Queens 2015 – Analysing The Draw

Queens 2015 – Analysing The Draw

The clay has been dusted off the soles of shoes, and the relevant tactical adjustments have been made by the world’s best players as they gear up for Queens, the ATP 500 event.

It is that time of year again when the lush green courts are graced in preparation for the third Grand Slam of the season at Wimbledon.

Queens is but a stone’s throw away from SW19 and has been adapted into a Masters 500 tournament this year, but who will lift the trophy in a week’s time?

Here is my take on the draw, with five of the world’s top ten players set to do battle over the next seven days.

Top Half

Three time champion Andy Murray is set to face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, a game in which most would back the home favourite to win.

However, the Bulgarian has shone at this time of year in the recent past, winning this tournament last year and eliminating defending champion Murray at Wimbledon in 2014 on his way to a dramatic semi-final loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Murray looks in fine fettle going into a competition where he will undoubtedly receive heavy backing, though, whereas Dimitrov is struggling for form and confidence, so it looks like a win for the man from Dunblane in that particular match-up.

The other last eight match is seeded to be between Marin Cilic and Feliciano Lopez.

The Croat won Queens in 2012, albeit in controversial circumstances as David Nalbandian was disqualified for kicking a line-judge (unintentionally) when leading by a set.

With his heavy serve and big forehand, grass is a surface that the Croat tends to play well on, backed up by the fact that he was a finalist again in 2013, losing to Andy Murray on that occasion.

However, these are traits that Lopez has as well, and the Spaniard was very close to getting the better of Dimitrov in last year’s final, before losing in a final set tie-breaker.

The form both of these men are in at the moment swings the pendulum Cilic’s way, but picking a winner is tough.

One thing is for sure – there won’t be too many long rallies in that match-up.

That all means that a semi-final clash between Murray on Cilic would be on the cards.

The former emerged triumphant when the two met each other in the final of this tournament two years ago, and with the Scot’s confidence and form growing all the time, along with the advantage of home backing, a final appearance for Murray seems the smart money there.

Bottom Half

This section of the draw is harder to predict, with Milos Raonic and Gilles Simon expected to meet each other in the quarters.

Should that happen, Raonic goes down as the huge favourite to progress due to his game being more suited to the quick surface at Queens.

Simon’s tactics against a player as erratic and explosive as the Canadian will be to force long rallies and frustrate the youngster. On the slick grass in London, that will be a hard plan to put into action however, so a win for Raonic looks to be the most probable result in that one.

Arguably the most intriguing aspect of the draw comes via the potential meeting of recent French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka and Stuttgart winner Rafael Nadal.

In any previous year Nadal would be the favourite, but the 2008 winner is having his worst period of form to date, despite his recent title in Germany.

Conversely, Wawrinka is easily enjoying the best spell of his career and should be full of confidence having just won Roland Garros and taken out Nadal in straight sets in their last meeting in Rome.

This is almost too tough to call, but Rafa will be eager to prove the doubters wrong ahead of Wimbledon and I sense his extra motivation and intensity will see him past the Swiss star and into the last four.

That would all leave a semi-final meeting between Raonic and Nadal, with the Canadian’s aggressive style clashing with Nadal’s defensive resilience.

The surface will play into the youngster’s hands, but the Spaniard should hang around for long enough to nullify his opponents weapons and eventually work his way into the final.

So, should my predictions come to pass, which you would be wise to assume is very unlikely, that would set up a tasty final between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

That wouldn’t be a bad way to prepare for Wimbledon would it?