Wimbledon: Lob and Smash project 2015 men’s draw

Wimbledon: Lob and Smash project 2015 men’s draw

With Wimbledon fast approaching, attention is set to switch to the draw ceremony on Friday 26th. 128 men will go into the draw hoping for lady luck to shine on them. Whilst nothing is set in stone when the names are drawn, opportunities can certainly arise.

Now that the top 32 seeds have been announced, we are able to make detailed forecasts as to what the draw could have in store. Using the exact rulings of a typical Wimbledon draw, we at Lob and Smash have made our own, entirely random, men’s draw.

With a wealth unseeded players that could land anywhere in rounds one and two, along with qualifiers that have yet to be determined, we have focussed our attention on the projected third round and beyond, when in theory seeds should meet for the first time.

Possible First Quarter

We know that Djokovic will already head up the first quarter as world number one and as the reigning champion, he will also open up proceedings on centre court on Monday. If this draw were to be a reality, the Serbian would be extremely optimistic about his chances.

Whilst the big serving Karlovic, who has been in fine form of late, could be a difficult encounter in round four on the grass, Djokovic would back himself to set up a quarter final meeting with Raonic. The Canadian made it all the way to the semi last year, but returning from injury will make repeating this feat pretty difficult.

Possible Second Quarter

French Open champion Wawrinka is handed a nightmare of a draw in our hypothetical scenario. Facing Tsonga, who is strong on the grass, in the fourth round would not be ideal. It is a quarter filled with top players throughout and the thought of one of the top four having this draw is scary.

Nishikori is the unlucky top player who has drawn Kyrgios as early as possible and to rub salt in the wound he also faces a fourth round encounter with Nadal. For the Spaniard, he will be hoping he has earned some luck after being drawn in Djokovic’s quarter in Paris.

Possible Third Quarter

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Murray would be content with this draw if it were to happen in a similar fashion on Friday, although he will know from his 2013 victory that seemingly difficult draws can sometimes open up. Thiem in round three would be a must watch affair and he and Gasquet have history together at Wimbledon.

It was Berdych who was threatening to break his Grand Slam duck earlier in the year and he will fancy his chances in any quarter that he is placed in. The issue will be facing one of the Big Four, against whom he has a poor record in the major events.

Possible Fourth Quarter

In the form Federer is in, having won Halle especially, he will like the look of this draw. It is hard to see anyone stopping Federer making it to the latter stages this year, with Lopez being the ideal fourth round opponent for the Swiss legend.

Dimitrov finds himself down at 11th despite a fantastic run last year and he will have a battle on his hands whatever the draw. Given his current struggles, it would be hard to look past a fourth round meeting with Ferrer and the Bulgarian would lose a lot of ranking points compared to 2014.

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