5 bold predictions for 2019 tennis season
The 2018 tennis season on the men’s side initially saw Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continue their fairytale rise back to the top as they captured the Australian Open and the French Open titles to make it six consecutive Slam titles between them.
This was followed by an absolutely epic comeback by the Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic who ended their dominance in style once again by grabbing back to back Slams and Masters titles, and ending the year as the oldest ever World No. 1.
Apart from the usual suspects, the tour also saw some groundbreaking results from some of the Next Gen stars in Alexander Zverev, Karen Khachanov, Borna Coric and Stefanos Tsitsipas as the gap between them and the Big 3 has become closer than ever before.
We all know how unpredictable a tennis season can be. So much can change within a span of just a few weeks as seen over the years, but everyone likes to predict what the future looks like.
So, here are some of my predictions for the 2019 tennis season on the men’s side:
#5 Andy Murray to capture his 3rd Wimbledon title
Many people are writing off Andy Murray by saying that he may never return to the level that saw him win 3 Grand Slams and 2 Olympic Golds.
These are the same people who wrote off Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal many times over their careers, and just a few months ago, even Novak Djokovic was considered to be on the decline. But then they showed why they are called some of the greatest to ever play the sport.
Murray may not have a similar number of Slam titles but he is very much a part of the quartet that has dominated tennis in the last decade.
The Brit had his toughest ever season this year as he managed to play just 12 matches after having a hip surgery in January. But he might have learned a lot from the comeback of his rival, Novak Djokovic, and in my opinion, he didn’t make the mistake the Serb made of coming back a little too early, ending his season shortly after the US Open to be 100% ready for the 2019 season.
Due to this, he has saved himself from the potential loss of confidence that could have likely taken place if he had lost a bunch of matches against players he is not used to losing.
He will be mentally and physically fresh in January and will put together some steady performances through the first few months by getting a bunch of wins under his belt and will finally peak on his home soil at Wimbledon to announce the comeback that everybody is waiting for.