The world’s most prestigious Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon, is now less than a week away and given the form that some of the world’s top men have shown so far this year, it will be hard to predict a winner with any real confidence.
World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic will start as the favourite to retain his title, as he seeks to move on from his French Open disappointment which saw him go down to Stan Wawrinka in the final in four sets.
The two leading men who will be keen to dethrone him are world number two and seven-time champion Roger Federer, for whom this shapes as his last chance to add to his stalled Grand Slam tally of 17, and 2013 champion Andy Murray, who has returned to form this year after enduring an injury-plagued 2014 season.
Djokovic and Federer will start as the top two seeds, meaning that a repeat of their memorable 2014 final is on the cards, while Murray will be out to repeat the success he enjoyed in winning the title in 2013.
Let’s now have a look at some of the major contenders for Wimbledon 2015.
Novak Djokovic
Current world ranking: 1
Wimbledon history
Best result: Won (2011, 2014)
Last year’s result: Won
Grand Slam results so far in 2015
Australian Open: Won
French Open: Runner-up
Titles so far this year: Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome
By the time Novak Djokovic opens play on Centre Court on Monday as the defending men’s champion, it will have been three weeks since he suffered a heartbreaking four-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the final of the French Open, a result which thwarted his bid to complete his Grand Slam set.
The top seed will be keen to prove that he has moved on from that disappointment in Paris, and unleash his frustration with a successful defence of his Wimbledon title, which he won last year by defeating Roger Federer in a thrilling five-set final.
Once again, the Serb has elected not to play any warm-up tournaments on grass, and hasn’t done so for a couple of years now, citing the need for rest following another gruelling French Open campaign.
That rest has worked wonders for Djokovic in recent years, having reached at least the semi-final stage at the All England Club for the last five years, including reaching the final in three of the last four years, winning two of them (2011 and 2014).
And so, there will be no excuses for Djokovic not to reach another final at Wimbledon, but whether he can successfully defend the title, something that hasn’t been done since Roger Federer won five titles in a row between 2003 and 2007, will remain to be seen.
Prediction: Champion
Roger Federer
Current world ranking: 2
Wimbledon history
Best result: Won (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Last year’s result: Runner-up
Grand Slam results so far in 2015
Australian Open: Third round
French Open: Quarter-finals
Titles so far this year: Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul, Halle
This year’s Wimbledon Championships shapes as the last realistic chance Roger Federer has of adding to his Grand Slam tally of 17, which has remained stalled since he won this tournament for a record-equalling seventh time in 2012.
While he hasn’t been able to win another Grand Slam title since then, last year he proved that he still has what it takes to win another one, when he reached the final last year before losing to Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller.
He has captured nine titles in the last eighteen months, including four this year with the most recent of them being in Halle last week, where he defeated Andreas Seppi – the man who upset him at the Australian Open in January – in the final for his 86th career title.
Thus, the Swiss Maestro will be out to once again prove everyone wrong and reach the final for an unprecedented tenth time, where he could have the opportunity to eclipse Pete Sampras’ record of seven titles at the All England Club.
Prediction: Final
Andy Murray
Current world ranking: 3
Wimbledon history
Best result: Won (2013)
Last year’s result: Quarter-finals
Grand Slam results so far in 2015
Australian Open: Runner-up
French Open: Semi-finals
Titles so far this year: Munich, Madrid, Queen’s
After a poor 2014 season, world number three Andy Murray has returned to top form this year, claiming three titles for the year including his first two on clay and most recently his fourth title at Queen’s.
He also reached the final at the Australian Open for a fourth time, only to be beaten by world number one Novak Djokovic in four sets. He also went down to the Serb in the final of the Miami Masters in April.
His recent title win at Queen’s will see him become one of the men to watch at the All England Club, as he seeks to repeat the success he enjoyed in 2013 when he became the first local man since Fred Perry in 1936 to lift tennis’ holy grail.
Given his impressive form this year, with the four losses to Novak Djokovic aside (he hasn’t lost to anyone other than him since February), there is no reason why Murray cannot win Wimbledon for a second time this year.
But if he does, will we see the euphoric scenes like we did on July 7, 2013? Most likely no, but there is no doubt all of Great Britain would love to see him do it again.
Stan Wawrinka
Current world ranking: 4
Wimbledon history
Best result: Quarter-finals (2014)
Last year’s result: Quarter-finals
Grand Slam results so far in 2015
Australian Open: Semi-finals
French Open: Won
Titles so far this year: Chennai, Rotterdam, French Open
After upsetting world number one Novak Djokovic to win his second Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month, the top priority for world number four Stan Wawrinka will be to improve his record at Wimbledon.
Prior to reaching the quarter-finals for the first time last year, Wawrinka’s best result at the All England Club had been a pair of fourth round showings in 2008 and 2009, while he also suffered a few first round exits between then and last year.
In addition, he also suffered a first round loss to eventual gold medallist Andy Murray at the 2012 London Olympics.
His only two matches since winning the French Open has seen him defeat Nick Kyrgios, then lose to Kevin Anderson at Queen’s, further exposing his weakness on grass courts and leaving him short on match practice ahead of the Championships.
The big question will be whether he can repeat last year’s run to the quarter-finals, or even go one better as he looks to surprise many again with a third Grand Slam title on his least preferred surface.
Prediction: Semi-finals
Other contenders
Despite his poor form so far this year which has seen him drop to tenth in the world rankings for the first time in over a decade, two-time champion and the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal should not be counted out.
Immediately after conceding his crown to Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the French Open, the Spaniard bounced back to win his first grass court title since winning Wimbledon in 2010, at Stuttgart, which this year changed from being a post-Wimbledon clay court tournament to a pre-Wimbledon grass court tournament.
However, his most recent outing saw him go down to Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round at Queen’s, leaving him once again vulnerable to another shock result at Wimbledon, where he has lost to players ranked outside the top 100 in the three years that have passed since he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 final.
World number five Kei Nishikori, and last year’s losing semi-finalists, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic, will also be keen to bounce back at the All England Club following their disappointments at the French Open; the former two lost in the opening round while the latter missed the tournament due to a foot injury.
Australian sensation Nick Kyrgios will again be one of the players to watch, as he seeks to repeat his stunning run to the quarter-finals last year, where he defeated then-world number one Rafael Nadal before losing to Raonic in the last eight.
While he is only getting started, veteran Lleyton Hewitt will be keen to ensure his 17th and final appearance at the Wimbledon Championships is a memorable one, the 2002 champion having been handed a wildcard into the event.
These are just some of the male contenders for this year’s Wimbledon title. Can Novak Djokovic move on from his French Open heartbreak and win a third Wimbledon title? Can Roger Federer add to his stalled Grand Slam tally of 17? Or can Andy Murray repeat his 2013 success on the back of his good form this year?
All those and plenty more will be answered when Wimbledon gets underway this Monday night (AEST).
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