Wimbledon 2016 | Who is likely to lift the title
The 130th edition of The Championships, Wimbledon, will kick off on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London where the best tennis players will don their whites and compete for what many consider to be the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.
1) The top quarter is anchored by No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic who clinched the French Open three weeks ago to complete his career slam in singles. The Serb has won here in 2011, 2014 and 2015. On paper, he doesn’t have a tough draw: In the 3rd round, he could face either Sam Querrey, , or Lukas Rosol ,Nadal’s conqueror in the 2nd round of the 2012 edition, both with big games but very unreliable. In the 4th round, he could be up against slightly trickier opposition in either Kohlschreiber, who reached the final of Stuttgart, or unseeded Frenchman Mahut , but can anyone hit through the Serb? The quarterfinal stage could see the world No. 1 face Raonic, the 6th seed, who reached the final of Queen’s . Again, the Djoker has played Play Station-like tennis, the kind where you rarely commit an unforced error and the big-serving Canadian shouldn’t be a problem.
2) The second quarter sees No.3 seed and seven-time champion Roger Federer return to his favorite slam and the one he has a realistic shot of winning. Having had to skip the French Open because of a back injury to end a run of 65 consecutive appearances at the slams starting from the 2000 Australian Open, Federer made his come-back on grass and lost in the semis of Stuttgart to Dominic Thiem and in the semis of Halle to Alexander Zverev. Under normal circumstances, we would pencil Roger into the semis here, but he is vulnerable at the moment. Dolgopolov, , can trouble him in round 3 with his variety and unorthodox style. In the quarterfinals, Cilic, the 9th seed will be his probable opponent. The Croat had beaten Federer in the semis of the 2014 US Open en route to the title and has reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in the last two editions, losing both matches to eventual champion Djokovic.
Also Read- Wimbledon 2016 Seedings | Djokovic, Serena on top in singles; Mirza and Hingis No.1 in doubles
3) The third quarter has Stan Wawrinka, seeded 4, attempt to go beyond the quarters here for the first time in his career. He opens up against youngster Taylor Fritz,a relatively tough opener. If he gets past that, he may run into a resurgent Juan Martin del Potro,the 2013 semifinalist and 2009 US Open champion. In the 4th round, Wawrinka could meet Bautista Agut who has reached the second week of the past 4 slams; he is not someone any tennis player would want to face on an off day. The biggest challenge for the Swiss could come in the quarters, though, against 10th seed Berdych , Zverev finalist at Halle or 8th seed Thiem . Thiem himself has a nightmare first round against German Florian Mayer who beat the Austrian in the semifinals of Halle en route to the title. The German hits a flat ball and has great slices and drop shots; he’s also a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2004 and 2012.
4) The fourth quarter is where Andy Murray starts his campaign towards a second Wimbledon title having won his home slam in 2013. In round 4, he could face lefty and big-serving Feliciano Lopez or 15th seed Nick Kyrgios . Kyrgios has to get past veteran Czech Radek Stepanek in the first round, though. In the quarters, Murray could face 12th seed Tsonga , 18th seed big-serving John Isner , or 7th seed Richard Gasquet . But with Ivan Lendl back in his coaching corner, the Brit should discard any distractions as he prepares for the ultimate challenge of a possible final against Djokovic.
Prediction:
Semifinal 1: Djokovic beats Cilic
Semifinal 2: Murray beats Thiem
Final: Djokovic beats Murray
1) The top quarter is anchored by top seed and defending champion Serena Williams. The six-time winner is yet again the favorite but how can we forget the last 9 months following that gut-wrenching loss to Roberta Vinci at the US Open last year? Playing little tennis and having baffling losses, Serena is also on the brink of history as she bids to equal Steffi Graf’s record of 22 majors in the Open era. In the fourth round, the American could face compatriot Sloane Stephens, or 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Both have had big wins over the No. 1 at the majors: Stephens at the 2013 Australian Open quarters; Kuznetsova at the 2009 French Open quarters en route to the title. A rematch with Vinci in the quarters would be intriguing given what happened in last year’s US Open, though the Italian hasn’t had good results of late post the hard court spring. But her flat forehand and renowned backhand slice as well as her forecourt game should suit her well on the lawns of Wimbledon where she reached the 4th round in 2012 and 2013. But instead of Vinci, Serena could face big-serving CoCo Vandeweghe who just won Rosmalen and is coming back to Wimbledon after a great quarterfinal run last year.
2) The second quarter sees 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwanska return to the site of her 2012 finals showing. She has to navigate a tricky quarter, though. She could face Caroline Garcia who just won at Mallorca, in the 3rd round. In the fourth round, the Pole could face Dominika Cibulkova who beat her in the Eastbourne quarterfinals. If she survives that, a quarterfinal against one of 10th seed Petra Kvitova (champion in 2011 and 2014), Ekaterina Makarova , Tsvetana Pironkova or 7th seed Belinda Bencic looms large.
3) The third quarter has 4th seed and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber getting handed a favorable draw till the 4th round where she could face Nottingham champion Karolina Pliskova who has never been beyond the second round here. Kerber, the 2012 semifinalist, has had up and down results since winning in Melbourne. Can she find some magic here? In the quarterfinals, she could face an inconsistent No. 5 seed Simona Halep, but if the Romanian will even reach the second weekremains to be seen. Kerber’s biggest threat could be Madison Keys, the No. 9 seed, who is the newest member of the top 10 having conquered Birmingham a week ago. The big-serving, hard-hitting American reached the quarters of Wimbledon last year and has a game that is perfect for grass. She could come through here.
4) The fourth quarter sees reigning French Open champion and second seed Garbine Muguruza return to the tournament that started the big breakthrough for her. A finalist here a year ago, Muguruza has the serve, power and athleticism to go all the way, but how will she react desire-wise after that win in Roland Garros? She has an extremely tough opener against Camila Giorgi who loves the grass and can hit winners at will when she’s on. In the third round, she could face Lucie Safarova, the 2014 semifinalist, who has the unenviable task of facing her doubles partner and good friend Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round. The most dangerous opponent Muguruza could face in the fourth round is Sabine Lisicki, the 2013 finalist, who has a penchant for morphing into an elite player on the lawns of Wimbledon. In the quarterfinal stage, Muguruza can face Venus Williams, the five-time champion, who is in a section full of seeds with not enough pedigree on the grass like 29th seed Daria Kasatkina, 22nd seed Jelena Jankovic, and 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. It has to be said, though, Jankovic beat Venus in the 3rd round of the 2006 edition and beat Kvitova in last year’s edition. And if Venus is not at her best, any player can take advantage for a chance to face Muguruza in that quarterfinal.
Predictions:
Semifinal 1: Serena beats Radwanska
Semifinal 2: Keys beats Muguruza
Final: Serena beats Keys
1) Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the reigning US Open champions, are coming off a win at Queen’s club a week ago. They also won Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. Their toughest opposition could come in the quarterfinals if they face 6th seeds Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea. The Indian-Romanian hasn’t won a title this year, but they reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year. Whoever comes out of that quarter may likely face in the semis 4th seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, the defending champions, who apart from their win at Madrid this year, haven’t had much to celebrate. This could provide a chance for Lukasz Kubot and Alexander Peya, the 7th seeds, who reached the finals of Halle last week.
2) The No. 2 seeds Bob and Mike Bryan are in the bottom half of the draw. The three-time champions (2006, 2011 and 2013) haven’t won a slam since the 2014 US Open as they are in the twilight of their career. Can they pull off a win here? They lost a tight final in Roland Garros on the slow clay, so you would think they might fare better here, but the French Open has best-of-three set matches while here in Wimbledon, it is best-of-five. Huge difference. In the 3rd round, they could meet 14th seeds Stepanek and Nenad Zimonjic who haven’t won anything together, but have won multiple slams with other partners. In the quarterfinals, the twins could face 11th seeds Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen (Halle champions) or 5th seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo (the 2013 Wimbledon finalists). In the semis, the twins can either face 3rd seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, the reigning Australian Open champions, or 8th seeds Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock, the 2014 Wimbledon champions.
Predictions:
Semifinal 1: Herbert/Mahut beat Rojer/Tecau
Semifinal 2: Murray/Soares beat Dodig/Melo
Final: Herbert/Mahut beat Murray/Soares
1) Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, team SanTina, who have already qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore, are the top seeds and defending champions. It will be interesting to see how they recover from what must felt like an opportunity lost at the French Open a few weeks ago to complete the SanTina slam. Is the pressure now off? Do they loosen up and wow everybody with their level of play? Or is it the case that other teams are catching up and that SanTina have to find a different gear? SanTina have their work cut out for them as they could likely face 13th seeds Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva in the 3rd round, the pair who beat them in the 2nd round of Indian Wells this year. In the semis, SanTina might have to face either 3rd seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan or 7th seeds Mattek-Sands and Safarova—both of those teams have beaten SanTina last year: the Chan sisters did it in the semis of Cincinnati while Mattek-Sands and Safarova did it in the quarters of Madrid and again in the quarters of Roland Garros.
Also read- Sania Mirza | Birthed in India, adopted by the world
2) Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic decided to pair up at the end of last year in order to have a shot at a medal for France at the upcoming Rio Olympics. And boy are they medal contenders! The Frenchwomen are the No. 2 seeds and they are the in-form team right now. After finals appearances in Sydney and Dubai, the French duo finally won their first title as a duo in Charleston. They followed that up by winning a decisive doubles rubber in the Fed Cup semifinals against the Netherlands. Beating SanTina in the finals of Stuttgart and Madrid was when they truly announced themselves as big-time contenders. The pair won their home slam at the French Open and look on course for another slam win. The biggest threat in their half could come in the semis from either No. 6 seeds Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka, the 2012 finalists, or No. 4 seeds Makarova and Vesnina, last year’s finalists. Interesting teams to look out for include unseeded legends Venus and Serena Williams who won the doubles here in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, and 2012; they open their campaign against 11th seeds Andrea Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik. SanTina’s conquerors at the French Open, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, are unseeded and face Spanish duo Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja, the 14th seeds, in the 1st round.
Predictions:
Semifinal 1: Hingis/Mirza beat Mattek-Sands/Safarova
Semifinal 2: Garcia/Mladenovic beat Makarova/Vesnina
Final: Garcia/Mladenovic beat Hingis/Mirza
Mixed Doubles:
The competition starts 6 days into the Championships and the draw isn’t available yet. But really, it’s hard to stop Leander Paes and Martina Hingis. The defending champions are coming off a big win at the French Open where they completed their career mixed doubles slam. They have won 4 out of the last 6 slams: Australian Open 2015, Wimbledon 2015, US Open 2015, French Open 2016. Prediction? A successful title defense for Paes and Hingis.
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