Wimbledon gets underway tomorrow. Every player dreams of winning this coveted title/trophy. The stakes are higher for a few players, adding an incredible amount of pressure to an already tense situation. Serena Williams aims for her 21st major title and Federer is hoping to capture his first major title since 2012.
WOMEN’S DRAW
Of the top four seeds, the number three seed Simona Halep is the only one to have met her projected first round opponent. They met in 2014 and Halep easily defeated Jana Cepelova. Cepelova, like all the other opponents of the top four seeds, is ranked outside the top 100.
The match that has the most promise of being a potential upset is that of the number four seed, Maria Sharapova, against Johanna Konta. Konta played inspired tennis recently in Eastbourne. She defeated Ekaterina Makarova, Garbine Muguruza and took the first set from the eventual Champion, Belinda Bencic, in the quarterfinals.
The number one and two seeds, Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova, are meeting their first round opponents for the first time. The possibility of upset always exists in first round encounters; however, unless Kvitova and Williams are completely off their game, I do not see it happening.
MEN’S DRAW
The top three men seeds and Rafael Nadal. The number two seed, Roger Federer, has the easiest first round match. He meets Damir Dzumhur, a player he recently defeated easily at Roland Garros. The number three seed, Andy Murray, plays Mikhail Kukushkin. Murray leads their head-to-head 2:0. However, that was in 2012 and Kukushkin is a much improved player. He won a set against Murray, does that give him enough belief to be a real threat?
Two first round matches have real potential to be if not outright upsets, at least prove to be interesting. The first is that of the number one seed, Novak Djokovic. He plays Philipp Kohlschreiber. Although Djokovic leads their head-to-head 6:1, Kohlschreiber has won a set in four of his six losses. This match has the potential to be highly competitive or a complete bust and it depends on which Kohlschreiber shows up.
The second match is that of the number ten seed, Rafael Nadal. He takes on Thomaz Bellucci. Although Nadal leads their head-to-head 4:0, Bellucci is a very dangerous opponent for Nadal at this time in his career. When Nadal was confident, Bellucci pushed him and some sets were very close. This encounter could be a repeat of the previous matches or complete disaster for Nadal. Bellucci is playing with confidence, while Nadal is still searching for his top form. Does Bellucci get his first win against Nadal or does Nadal play the quality tennis he is capable of and avoid the upset?
I agree with the above comments. I believe most of the top seeds will most likely make it past the first couple rounds. As for Nadal, if he gets past Bellucci, he might have a chance to make it to the round of sixteen. However, I really don’t think he’ll get much further. Unless he ups his confidence and ups his game he might not even get that far. I sincerely hope that Serena gets her 21st title and, if not Rafa, then Fed claims another title. Hopefully, someone will eventually find Djokovic’s achilles heel.
Perhaps Stan Wawrinka has found Djokovic’s Achilles heel, at least on clay.
I believe that Serena will get her 21st title. She has a way of refocusing once she sees her opponent taking the lead – so even though she loses focus, I am confident that she will do what is necessary to win. One of my male favorites is Nadal – however, as much as I believe in his talent, I must say that I am a bit nervous, and not as confident in his ability to win. He has to come out strong, and remain strong, not losing focus or momentum.