2013 Wimbledon: Men's singles: Who's going to conquer the grass?

It is that time of the year when tennis fans throughout the world get to witness pure class on green grass. SW19 will be the most happening place on the planet for the next two weeks as the big four of the sport play a Grand Slam together, for the first time in 12 months. At the start of this year’s Wimbledon, the heart of every topic of discussion is ‘Who of the big four will win?’, as this is no more the era in which an unknown name comes out of the blue to lift the most coveted crown of the game. It is an era in which the big four of the game are dominating and adding to the spice of rivalries among their fan base and eventually making the atmosphere livelier. Here is the scene of the big guns from the eyes of a passionate fan with the obvious presumptions that any fan would have.

The man of the moment, Rafael Nadal, who has had a dream comeback after winning seven of the nine tournaments he has participated in since his seven month lay-off and reaching the finals of the other two, is a definite contender for the Wimbledon title which he has already lifted two times. His 43-2 season record is close to the best ever the game has ever seen; that of Novak Djokovic in 2011, who had a legendary winning streak of 43 matches, put to an end by the legend himself, Roger Federer, at the 2011 French Open semifinals. While considering the Mallorcan’s shot at the title, one should simultaneously discuss the all-time great and king of grass, Roger Federer‘s chances as well, not just because the two greats are scheduled for a possible quarterfinal meeting, but because they have provided to the game the greatest rivalry over different surfaces while continuing to outperform the other contenders in every surface. Djokovic came, dominated and conquered but it was these two whose names ruled the game for a half a decade. While Djokovic-Nadal encounters at Australian Open 2012 final and this year’s French Open semifinal were a treat to the fans, providing all the thrill, entertainment, twists and turns that one can ask from a match, it is the 2008 Wimbledon final where Nadal lifted the trophy in literal darkness that is etched in the minds of the fans as the greatest match ever.

While the debate on the best match ever is an never ending one, the point to take from here is that the Nadal and Federer epic match was the last time the two met on grass and the expectations from fans from their possible quarterfinal clash will definitely be sky high. This will be one of the last of their legendary matches as both the players are aging with time. Though Rafael Nadal has had the best of the seasons among the big 4, he chose to withdraw from Halle in order to rest his tired body which he says is still not 100% recovered, and the fact that he comes to Wimbledon without any match practice on grass, combine to raise concern over whether he can lift the title here.