Wimbledon 2013 Preview: Men's Competition

With the start of Wimbledon just days away, let’s take a look at what we can expect from the men’s tournament at this year’s Championships.

Those predicting the victor to be anyone other than Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal are probably few and far between. The top four in the men’s game continue to dominate this season, clinching grand slam and Masters 1000 titles as well as some 250’s for good measure. Personally, I would put Djokovic or Murray as favourites to lift the title this year.

The world’s top two players are likely to meet in the final and there are merits to favour both players. Djokovic already has the Australian Open title under his belt for this year and the Serbian pushed Nadal to play his best tennis in their recent Roland Garros semi-final. He has the weapons in his armoury, notably his backhand, plus his supreme athleticism which should see him through to the latter stages of the tournament, if not to the Wimbledon trophy.

Andy Murray may have missed the French Open due to a back injury, but with his victories at the AEGON Championships at the Queen’s Club last week, he showed his eagerness and form ahead of Wimbledon. Murray has the match practice on grass and the Briton reached the Wimbledon final last year, as well as the Australian Open final this year. Murray’s maiden grand slam title at the US Open last September should give him the confidence to believe he can go one step further this year and lift the trophy. It’s worth noting that since Murray’s debut at Wimbledon in 2006, he has matched or improved on his performance from the previous year. He has a game that works on grass and his Olympic gold medal proves he can win over five sets at Wimbledon. It’s a tough one to call between Djokovic and Murray, but I will predict that the two meet in this year’s final.

Rafael Nadal has been seeded fifth for this year’s Championships, which means he could face Djokovic, Murray or Federer in the quarter-finals. A difficult draw in that sense is destined for Nadal, but after his shock second round exit last year, he will no doubt be fired up to repeat his performances from 2008 and 2010. As seems customary when commenting on Nadal’s prospects of late, his knees often get mentioned. His comeback from injury has been outstanding and his physical strength shone through during the French Open, especially during that tough semi-final against Djokovic.

Then there is the maestro that is Roger Federer. Seven time winner and defending champion is in with a strong chance of winning again this year. Federer, like Murray, has the grass court practice to win an eighth title, following his win at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, but in comparison to the likes of Djokovic, Murray and Nadal, I just feel he is the weaker of the four at the moment. Federer is certainly a candidate for the latter stages, but the other three aforementioned players are likely to get the better of him, should the Swiss meet them.

Inevitably, it’s all about who will win the tournament, but there are a number of other players who are tipped to do well this year. Juan Martin del Potro, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych all have potential to cause an upset, particularly the latter two of those four. Tsonga and Berdych registered strong performances on grass at Queen’s last week with Tsonga also reaching the French Open semi-finals. What I enjoy seeing from Tsonga is his use of the once dominant, now somewhat rare, serve and volley play. It’s a style of play which suits the grass court and it makes a change from the usual long baseline rallies which the top players now favour.

As for the doubles competition, the clear favourites are the Bryan brothers. Two-time Wimbledon and current French and Australian Open champions, Bob and Mike Bryan won the doubles title at Queen’s last week and will be looking to add this year’s Wimbledon crown to their collection of 14 grand slam titles. British fans should keep an eye out for Jonathan Marray (2012 Wimbledon men’s doubles champion alongside Frederik Nielson), and Colin Fleming who pair up together and are the ninth seeds. Fleming and Marray have clocked up some good performances so far in 2013, with Fleming also winning titles in Auckland and Marseille. Despite being outside of the league of top doubles players, some home support might just help carry them through to the quarter-finals or the semi-finals.

Image courtsey of: Carine06