There is just under one week until the year’s third Grand Slam tournament gets underway, and again all eyes will be on the world’s top two players, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, with the latter eyeing a ninth title at the All England Club.

After again opting to bypass the clay court season, which was again dominated by Nadal, Federer has returned to top form on his beloved grass courts, winning in Stuttgart and narrowly failing to defend his title in Halle where he was defeated in the final by rising star Borna Coric.

While Federer’s failure to defend his title saw him drop back down to second place behind Nadal in the rankings, the Swiss Maestro will be seeded first in recognition of his impressive record on grass, as opposed to the Spaniard’s recent struggles on the surface.

Recent Queen’s champion Marin Cilic, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov and fourth seed Alexander Zverev will also be among the names to watch out for in the men’s division.

Meanwhile, on the women’s side of things, all eyes will again be on Serena Williams, who will be hoping to mark a triumphant return to SW19 after missing Wimbledon last year due to pregnancy.

The American made a modest return to the Grand Slam stage at Roland Garros last month, reaching the fourth round before being forced to withdraw before her clash against Maria Sharapova due to a pectoral injury.

Other names to watch include world number one and recent French Open champion Simona Halep, as well as defending champion Garbine Muguruza, whose victory over Venus Williams in last year’s final saw her become the first woman to beat both Williams sisters in a Major final.

First, let’s take a look at the contenders in the men’s draw, starting with the defending champion, Roger Federer.

Roger Federer

Current world ranking: 2 (seeded first)

Australian Open result: Won
French Open result: Did not play

Titles so far in 2018: Australian Open, Rotterdam, Stuttgart.

Wimbledon history
Best result: Won eight times (2003-07, 09, 12, 17)
Last year’s result: Won

Once again, the man to beat at Wimbledon is eight-times champion Roger Federer.

The Swiss Maestro, who is showing no signs of slowing down even as he approaches his 37th birthday, has wasted little time in returning to top form, claiming his first title in Stuttgart and then falling to Borna Coric in the final of the Halle Open, which denied him a 99th career title.

This means that Wimbledon won’t be the 100th career title that he wins, which is a shame given the success he has enjoyed at the All England Club over the past fourteen years.

It was at these grounds where he won his first Grand Slam title, defeating Mark Philippoussis in the final. Another 19 Major titles later and the Basel native couldn’t be playing even better than ever before.

Federer started this season on fire, winning his first 17 matches including winning his milestone 20th Major title at the Australian Open where he defeated Marin Cilic in the final in five sets.

He also went on to win in Rotterdam before suffering his first defeat for the season at the hands of Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the Indian Wells Masters.

That defeat, as well as a second-round loss to Thanasi Kokkinakis in Miami, saw him lose the world number one ranking to Rafael Nadal, who would hold it through the clay court season for all but one week (the week of the Rome Masters).

After claiming the Stuttgart title in his return to action, Federer would again wrestle back top spot before surrendering it again after narrowly failing to defend his title in Halle.

Not that it matters though, because the Swiss Maestro will be seeded first on the basis of his excellent record on grass, in comparison to Nadal’s recent poor performances on the surface (sans a Stuttgart title in 2015).

This will be the first time since the 2012 US Open, and 24th time overall, that he is seeded number one at a Major tournament. All that said, he will aim to win a Major as a top seed for the first time since the 2010 Australian Open.

His recent form on the grass courts should make him a tough proposition to beat, and I have him lifting tennis’ holy grail for the ninth time.

Prediction: Champion

Rafael Nadal

Current world ranking: 1 (seeded second)

Australian Open result: Quarter-finals
French Open result: Won

Titles so far in 2018: Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome, French Open.

Wimbledon history
Best result: Won twice (2008, 10)
Last year’s result: Fourth round

While Rafael Nadal might have just reclaimed the world number one ranking once again, the Spaniard’s poor record on grass in recent years sees him seeded second behind his great rival Roger Federer.

This marks the third time in the past nine years that the 32-year-old has been denied top billing at SW19, after being relegated to being seeded second behind Federer and Novak Djokovic in 2010 and 2014 respectively, despite entering Wimbledon in both of those years at the top of the rankings.

The reason for this is due to his recent dismal record at the All England Club, where he has not reached the quarter-finals since 2011 and has been on the wrong end of some embarrassing defeats in recent years, none more so than against Steve Darcis in the first round in 2013.

He fared better last year, reaching the fourth round where he lost a five-set thriller against Gilles Muller. Still, it is a far cry from the period between 2006-11 in which he reached five finals, winning two of them (2008 and 2010, on either side of missing the 2009 tournament due to injury).

The King of Clay has not played since taking out his eleventh title at Roland Garros, where he defeated Dominic Thiem in the final. He was due to have played at Queen’s last week, but withdrew citing the need to rest.

Having dominated the clay court season, attempting to pull off the Channel Slam (i.e. winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back) for the third time will prove to be a tough ask for the Spaniard, but despite his recent poor record at the All England Club, I still believe he can do well.

To defend the world number one ranking, all he needs to do is match last year’s fourth round result, and regardless of how Roger Federer fares, the Spaniard will leave SW19 as the world’s top-ranked male player.

Prediction: Quarter-finals

Marin Cilic

Current world ranking: 3

Australian Open result: Runner-up
French Open result: Quarter-finals

Titles in 2018: Queen’s.

Wimbledon history
Best result: Runner-up (2017)
Last year’s result: Runner-up

While most of the tennis world will have their eyes focused on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, third seed Marin Cilic will be hoping to make an impact as he attempts to add to the lone Major trophy he won at the 2014 US Open.

The Croat took out his first title in more than twelve months last week, capturing the prestigious Queen’s title by defeating former world number one Novak Djokovic in the final, saving a match point in the second set to do so.

En route to that title he also defeated Sam Querrey, whom he beat on his way to last year’s Wimbledon final, and Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios, who has emerged as a genuine threat on grass in recent years.

Prior to his success at Queen’s, Cilic reached the quarter-finals at the French Open for the second consecutive year before going down to Juan Martin del Potro in four sets.

He had lost his previous three championship matches, including the last two to Federer at Wimbledon last year in which he copped some criticism for his limp performance, as well as at the Australian Open earlier this year.

However, the 29-year-old was the only man to take a set off the Swiss Maestro when they met at Melbourne Park in January. En route to that final he benefitted from an injury-enforced retirement from Nadal in the quarters.

It will now come down to which side he will be assigned to when the draw is released later this week, as he will loom as the major roadblock to a likely Federer vs Nadal final, which would be the first at SW19 since their titanic clash in 2008, won by the Spaniard 9-7 in the final set.

I have him doing well, reaching the semi-finals once again.

Prediction: Semi-finals

Also watch out for: Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin del Potro, Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios, Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Missing: Tomas Berdych (back injury).

We now swing to the women’s side of things, where the biggest name to watch isn’t defending champion Garbine Muguruza, nor is it world number one or recent French Open champion Simona Halep.

Instead, it is Serena Williams, whose bid for a Wimbledon hat-trick was stopped in its tracks when she inadvertently revealed on Snapchat that she was expecting in April last year.

She will be aiming for a record eighth title at the All England Club, having previously won in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Fellow rivals Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova have also both been slow to get going in their comebacks from motherhood and a doping ban, recently, though the latter did reach the last eight at Roland Garros where she was easily defeated by Garbine Muguruza.

The looming return to form of the group once dubbed the “WTA Big Three” is one of many major subplots in the women’s tournament.

Let’s now preview some of the contenders for the women’s title, starting with none other than Serena Williams.

Serena Williams

Current world ranking: 183 (seeded 25)

Australian Open result: Did not play
French Open result: Fourth round (withdrew due to a pectoral injury)

Titles so far in 2018: None

Wimbledon history
Best result: Won seven times (2002-03, 09-10, 12, 15-16)
Last year’s result: Did not play

It’s not often that a player ranked outside the top 150 is among my list of contenders for a Grand Slam title, but I believe Serena Williams has what it takes to become the first mother since Kim Clijsters to win a Major title.

After giving birth to her daughter last September, the American did all that she could in her audacious attempt to defend the Australian Open title she won while in the early stages of her then-unknown pregnancy in 2017.

After a lack of fitness saw her reluctantly withdraw from the year’s first Major, the 36-year-old returned to the circuit in March, but failed to reach the quarter-finals at either Indian Wells or Miami, losing to Naomi Osaka (who had just won the former event) in the first round of the latter tournament.

Her return to the Grand Slam stage at Roland Garros gained a lot of interest from tennis fans, who were keen to see whether she could regain the pre-pregnancy form which saw her win ten Major titles between Wimbledon in 2012, and last year’s Australian Open, inclusive.

She was able to reach the fourth round, before a pectoral injury suffered in a doubles match saw her withdraw before her highly anticipated clash against Maria Sharapova, giving the Russian a walkover into the quarter-finals.

Now, the holder of 23 Major titles will look to equal the all-time singles record held by Margaret Court at the All England Club, which if she does will give her the opportunity to break the record at the US Open, her home Grand Slam, in August/September.

Currently ranked 183rd in the world, this would be the lowest ranking she’s held if she were to salute, 102 places lower than when she won the Australian Open in 2007 while ranked 81st in the world.

She has been seeded 25th, but this means she will strike one of the top eight seeds in the third round, ranging from top seed Simona Halep to two-time champion Petra Kvitova, while she could face sister Venus in the fourth.

The question is, does she have what it takes?

Prediction: Huge call, but… champion.

Simona Halep

Current world ranking: 1

Australian Open result: Runner-up
French Open result: Won

Titles so far in 2018: Shenzhen, French Open.

Wimbledon history
Best result: Semi-finals (2014)
Last year’s result: Quarter-finals

After finally cracking her Grand Slam curse at Roland Garros, world number one Simona Halep will be aiming to achieve what only Serena Williams (twice) has been able to do this millennium – complete the Channel Slam.

The 26-year-old buried the demons of three crushing Grand Slam final defeats the hard way, coming from a set and a break down against Sloane Stephens to win her first Major title in three sets.

It was well deserved given the hardships she has endured in the past few years, including losing last year’s French Open final to Jelena Ostapenko after being a set and a break up in each of the second and third sets, and losing to Caroline Wozniacki in the Australian Open final in January.

Many regard the latter battle as being one of the greatest Grand Slam women’s finals of all time, as both players gave their all in their bid to break their Major ducks.

Now, the top seed will be hoping to better her previous best record at Wimbledon, where she reached the semi-final in 2014, losing to Eugenie Bouchard.

It’s fair to say the Romanian could so easily have reached the final, and possibly won it (she was 2-0 in her head-to-head against Petra Kvitova at the time) had she not suffered an ankle injury at a crucial time in the match.

Instead, Halep could only watch on as Bouchard (who is now fighting her way through the qualifying rounds after falling afar in the rankings) went down to Kvitova in a listless display, winning only three games.

It’s been four years since that missed opportunity and while she has not been back to the last four at SW19 since, I sense that Simona Halep has a chance to again feature at the business end of the tournament.

Prediction: Semi-finals.

Garbine Muguruza

Current world ranking: 3

Australian Open result: Second round
French Open result: Semi-finals

Titles so far in 2018: Monterrey

Wimbledon history
Best result: Won (2017)
Last year’s result: Won

After a patchy start to the season, world No.3 Garbine Muguruza could be returning to top form at just about the right time of the year.

Following a second round exit at the Australian Open, the Spaniard captured the title in Monterrey before reaching the last four at Roland Garros, where she was defeated in straight sets by the eventual champion, Simona Halep.

The 24-year-old has played just one grass court match since then, losing to Barbora Strycova in the second round in Birmingham.

It could prove to be somewhat of an omen – she also lost to Strycova at the same stage twelve months earlier before going on to win her second Major title, defeating Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final.

That made her the first woman to defeat both Williams sisters in a Grand Slam final, having beaten Serena to win her first crown at the French Open the previous year.

Now she returns to the All England Club as the defending champion, and as you can imagine, all the pressure will be on her as she attempts to successfully defend 2,000 rankings points and avoid dropping out of the world’s top four.

Before she reigned at Wimbledon, the Spaniard had failed in her French Open title defence, losing to Kristina Mladenovic in the fourth round and dropping out of the top ten in the process. However, her victory at SW19 lifted her back into the world’s elite, where she has remained since.

With the honour of opening play on Centre Court on the Tuesday, it will remain to be seen how she fares in the second Grand Slam title defence of her still-fledgling career.

I have her doing well again, reaching the semi-finals.

Prediction: Semi-finals.

Petra Kvitova

Current world ranking: 8

Australian Open result: First round
French Open result: Third round

Titles so far in 2018: St Petersburg, Doha, Prague, Madrid, Birmingham

Wimbledon history
Best result: Won twice (2011, 14)
Last year’s result: Second round

One player who has enjoyed a consistent 2018 season is two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.

Eighteen months after suffering a horrific hand injury during an invasion in her residence, the 28-year-old has returned to top form, claiming five titles from as many finals – making her the most successful player this season.

Last week, she successfully defended her title in Birmingham, defeating good friend Magdalena Rybarikova in the final.

She has a remarkable record – every time she has reached a quarter-final this year, each time she has gone on to win the title, showing that she still has the fire in the belly to be a consistent player on Tour.

However, her recent Grand Slam performances remains an Achilles heel – having not reached a Major semi-final since winning her second Wimbledon title in 2014 and with her only two quarter-finals since then coming at the US Open in 2015 and last year.

Last year, the Czech left-hander fell in the second round to Madison Brengle in the second round, making it the third consecutive year in which she departed the tournament before Middle Sunday.

Given her form so far in 2018, there should be no excuses for the two-time champion not to do well at the All England Club, where I have her reaching at least the quarter-final stage.

Prediction: Quarter-finals

Also watch out for: Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko, Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Maria Sharapova.

Wimbledon starts on July 2.