Wimbledon 2013: Experts' picks for the men's draw

Tommy Haas (left) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The tennis experts of Sportskeeda look ahead at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships by making picks for the men’s draw in four categories: dark horse, early exit, dangerous floater, and champion.

1. Dark horse

Haresh Ramchandani: Roger Rasheed, the coach of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, says that his charge is a young 28 since he barely played tennis between the ages of 19 to 21. And the Frenchman seems to be maturing well with age. But the million dollar question is: is he ready to win a Grand Slam? Tsonga has all the weapons he needs to win on grass. Mental strength and better shot selection at crucial points are the only things he needs to work on to achieve his dream.

Anand Datla: Rafael Nadal’s seeding has meant that the draw is skewed in favour of the men landing in the top half. Grigor Dimitrov has a potential third round date with Juan Martin Del Potro, who suffered a quarter-final loss to Lleyton Hewitt at Queen’s. The winner of this match could proceed deep into the second week and after that, with a little bit of luck thrown in, you never know what could happen.

Roh: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga‘s performance at Roland Garros was quite impressive. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Tsonga come up with an equally marauding display at Wimbledon.

Varun Jog: Cannot look beyond Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for this one. He has produced some of his best tennis at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals here the last two years, and he’s been in fine form at the Slams this year, having just beaten Federer at the French Open. The fast courts at SW19 suit his game, but the big question is whether he can string together a few good performances, the failure to do which has been his biggest downfall over the years. An upset or two among the Big 4 could open up the draw for him and with a bit of luck, this could well be his year.

Ram Narayanan: I can’t think of anyone but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the dark horse of this year’s Wimbledon. On his day he is capable of beating anyone. Having reached the semifinal of the French Open this year, he is primed to put in an even better performance on grass. Murray did so well last year with the help of his new coach Ivan Lendl. Likewise, under his new coach Roger Rasheed, I believe the Frenchman will put a better show for the remaining part of the season.

Sudeshna Banerjee: Normally I don’t like to bet against the Fab Four when it comes to winning a Slam, but if I have to pick someone, that would be Tommy Haas. At 35, the man is enjoying an incredible resurgence and he has a Wimbledon semi-final appearance on his resume as well. He reached the French Open quarter finals this year and the last four stage in Halle just last week. He will most probably once again lock horns with the World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. They are tied at 1-1 this year which makes their third battle intriguing.

Musab Abid: Grigor Dimitrov has been on the cusp of greatness for what seems like an eternity, and his attack-based game should, theoretically at least, find solid rewards on grass. And don’t look now, but he is in a very cushy portion of the draw. All the signs seem to be pointing towards a breakthrough run by the Bulgarian, a run that might even culminate in a maiden Slam title. Don’t scoff; stranger things have happened before at SW19.