How the top players stack up ahead of Wimbledon
It’s not a Big 3 fight any more
The only thing predictable about tennis is its unpreictability. Wawrinka, who was grossly underperforming just six months ago, suddenly gained form in the clay season and beat two of the ‘big three’ en route to the trophy.
Many people argued, up until yesterday, that Stan won only because Federer had an off day. I feel his extremely dominant performance against the world number one proved otherwise. The aggresive, yet refined style of play did not seem as if it was coming from a man who had won only one Grand Slam previously.
This exciting final capped off what was an amazing tournament, with ups and downs for perhaps all fans. The fact that a player outside of the big three won, proves that professional tennis at the highest level, today, is more than just these three fighting to win trophies and the number one position.
Being a Federer fan myself, I was quite content with the way he played in the rounds leading up to the quarterfinal. The fourth round encounter against Monfils was a mouth watering encounter when it went into the second day, one set apiece. Federer fought brilliantly on day two, winning the match in four sets. The quarterfinal was completely dominated by the eventual winner of the tournament.
Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, had an amazing tournament leading up to the final,decimating the undisputed legend of clay, Rafael Nadal. While the match was hailed as the match of the tournament, Djokovic completely crushed Nadal in straight sets, leaving little to cheer for tennis fans in general.
Roland Garros 2015 opens up multiple possibilities for the two slams to follow. The win by Wawrinka ascertained that Djokovic was a mere mortal, and that the Wimbledon victor is not decided yet (Let’s face it. With the kind of form Djokovic was in, the only competition he would have faced on grass was Federer).
Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka, after winning his first French open, jumps up to No.4 on the ATP rankings. Expectations are high, and I believe he won’t fail to deliver. The only task in front of him right now (A seemingly tough one at that) is to keep up his energy and this level of play. With this intensity, he is perhaps the best player on tour right now. Grass is not his favourite surface, but he is expected to fare well at Wimbledon, given his current form.
Prediction: Quarters / Semis (Depending on the draw).
Andy Murray
Murray did have the momentum going into the fifth set in an epic semifinal against Djokovic, but eventually lost his rhythm and pace, tamely giving way to the World number one 6-1 in the final set. I believe he is going to have an average – good Wimbledon as there were signs of promise in his match against Djokovic.
Prediction: Semis.
Rafael Nadal
Nadal himself admitted that he wasn’t playing to win, this year. His primary concern was to stay injury free and hence, his performance in Roland Garros was not upto the mark in the least. People might argue that he was given perhaps the toughest draw due to an unfair seeding, but let’s face it. He was nowhere near the Nadal we are accustomed to seeing in Paris every year. I don’t see much promise in Wimbledon, and if the draw is once again against him, I don’t see him getting past any of the top 5 players.
Prediction: Quarters.
Roger Federer
A lot of you might argue that this is a biased article (It maybe is), but I feel Federer is currently still the best in the business. A lot of players have shown promise over the past few years, but none of them have actually matched the class and performance of this man. I do see a bright 4-5 years ahead of him, if he stays injury free, as he always is.This year’s Wimbledon will perhaps be number 18.
Prediction: Winner.
Novak Djokovic
He is probably at the peak of his career, winning tournament after tournament. But the recent loss to Wawrinka might soften him just a little. Djokovic was playing the tennis of his life, a few months ago. We can only wait and hope that he doesn’t fade away, like a lot of the others have. This loss to Wawrinka wil have a mental effect on him, and I won't bank on him to go the distance.
Prediction: Finals.