vasek Pospisil/Gilles Simon 4R - Mikhail Youzhny/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga QF - Tomas Berdych/Ernests Gulbis SF - Andy Murray F - Roger Federer/Rafa Nadal Verdict - Djokovics draw is definitely not easy, but looks just moderately hard compared to Rafas. First round wont be a problem, but next he faces Stepanek. Stepanek just upset Murray in Queens, and is a very, very dangerous grasscourt player. His doubles credentials and doubles skills make him an amazing server, volleyer and serve-and-volleyer, three things than can make you an incredible grasscourter. After that, he could face hard-hitting, big-serving Pospisil, or wily Simon. Both are quite dangerous opponents, but not for Nole. Tsonga, who has reached the semis here, waits in Round 4, while Berdych who has reached the final here, waits in the quarters. Djokovic faces the winner of the potential Berdych-Gulbis match, just like in RG. The difference? Berdych has beaten Djokovic here before (2010 semi). The semi could be a thriller, a rematch of last years final. If Nole can exact revenge, he will face one of the two best grasscourters of the past decade. ROGER FEDERER: 1R - Paolo Lorenzi 2R - Julien Benneteau 3R - Marcel Granollers 4R - Jerzy Janowicz/Tommy Robredo/Lleyton Hewitt QF - Stanislas Wawrinka/John Isner SF - Rafa Nadal/Milos Raonic F - Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray Verdict - Next to Novaks and Rafas draw, Rogers looks like an absolute cakewalk. Lorenzi has no reason to even trouble Roger a little bit. The only minor obstacle would be Round 2s Julien Benneteau. Benneteau took Roger to 5 sets at Wimbledon 2012. Coincidental, in 2012, Roger reached the Halle final, Rafa lost early in Halle, Rafa drew Rosol in R2 at Wimbledon, and Roger faced Benneteau early. Roger won Wimbledon that year. In 2014, Roger won Halle, Rafa lost early in Halle, Rafa drew Rosol in R2 at Wimbledon, and Roger faces Benneteau early. Hmm... Granollers cannot touch Roger on grass... but Round 4 could be interesting. If Janowicz can stop playing like a World No. 400, he might face Roger there, and try to defend his semi points at least a little. Robredo might put him out, or maybe even Hewitt! Roger should move to the quarters with no problems, though. Wawrinka, if he makes it there, is no threat to Roger on grass, but Isner can be. Isners poor movement on the grass will hinder his chances against the aggressive Roger, so expect him to walk into the semis with no problems. There we could have Fedal #4 at Wimbledon (!!!!), or a duller Federer-Raonic or Federer-Nishikori match. The final will be Djokovic or Murray, which would obviously be an epic match to watch. ANDY MURRAY 1R - David Goffin 2R - Pablo Andujar 3R - Roberto Bautista Agut 4R - Kevin Anderson/Fabio Fognini QF - Grigor Dimitrov/David Ferrer SF - Novak Djokovic F - Roger Federer/Rafa Nadal Verdict - Andys draw is quite easy in the beginning, but progressively gets harder. Goffin is not a great grasscourter, and neither is Andujar, both of them preferring the red stuff to the green. Same goes for Agut, so Andy should be through to R4 with no difficulties. Anderson is a real threat on grass, and will likely be Andys opponent, considering that the Fog has never done too well at Wimbledon. Dimitrov or Ferrer wait in the quarters. If it is Dimitrov, the match could be extremely interesting, because there could be a chance of an upset. Ferrer is not going to trouble Andy, especially here at Wimbledon. Djokovic will be his semifinal opponent, and if he beats him again at Wimbledon, he will face one of the two greatest players of the past decade. INTERESTING POTENTIAL MATCHES - Round 1: Jurgen Melzer v/s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Marin Cilic v/s Paul-Henri Mathieu Bernard Tomic v/s Evgeny Donskoy Grigor Dimitrov v/s Ryan Harrison Luke Saville v/s Dominic Thiem Dustin Brown v/s Marcos Baghdatis David Ferrer v/s Pablo Carreno Busta Jerzy Janowicz v/s Somdev Devvarman Lleyton Hewitt v/s Michal Przysiezny Marcel Granollers v/s Nicolas Mahut Malek Jaziri v/s Gael Monfils Benoit Paire v/s Lukas Rosol Martin Klizan v/s Rafa Nadal Round 2: Novak Djokovic v/s Radek Stepanek Gilles Simon v/s Vasek Pospisil Ernests Gulbis v/s Sergiy Stakhovsky Jeremy Chardy v/s Fernando Verdasco Tomas Berdych v/s Bernard Tomic Grigor Dimitrov v/s Dominic Thiem Andreas Seppi v/s Marcos Baghdatis Jarkko Nieminen v/s John Isner Jerzy Janowicz v/s Lleyton Hewitt Julien Benneteau v/s Roger Federer Richard Gasquet v/s Nick Kyrgios Lukas Rosol v/s Rafa Nadal Round 3: Novak Djokovic v/s Vasek Pospisil Mikhail Youzhny v/s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Ernests Gulbis v/s Fernando Verdasco Marin Cilic v/s Tomas Berdych Grigor Dimitrov v/s Alexandr Dolgopolov Feliciano Lopez v/s John Isner Jerzy Janowicz v/s Tommy Robredo Philipp Kohlschreiber v/s Kei Nishikori Richard Gasquet v/s Gael Monfils Ivo Karlovic v/s Rafa Nadal PREDICTION: (less orthodox predictions this time!, dont take them toooo seriously) 4th Round: Novak Djokovic v/s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Ernests Gulbis v/s Tomas Berdych Andy Murray v/s Kevin Anderson Grigor Dimitrov v/s David Ferrer Stanislas Wawrinka v/s John Isner Lleyton Hewitt v/s Roger Federer Milos Raonic v/s Philipp Kohlschreiber Richard Gasquet v/s Ivo Karlovic Quarterfinals: Novak Djokovic v/s Ernests Gulbis Andy Murray v/s Grigor Dimitrov John Isner v/s Roger Federer Philipp Kohlschreiber v/s Richard Gasquet Semifinals: Novak Djokovic v/s Andy Murray Roger Federer v/s Richard Gasquet Finals: Andy Murray v/s Roger Federer Winner - Andy Murray
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 10:40:31 +0000
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