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Wimbledon: Top half, Wawrinka quarter analysis

By Geoff Nichols

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Wimbledon: Top half, Wawrinka quarter analysis

Stan Wawrinka heads to Wimbledon knowing that his is halfway to a career Grand Slam. Thanks to his French Open exploits, the Swiss number two has risen to number 4 in the world, meaning he heads up this second quarter. Whether he can blow the opposition away in London like he did in Paris remains to be seen.

The other big name in this section of the draw is last years semi finalist Milos Raonic, who is a tremendous danger to anyone on grass. He will be looking at his path to the same stage this year with cautious optimism, aside from potentially landing Nick Kyrgios in the third round.

Selected First Round Matches

Kyrgios 26 (AUS) v Schwartzman (ARG)

Kyrgios is not the most predictable player on tour, although he has shown he is capable of knuckling down the in early rounds of majors. He will need to be locked in against Schwartzman, who will test his patience and could provide a stern test.

Broady (GB) v Matosevic (AUS)

As a wild card Broady cannot have hoped for a much better draw than the enigmatic Australian Matosevic, who has never really cracked the upper echelons of the game. The home support for Broady could either galvanise him or weigh heavily on his shoulders and that will decide whether he can make this a contest,

Possible Second Round Matches

Robredo 19 (SPA) v Baghdatis (CYP)

Baghdatis could be responsible for a seeded casualty in round two, as his history in five set matches suggests he could be a real handful for Robredo. The Spaniard is not stranger to these kind of matches and will be keen to dampen to Cypriot’s hope early.

Dimitrov 11 (BUL) v Johnson (US)

If you are on upset watch, every Dimitrov match should be on your radar as the Bulgarian looks woefully short of confidence. Johnson will test him with a lot of balls and really it depends on which Dimitrov turns up. He is defending semi final points, which is a significant pressure as he is already falling down the rankings.

Haas (GER) v Raonic 7 (CAN)

It is fantastic to see Haas back on a tennis court, but Wimbledon may have come a little too soon for the German journeyman. Raonic is also returning from a spell on the sidelines, but that seems to have made him even more motivated to go deep in London.

Projected Third Round Matches

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Wawrinka 4 (SUI) v Thiem 32 (AUT)

A battle of the gorgeous backhands, Thiem has a future right at the very top of the game. Wawrinka will be in a confident frame of mind and on recent evidence, this is the kind of match where, unless he disappears completely, he should win in straight sets.

Robredo 19 (SPA) v Goffin 16 (BEL)

Goffin has to be one of the best kept secret in men’s tennis. It is hard to believe that the Belgian is the 16th seed and you feel like this ranking is somewhat artificially inflated by his staggering run of form at the end of 2014. This is a weak portion of the quarter and is there for the taking.

Dimitrov 11 (BUL) v Gasquet 21 (FRA)

Two patchy players who could meet after both having won two matches. By this stage they will be gathering momentum and could produce a fantastic match. Neither will want a third round exit and with so little to choose between them in terms of tennis, you’d have to say Dimitrov wants it more.

Kyrgios 26 (AUS) v Raonic 7 (CAN)

This is the pick of the third round, not only in this quarter, but in the whole draw. We knew Kyrgios would face one of the top eight seeds in the third round and a match up with Raonic is what he has been dealt with. Tie breaks will settle this one and it could well be an epic.

Quarter Winner: Raonic over Wawrinka

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