LONDON: If the Wimbledon Championships is anything like this week’s Aegon Open, expect to see a lot of shocks at the top of the draw.
Only three seeded players reached the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event with the highest being fourth seed Marin Cilic, who will play Feliciano Lopez in Sunday’s final. The outcome comes as the world’s best struggle for consistency. Novak Djokovic took a last-minute decision to play Eastbourne in an attempt to revive his form. Andy Murray is struggling to fulfil his world No.1 obligations. Meanwhile, it is unclear how Rafael Nadal’s knee will fair on the grass.
“I think it’s going to be really open, exciting, and it’s going to be a good Wimbledon.” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga previewed about the Wimbledon draw.
In recent years the grass-court major has been dominated by the ‘big four.’ Lleyton Hewitt was the last man outside the group to claim the title back in 2002. If there were to be a new champion at SW19, it could indicate a shift in dominance. Still, it is hard to question Roger Federer’s supremacy on the surface. Former Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov is one player who remains undeterred about the recent results on the tour.
“Everybody is playing good nowadays. I don’t think we should be that hard on the situation. I believe all these players that are out right now, they will be extra motivated when Wimbledon comes around.” Dimitrov explained.
“It’s not like the first time we have seen something like this.”
Queen’s finalist Lopez will be one of the most experienced players in this year’s upcoming grand slam. It will be his 16th consecutive appearance at SW19 since 2002. He is one player that knows anything can happen at the event. Twice he has scored wins over a top-10 rival, Marat Safin in 2005 and Andy Roddick in 2011. Gunning for the hat-trick this year, the Spaniard believes anything is possible.
“Considering the results of the best players in the world, it is true that it is probably the most open Wimbledon in the last ten years.” He concluded.
“Anything can happen in tennis. It’s two weeks of tennis. So many things that may affect the performance of the players.”
The gap is opening the door for others to thrive, with one of them being former US Open champion Cilic. Going into the Queen’s final, he has won 92% of his first service points. The highest figure when compared to the other 31 players in the draw. Cilic’s motivation to succeed in the tournament is driven by his top-five goal.
“I’m playing really well on grass. Especially also considering my form the last couple of months, I’m getting better and better in my own game. Also looking back at last three years, playing in Wimbledon, playing on grass, I had really good results.” – Cilic
It remains to be seen concerning what will happen at Wimbledon. Whether it is Federer claiming an historic eighth title or an underdog succeeding. Either way Sam Querrey, who stunned Djokovic in the tournament last year, is expecting to see the unexpected.
“You will definitely have a handful of upsets. That’s the one slam where you rarely have every top seed move forward.” He said.
The 131st Wimbledon Championships will start on July 3rd.
