Wimbledon: Preview Of the Men's Draw.

The Championship's Men's Singles Main draw was announced yesterday and here I come with all the predictions and fortunes for the Top players.

In the Top Half of the Draw, we have World no.1 and Top seed, Novak Djokovic and the No.4 seed, David Ferrer representing the two quarters.

Novak Djokovic has by far and large got an easy draw as compared to his rivals of the Big Four. He would face the German Florian Mayer in the First Round at SW19. Novak's probable 3rd round clash could be against R.Harrison or J.Chardy of France. His First Difficult test would come in the 4th round, against the veteran Tommy Haas or the resurgent Giles Simon. Considering Nole would clear this , in the Quarters he could face the person who defeated him in 2010 Wimbledon Semifinals, The ever charismatic and big server, Tomas Berdych. If at all Novak goes past Berdych, then the last man standing between him and a finals berth would be David Ferrer.

David, who would himself face some tough matches en route to the semifinals. David Ferrer would start his campaign against Argentine Martin Alund, with a apparent 4th round battle with the new kid Canadian Milos Raonic, and a Quarterfinal prediction with the Giant killing Argentine and the lone Grand slam champion other than the Big Four Juan Martin Delpotro or Grigor Dimitrov as rightly called 'Baby Federer',who in fact could face a tough 4th round clash against Japanese Kei Nishikori or Italian Andreas Seppi.


The Bottom Half of the draw is more challenging and exciting as we have No. 2 seed, Andy Murray,
No. 3 seed, Roger Federer, and the recent French open Champion, No.5 seed, Rafael Nadal.

The Defending Champion, Roger Federer could face a heavy weight clash in Quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal. It would very interesting to watch these two battle it out at Quarterfinal stage, where both are meeting for the first time ever in a Grand Slam. Federer could face a player who had made Rafa his prey at Wimbledon last year, Lukas Rosol, in 3rd round and if at all Federer makes Lukas his prey this year, he could face another Spaniard Nicholas Almagro or again a new kid Polish Jerzy Janowicz in the 4th round.

Whereas , Rafa seeded no.5 this year, has a potential 3rd round match against the upcoming Frenchman, Benoit Paire. Rafa could face another Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka or Giant server John Isner in the 4th round.
Considering the likes of Federer, Nadal, this could be the best Quarter of the draw as there is a mix of heavy weights and also some new kids who could prove hindrance in the path of Roger and Rafa.




In the last quarter of the draw, we have last year's Finalist and the No.2 seed Andy Murray, the lone british hope since Fred perry. Andy Murray's Speech last year at Centre Court could the be the best ever I have come across in years. It moved me emotionally just as it moved an entire nation, awaiting for its hero at Wimbledon since 1936. Andy's 3rd round opponent could be veteran Spaniard Tommy Robredo, who became the first player to have won 3 consecutive grand slam matches from being 2 sets down at RG 2013.
Murray's potential 4th round match could be against Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, and in the Quarters, he could face another predator of the Big Four at Slams, Jo Wilfred Tsonga.
Interestingly ,Tsonga has a the toughest draw on paper ahead of him, as he could face challenge in the form of the highly motivated Latvian Ernests Gulbis as early as in 2nd round. Eventually, he could face 4 time semifinalist Xavier Mallise or Fernando Verdasco or may be even No. 31 seed Julien Benneteau in 3rd round. Tsonga's woes doesn't stop here, as in the 4th round he has to face opponents like Marin Cilic who would rather have a difficult task in beating Marcos Baghdatis in 1st round.

All in all, The Championship's this year are going to be very unpredictable and enthralling to watch.
There is a lot at stake for the Top Four. Novak would try sustain his ranking and his dominance over the others by winning the title for the second time. Andy Murray has all that is needed to became the only British person to win Wimbledon in Open era, and thus fulfilling a Nation's Dream. Roger Federer would fight his heart out to Defend his title only to affirm why he is called The King of Grass. And last but not the least, Rafael Nadal is very anxious to make his mark again after winning the French Open, to capture more ATP points and add one more Grand slam trophy in his cabinet.

Wimbledon: A Dream for British Players in The Open Era

Fred Perry, the Last British to Win Wimbledon .

Its the birth place of Tennis, and considered to be very close to heart of almost all the tennis professionals and its fans.The last British man to win at Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936. In Open era, many players came and went by without even making their presence felt at The Championships. There were a handful of names I found out that would be considered for at least having reached the 4th round of Wimbledon in open era.

Mark Cox

1. Mark Cox.
This Brit made a name for himself, for having beaten the then No.1 seed Rod laver at 1971 Australian Open and No.2 seed Ken Roswell at 1972 US open. But has never made it big at Grand slams.

Greg Rusedski

 2. Greg Rusedski.
Often considered to be the lone competitor of Tim henman for Brit no.1 Player in the 90's, Greg Rusedski has had his share of popularity during that period. His greatest achievements being able to reach the Wimbledon last 8 stage and a Finalist at US open in 1997. He also won the Grand slam cup ( Now ATP world tour Finals) in 1999. He attained ATP ranking as high as No.4 in the world.

Tim Henman

3. Tim Henman
The Only other British player to get close to the title at Wimbledon, is Tim Henman. Such is the ill fate of tim henman, that he has reached the Wimbledon Semi  finals 4 times , but never made it to the finals. Often considered as the Tiger Tim, he did give a glimpse of why he should be considered as a British Idol as there was no other British player so elegant on grass over the years then in the 90's. Interestingly, it was in 2001 that Tim had reached the Semifinals of Wimbledon en route defeating Roger federer in quarterfinals in 4 sets, but losing to the eventual Champion Goran Ivanisevic.

4.Andy Murray
The Only Brit player to have won a Grand slam in Open era, doesn't that sound a bit unusual. Yes, but its the fact. Andy Murray won over the hearts of his people with his very emotional speech at Wimbledon last year.

Andy Murray, winning the US open, 2012

"I'm getting closer", is what he said with his tearful eyes. His determination was strong and he had transformed from a choker to a fighter. A realisation of his grit and power was very evident at Olympics just a month after the Wimbledon. He won the Gold medal at Olympics becoming the only British player since 1908 to do so. He backed that up with the US open title defeating the defending Champion, Novak Djokovic. Andy Murray is highly regarded as one of the greatest British players of all time, taking into account the presence he has shown at Majors. Being very consistent throughout his career, Andy Murray achieved his dream of winning a Grand Slam in his 5th final appearance. Hope to see this Gritty Brit fulfils the dream of a Nation.

The Championships, this year is the most anticipated event ever. With both the last year's Titlist and Finalist winning the run up tournaments at Halle, Germany ( Federer beating M. Youzhny ) and Queen's Club ( Andy Murray beating Marin Cilic ).
Hope for a great Wimbledon.

New Kids On Block to Watch Out for at The Championships...

Its The Championships, the Most Prestigious Event in Tennis, having being done and dusted by Clay courts of Paris, we are now heading Northwards to the home of Royalty and The Mother of all Slams, The Wimbledon.

There have been few players on the tour who have age on their side along with the ability to pose threat to Top 4 for becoming top contenders for Slams in future.

1. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 22

ATP Ranking : 28

Famously known as 'The Baby Federer' , this Bulgarian lad has the skill and a lethal backhand to destroy opponents game plan. It was at Madrid Masters this year, where he won the biggest match of his career against World No. 1, Novak Djokovic beating the Serb in gruelling 3 sets. This Junior Wimledon and US open Champion, has made his presence felt on the Tour by winning against players in top 20. Grigror Dimitrov improved his Slam showing at this year Roland Garros by reaching 3rd round, eventually losing to Novak Djokovic. He has lost to Lleyton Hewitt at Queen's Club, a run up tournament to Wimbledon but he is player to go long considering his age being only 22.

2. Jerzy Janowicz , Poland ,22
ATP Ranking : 22
Ripping Off his T-shirt after winning over J. Tsonga at Rome Masters made him overnight headlines of sports column all over the world. Often considered as a battler who would go all out to survive, this polish made the most of his name last year at BNP Paribas Masters, Paris becoming the first player since 2000, to reach finals of ATP 1000 Masters on debut.
On way to finals, he defeated 5 top 20 players like Andy Murray, Janko Tipsarevic , Giles Simon , Marin Cilic. His unpredictable game with the backing of huge serve make him one of the players to have shown their strength at the big stage.

3. Benoit Paire, France , 24

ATP Ranking : 25

This Frenchman, has got the nerves of handling the pressure required against top players. He started off well this season reaching semis at Chennai and also reaching Semis at ATP 1000 masters at Rome defeating Juan Martin Delpotro, alas loosing to Federer in semis. His swift backhand and heavy ground strokes makes him stand out among the notable players at present.He reached the 3rd round of RG2013, and broke into top 30 on the Tour. Benoit Paire has the right attitude and aptitude to reach to the Top 10 in future.

4.Milos Raonic, Canada , 22

ATP Ranking : 13

One of the big servers of the game in present day tennis, this guy from Canada is fighter in all sense when it comes to playing long matches. Milos reached the 4th round of Australian Open 2011, at the very first appearance in main draw at Grand slam. In 2011 , he was awarded the ATP Newcomer of the Year and after that it has been very usual to see his presence at Slams reaching 3rd sometimes 4th rounds at Slam events. The Day wouldn't be long when we see this Canadian giving the Big Four a challenge to their crowns.


5.Ernests Gulbis, Latvia , 24
ATP Ranking : 40
Impatient and ill tempered, this lativan considers Marat Saffin as his idol. His strong serve along with the ability to hit drop shots with accuracy, makes us believe that this guy is here to stay. At Indian Wells this year, Gulbis won through the qualifying rounds reaching the 4th round en route beating Janko Tipsarevic, Andreas Seppi only to loose to Nadal in 3 sets.Having climbed the ATP rankings and breaking into top 50, it would be interesting to see whether Gulbis banks on his strengths to go all way into the Top 20.

Its All About Endurance...

My Grey cells were constantly active by the very thought of How on earth could one have such great strength and stamina with reference to the Semi Finals between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros 2013.These two have been put to test time and again when playing against each other. It was Australian Open 2012 where both had exhausted to such an extent that they couldn't even stand during the Ceremony.

It needs perseverance and great strength along with the ability to tolerate pain and grief when it comes to playing Grand Slams.The Serve and Volley game of tennis in the 1980's and 90's has been of mere existence today where we see players playing from Baseline and Long Rallies.

In 1969 Wimbledon,  it was Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Pasarell who played a match lasting 5 hours and 12 minutes with the score of 22–24, 1–6, 16–14, 6–3, 11–9.  It was after this match that the rule to implement tiebreak gained momentum. Hence, In 1971 Wimbledon Introduced Tie break in all sets except the Final with games equalling 8 each. The rules changed with time and now it is at 6 games each, we have a tiebreak.
Still in those days, while the tiebreak was not introduced in Davis cup, the 1982 quarterfinal between John McEnroe ( US ) and Mats Wilander ( Sweden ) was considered to be longest in open era at 6 hours and 22 minutes and in the end the scoreline was 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6. John McEnroe was again put to similar challenge in 1987 davis cup match against Boris Becker with the German winning this time 4–6, 15–13, 8–10, 6–2, 6–2.

John McEnroe after the match stated that
"I gave it all I had, and it was a hell of a tennis match, I wish the results were different, but it's nice to be a part of a match like that."

Tie break in all sets except the deciding set, made matches to finish off faster and still with the application of tie break, the Longest Match till date is of John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut at The Championships 2010. The final set score was 70-68, which itself speaks about how much the players would have stretched themselves to.
The Longest Grand Slam Finals was Between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at Australian Open 2012 which is considered today by many greats as One of the Greatest Matches Ever for just not the time it took but the quality of tennis was exceptional and way beyond our imagination. Even in our wildest of dreams,could we think of anyone as passionate and committed towards the game as Nadal and Djokovic were in that match ?. It was Preternatural and an extraordinary match. The Semi finals of French Open 2013, gave us a glimpse of this Finals but Djokovic was not upto the mark considering the number of Unforced errors he committed. It was 75 against 44 of Nadal.
It is to be strongly believed now that whenever Rafa and Nole would lock horns in future, it would be an epic to watch out for. The Spanish Bull prevailed over the Gritty Djoker in this semis but would love to see many more encounters like these.

Its the fortitude and courage along with endurance, stamina, resilience and mental ability to overcome an opponent as great as Nadal and Djokovic. While speaking about endurance, i would love to speak here about players specially from a background of Clay courts like Del potro , David Ferrer , Fernando Verdasco. Even they have been put to test by Nadal and Djokovic. It was Australian Open 2009 Semifinals, where Verdasco lost to Nadal in epic 5 setter. A match highly rated among tennis fans.
You might be thinking, why am I not considering the Great Roger Federer here, it is only because of a simple reason that Roger has not been put to such devastating challenge except once when Nadal won over him at Rome Masters in 2006 in a match that lasted 5 hours 5 minutes. The 5 set record of Federer is just 56% in comparison to Nadal's 75%.
If you might consider Age as a factor for Roger then I would like to cite examples of Tommy Robredo who at French Open 2013 became the Only player in Open Era to have won 3 consecutive matches in a Grand Slam being 2 sets down in each. Also Tommy Haas needs a citation with due respect as he overcame John Isner in an epic at French Open this year. For that matter I would also consider David Ferrer to be highly fit even at 31 as he had reached the Finals of French open last year without even loosing a Set.
Even at the age above 30, these guys are playing phenomenal tennis and is a very good sign for the Game and fans.
Hope to see more matches like the ones mentioned and more players coming and challenging the Top 4.

Signing Off for the being and looking ahead to a Great 2014 Season.

Nadal Vs Djokovic Semi Finals Preview

It was Cloudy , and a perfect Finals of Roland Garros 2012 , Novak Djokovic trailing 2 sets to 1 and a Break up in the 4th, when the Rain Gods had mercy on Nadal to Extend the Final on 'Monday'.

The Outcome as we all know was Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in 4 sets. The Score line was 6-4,6-3,2-6,7-5.

The Win was so special for Nadal as He had broken Bjorn Borg's Record by Winning 7 French Open Titles.

This year in 2013 , we are Once again at the Same Venue and Same two People but It is Semi Finals this time and a Loss to Djokovic here, would mean that Nadal would loose Just his Second Match at Roland Garros, whereas a Win for Nadal would make our belief stronger that No player has ever existed other than him to be the Greatest for Clay Courts.

It is a Finals like Semi Finals and each one would wish to pass this litmus to emerge victorious.But the Test would not be an Icing on the Cake for both, as they would fight for one moment that each would wish to cherish for the rest of their life.

Novak Djokovic Would battle it hard and with great Valor to become just the 5th person after Rod laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to Win a Carrer Grand Slam.

It is going to be a Battle of Strength, Courage , Determination and Mental Fitness between the two to Secure their place in the Finals of RG 2013.

Coming through a gap of almost 8 months, Nadal is in his prime form, having reached finals of all 8 ATP tournaments he has played in and winning 6 out of them. Both the loss this year came on Clay courts, one against Zeballos and against Novak Djokovic in Monte Carlo Masters.

Novak has had a roller coaster ride in clay court tournaments this year, with his loss in 3rd Round of Madrid against Dimitrov and QF loss to Tommas Berdych in Rome Masters.

Both Nadal and Djokovic have had their share of good draw at Roland Garros this year.

Djokovic came through a to Semi Finals with a loss of Just One set against P. Kohlschreiber in 4th round.

He Overcame a Motivated 'Baby Federer', Grigor Dimitrov in 3rd round to whom Djoker lost in Madrid.

Whereas Nadal had lost the first set in both Ist and IInd round matches. He faced stiff competition from Daniel Brands in Ist round,else was sublime in reaching the Semis.

A Brief Analysis of Head to Head between the two.

Going by the stats, these two have come across the Net against each other 34 times and Nadal leads with 19-15 record.

At Clay courts , it is Nadal who has sheer dominance of 11-3 matches. The 3 matches Win for Djokovic were at Rome and Madrid in 2011 and Latest one at Monte Carlo in 2013. All the matches were won in straight sets by Novak. Whereas at Hard Courts, it is a different story altogether, where Novak leads Nadal with 11-5.

The Best Match between the two was at Australian Open 2012 , where Novak prevailed in a thrilling final of Five sets which lasted 5 hours 53 minutes, the Longest Grand Slam Final ever.

Tennis Legends consider this Rivalry between the Two as One of the greatest Rivalry with age on their side, it is going to take a few more years to have a final say on this.

Lets Wait and Watch for One of the Most Awaited matches of the Year...

Hope the Best Player Wins.

 Quotes Before the Semis:

"It's the semi-finals and doesn't matter if it's against Novak or against another player, because the player who wins is not going to be the champion of Roland Garros. It's just a semi-final," Nadal Said.

Djokovic Told , "We are in good form. This is it, you know. This is the biggest matchup of our Roland Garros 2013 campaign for both me and him," he said. "I need to be very disciplined and focused in order to get emotionally, physically, and mentally ready for that match."