Lob and Smash
Fansided

Wimbledon: Thoughts from Week One

By Clinton Trueman

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next

Looking Ahead to Week 2

Jul 6, 2014; London, United Kingdom; Novak Djokovic (SRB) poses with the championship trophy after his match against Roger Federer (SUI) on day 13 of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Wimbledon’s Surprise Finalist

With Halep, Kvitova, Kerber and Lisicki out of the tournament, the bottom half of the women’s draw will produce a surprise Wimbledon finalist. Now the question remains as to who will make it through. It’s possible to make a case for 6 of the women in the section. Ranking says Wozniacki. 2015 form says Bacsinszky. History says Radwanska. The biggest upset says Jankovic. Potential says Keys. My dreams say Niculescu. My nightmares say Muguruza. And no one says Govortsova (apologies to the Belarusian).

I’m pulling for Timea or Caro, but I don’t see that happening. For me, Aga is the likeliest option, followed by (from most to least likely): Keys, Timea, Caro, Muguruza, JJ, Niculescu, Govortsova.

How Far Can Nick Kyrgios Go?

Following his victory against Milos Raonic, Nick Kyrgios stated that he thinks he’s capable of competing for the title. So how far can he realistically go?

He will next face Richard Gasquet. They played here last year in an encounter taken by the Australian after he saved a string of match points (he actually lost the match at one point, but a lucky challenge saved him). They are both playing vastly improved tennis now, but Kyrgios will be the favourite to come out of the match.

In the quarterfinals, he would likely face Stan Wawrinka. Yes, Kyrgios lost to Wawrinka a few weeks ago in Queens in straight sets but the Australian’s game is boosted by the atmosphere of the grand slams. Kyrgios would have to be zoned-in to take the out the clinical and focused Wawrinka. Given his hunger to improve upon his performance last year, a victory over Switzerland’s newest model isn’t out of the question.

He would then likely face Djokovic in the semifinals. Would he have a chance against the uber-consistent Djokovic? Sure, if he were to play a perfect match. His game is huge, and on the grass he is capable of defeating anyone. He would then likely face Federer or Murray.

Can he take out the championships? Yes. Will he? His monstrous game will likely get him to the quarterfinal, but his streaky play will most likely see him fall there.

More from Majors

Who is the Top Men’s Contender?

The top four men in the Wimbledon draw – Djokovic, Federer, Murray and Wawrinka (sorry Rafa) – have been excellent this week.

Djokovic and Wawrinka have arguably been in the best form, as both are yet to concede a set. Djokovic has had the tougher road, facing unlucky world no. 33 Phillip Kohlschreiber, departing veteran Jarkko Nieminen and Australian talent Bernard Tomic. Consistent on the baseline and aggressive on serve, the Serbian no. 1 has appeared unbeatable.

Wawrinka’s path hasn’t been a cakewalk though, with an especially tough third round match against Fernando Verdasco. The Swiss has played slightly tighter sets than Djokovic due to a less consistent return game, but his serve has been unimpeachable. And we all know the deal with Stan: the further he gets in a slam, the more dangerous he becomes.

Federer dropped a set to Sam Groth in the third round, but that shouldn’t be cause for concern as Groth has a mammoth serve. Aside from the big serving Australian, Federer has had little trouble throughout his matches, playing almost supernatural tennis.

Murray has a bit more cause for concern, as he showed signs of a shoulder injury in his third round match against Andreas Seppi. The injury didn’t seem to hinder his performance too much, but it may have been responsible for him dropping the third set. It remains to be seen how severe this injury is or whether it will affect Murray too much, but he certainly isn’t as much of a lock for the semifinals as he seemed at the beginning of the tournament.

It’s hard to see any of these men falling before the semifinals. Based on their current form and Murray’s potential injury, I’d take Djokovic to defeat Wawrinka and Federer to defeat Murray in the semifinals, with Federer taking the championship.

And so, on to week two of Wimbledon 2015 we go!

Next: Wimbledon: Women's 4th Round Predictions

More from Lob and Smash

Home/Majors