2017 Wimbledon men's singles preview and predictions

The 2017 Wimbledon men’s singles draw has delivered some blockbuster match-ups, some that have the potential to deliver some massive upsets.

There are also a number of sub-plots that we will all be following over the next two weeks for a number of players at the All England Club.

Can Andy Murray, fresh from making the semi-finals at Roland Garros just a few weeks ago, win his third Wimbledon crown, and the fourth Grand Slam title of his career, despite losing in the first round at the Queens Club?

Can Novak Djokovic get back to his very best after being belted by Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, and after a season of under-performance so far in 2017?

What about Roger Federer? Can the seven-time champion at the All England Club win his eighth Wimbledon crown, which would be his 19th Grand Slam singles title after missing Roland Garros for the second year in a row? Federer will equal Fabrice Santoro’s record for most appearances in a Grand Slam men’s singles main draw with 70.

Talking about Roland Garros, can Rafael Nadal, fresh from winning his 10th title at Roland Garros without dropping a set (which he has done on three occasions), claim his third Wimbledon crown, and his 16th Grand Slam singles title? The previous two times Nadal has won Roland Garros without dropping a set, he has gone onto win Wimbledon.

What about Stan Wawrinka? Can he complete the career Grand Slam by winning his first Wimbledon title? Wawrinka will play in his 50th Grand Slam men’s singles main draw (all consecutively).

Can Milos Raonic claim his first Grand Slam title after making the final at South West 19 (SW19) last year?

Can Marin Čilić go deep at the All England Club after making the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for the last three years?

Could the likes of Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, Alexander Zverev, Tomáš Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Grigor Dimitrov go deep at SW19 in 2017, likewise Gaël Monfils, Richard Gasquest, Feliciano López or Juan Martín del Potro? López plays in his 62nd consecutive Grand Slam main draw, leaving him three behind Federer’s record of 65 consecutive Grand Slam main draws.

And, can the likes of Nick Kyrgios, or Bernard Tomic from an Australian point of view challenge to become the first Australian male to win at The Championships since Lleyton Hewitt back in 2002?

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

These are just a few of the storylines that look set to captivate us over the next two weeks.

So, let’s have a look at the draw, and predict who is going to take home the gentlemen’s singles trophy from the All England Club.

Section One
Andy Murray has a relatively good draw, although danger could come in the second round up against the unpredictable Dustin Brown, who of course defeated Rafael Nadal in the second round two years ago.

From there, Murray should make the fourth round at least, where he could face either Nick Kyrgios, who made the quarter-finals in 2014, Lucas Pouille, who made the quarter-finals last year, Jerzy Janowicz, who made the semi-finals in 2013, or even Benoît Paire, who has never made a Grand Slam quarter-final.

From an Australian point of view, Kyrgios has a winnable first round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, before a potential second round meeting against Paire, before a third round encounter against either Janowicz or Pouille before he can even contemplate a fourth round match-up on the Centre Court against the World Number One.

However, with the form Murray has been in this year, you have to believe that Kyrgios has a great chance of going deep into the second week at the All England Club.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (1) Andy Murray versus (20) Nick Kyrgios

Section Two
In this section, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga appears to be the strongest player on grass historically, and should make it to the fourth round after a tough third round against Sam Querrey.

However, Stan Wawrinka is in this section of the draw, but with tough matches against Tommy Haas in the second round, and either Fernando Verdasco or Kevin Anderson, combined with the fact that Wawrinka has only made the quarter-finals at Wimbledon only twice, you get the feeling he could be an early casualty at SW19.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga versus Kevin Anderson

Section Three
Looking at Rafael Nadal’s section of the draw, he has seemingly avoided the big groundstroke hitters who can put the Spaniard off his game, and is back to his absolute best. He could face Ivo Karlović or Gilles Müller in the fourth round in what would be his first tough test.

In short, Nadal can go all the way at the All England Club this year!

My predicted fourth round match-up: (4) Rafael Nadal versus (16) Gilles Müller

Section Four 
Section Four of the gentlemen’s singles draw is a tough section, but in saying that, I expect the two top-ranked players in this section in Kei Nishikori and Marin Čilić to meet each other in the round of 16.

After a winnable first round, Nishikori then comes up against either Julien Benneteau or the dangerous qualifier in Sergiy Stakhovsky, who of course defeated Roger Federer in the second round back in 2013, before an interesting match-up with Roberto Bautista-Agut.

Čilić, on the otherhand, has a tough first round against Philipp Kohlschreiber, and then a tough second round against either Viktor Troicki or Florian Mayer, before a difficult third round against Steve Johnson.

Should Nishikori and Čilić win their first three rounds, they will set up a fourth round showdown that could well be one of the matches of The Championships.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (9) Kei Nishikori versus (7) Marin Čilić

(Photo: WIki Commons)

Section Five 
Although he has a couple of difficult opponents in the first couple of rounds, Milos Raonic should have no problems making the fourth round at the All England Club, where he could face Alexander Zverev, who also could face a couple of difficult opponents in the first three rounds.

This potential round of 16 match-up could be one of the best at SW19 in 2017.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (6) Milos Raonic versus (10) Alexander Zverev

Section Six 
Although Roger Federer has a potentially difficult first round match against Alexandr Dolgopolov, and a potentially tough third round against either Mischa Zverev or Bernard Tomic, who both play each other in the opening round, he should have little issue in making the fourth round, where he will face his first real test against Grigor Dimitrov.

However, Dimitrov has a difficult second round against Marcos Baghdatis, who made the semi-finals back in 2006, before a tough third round against John Isner. In saying this though, Dimitrov is the favourite to play Federer in the round of 16 in what could be a fantastic encounter.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (13) Grigor Dimitrov versus (3) Roger Federer

Section Seven 
This section of the draw is very interesting one, and it starts with a tough first round match for Dominic Thiem, who hasn’t made the third round at Wimbledon, up against Vasek Pospisil, who made the quarter-finals here two years ago. The winner of this match has the potential to make the fourth round, where they will likely meet Tomáš Berdych.

Berdych has an interesting first round against Jérémy Chardy, before a difficult, but winnable second round against either Borna Ćorić or Ryan Harrison. Then it will be the first real test for Berdych at The Championships in 2017, where he could play either Richard Gasquet or David Ferrer, who will face each other in what could be the best first round match of the tournament.

Overall, Berdych is the favourite to make the quarter-finals from this section.

My predicted fourth round match-up: Vasek Pospisil versus (11) Tomáš Berdych

Section Eight 
The thing that sticks out straight away from the very bottom section of the draw is the potential third round epic between Juan Martín del Potro and Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic, who has struggled to find top form in 2017, has a difficult opening round against Martin Kližan, a winnable second round before the showdown with del Potro, which has match of the tournament written all over it!

(AFP PHOTO / PAUL CROCK)

Also in this section is Gaël Monfils, Kyle Edmund, Adrian Mannarino and Feliciano López, who are all possible contenders to make the fourth round at the All England Club, with both Mannarino and López meeting in what should be a great opening round.

My predicted fourth round match-up: (19) Feliciano López versus (29) Juan Martín del Potro

My predicted quarter-final match-ups 
(1) Andy Murray versus (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

(4) Rafael Nadal versus (7) Marin Čilić

(6) Milos Raonic versus (3) Roger Federer

(11) Tomáš Berdych versus (29) Juan Martín del Potro

My predicted semi-final match-ups 
(1) Andy Murray versus (4) Rafael Nadal

(3) Roger Federer versus (29) Juan Martín del Potro

My predicted final match-up 
(4) Rafael Nadal versus (3) Roger Federer

My predicted 2017 Wimbledon champion 
(3) Roger Federer