The draw for Wimbledon has just been made and I'm so excited about this year's event especially as Andy Murray is still playing , Alcaraz is looking like a threat to Novak and the mens doubles has now gone to best of 3 sets! (more on that later)
Andy Murray
I think Andy Murray has a decent draw as he is up against the popular Brit Ryan Peniston (wildcard - 267 in the world) in the 1st round and he could play Tsitsipas in the 2nd round, but only if Stefanos beats Dominic Thiem. I'm hoping that Tsitsipas may also be distracted by his new relationship with Paula Badosa?
At the beginning of the tournament when the courts will still be green I don't think that anyone would like to play Andy Murray and I'd love to see him in the 2nd week, fully warmed up and ready to show these upstarts how to play on the Wimbledon grass!
Will Novak win Grand Slam number 24?
The pressure is on Novak obviously because if he wins he will tie with Margaret Court at 24 Slams. and he will be only one Slam away from doing the calendar Grand Slam again! He could at the same time put a bit of distance between himself and Rafael Nadal to come after him and actually threaten his [Slam] record,
On grass I can't see too many players comfortable enough on the surface to beat Novak ,but I do think that if Alcaraz can get into the 2nd week on a firmer, slower grass (hard) court he might be the only player to challenge the Serbian. I would hope that Carlos has learned a lot from his defeat in Paris thereby reducing the possibility of cramping again.
Tennis needs the best 2 players in the world battling it out in the Grand Slam finals.
Men's/ Women's Doubles
So pleased that it is now best of 3 sets which will keep it in line with all the other slams and maybe help people stay more involved with the doubles world. Lots of Brits in the dubs but look out for the Scot Jacob Fearnley who together with his partner Johannus Monday,they recently won an ATP tour doubles event and have been given a wild card. Good luck to them plus of course Jonny O'Mara from Scotland who is playing with Liam Broady. And not that I'm in any way biased but I really hope that Jamie Murray and Michael Venus can make a good run. They were so close in Rome on clay and I think that the grass courts will suit both of them even more plus they won't have the lottery of the 10 point match tie break decider!
In the women's doubles we have yet another Scot, Ali Collins who is now 110 in the world and is at the bottom end of the draw who could play the no 2 seeds Gauff & Pegula if she can win her 1st round match together with her partner Freya Christie (GB) against the experienced Alize Cornet (France) & Udvardy (Hungary) We seem to be quite good at doubles in Scotland and in the UK in general - We just need to work on our singles players!
Women's Draw
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina starts her defence of the women's singles title against American Shelby Rogers.
Rybakina, 23, is seeded third and goes into the same half of the draw as Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka, meaning they could face in the semi-finals.
Rybakina and Sabalenka, who first plays Hungary's Panna Udvardy, have been put into the bottom half of the draw.
This half is filled with players who have excellent an record on grass courts, including last year's finalist Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, Czech two-time champion Petra Kvitova, and the Czech 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova
Top seed Iga Swiatek has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon and starts against the highest-ranked opponent she could have faced. The 22-year-old opens against China's world number 33 Lin Zhu but, otherwise, has a favourable looking draw as she aims for a fifth major title.
American seventh seed Coco Gauff - a prospective quarter-final opponent for Swiatek - faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who came through qualifying after falling down the rankings.
A standout match in the first round pits American five-time champion Venus Williams, 43, against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who was a semi-finalist in 2019.It's great to see Venus continuing to compete and she will no doubt have the crowd behind her.
All comments appreciated, Ian
[email protected]
Andy Murray
I think Andy Murray has a decent draw as he is up against the popular Brit Ryan Peniston (wildcard - 267 in the world) in the 1st round and he could play Tsitsipas in the 2nd round, but only if Stefanos beats Dominic Thiem. I'm hoping that Tsitsipas may also be distracted by his new relationship with Paula Badosa?
At the beginning of the tournament when the courts will still be green I don't think that anyone would like to play Andy Murray and I'd love to see him in the 2nd week, fully warmed up and ready to show these upstarts how to play on the Wimbledon grass!
Will Novak win Grand Slam number 24?
The pressure is on Novak obviously because if he wins he will tie with Margaret Court at 24 Slams. and he will be only one Slam away from doing the calendar Grand Slam again! He could at the same time put a bit of distance between himself and Rafael Nadal to come after him and actually threaten his [Slam] record,
On grass I can't see too many players comfortable enough on the surface to beat Novak ,but I do think that if Alcaraz can get into the 2nd week on a firmer, slower grass (hard) court he might be the only player to challenge the Serbian. I would hope that Carlos has learned a lot from his defeat in Paris thereby reducing the possibility of cramping again.
Tennis needs the best 2 players in the world battling it out in the Grand Slam finals.
Men's/ Women's Doubles
So pleased that it is now best of 3 sets which will keep it in line with all the other slams and maybe help people stay more involved with the doubles world. Lots of Brits in the dubs but look out for the Scot Jacob Fearnley who together with his partner Johannus Monday,they recently won an ATP tour doubles event and have been given a wild card. Good luck to them plus of course Jonny O'Mara from Scotland who is playing with Liam Broady. And not that I'm in any way biased but I really hope that Jamie Murray and Michael Venus can make a good run. They were so close in Rome on clay and I think that the grass courts will suit both of them even more plus they won't have the lottery of the 10 point match tie break decider!
In the women's doubles we have yet another Scot, Ali Collins who is now 110 in the world and is at the bottom end of the draw who could play the no 2 seeds Gauff & Pegula if she can win her 1st round match together with her partner Freya Christie (GB) against the experienced Alize Cornet (France) & Udvardy (Hungary) We seem to be quite good at doubles in Scotland and in the UK in general - We just need to work on our singles players!
Women's Draw
Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina starts her defence of the women's singles title against American Shelby Rogers.
Rybakina, 23, is seeded third and goes into the same half of the draw as Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka, meaning they could face in the semi-finals.
Rybakina and Sabalenka, who first plays Hungary's Panna Udvardy, have been put into the bottom half of the draw.
This half is filled with players who have excellent an record on grass courts, including last year's finalist Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, Czech two-time champion Petra Kvitova, and the Czech 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova
Top seed Iga Swiatek has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon and starts against the highest-ranked opponent she could have faced. The 22-year-old opens against China's world number 33 Lin Zhu but, otherwise, has a favourable looking draw as she aims for a fifth major title.
American seventh seed Coco Gauff - a prospective quarter-final opponent for Swiatek - faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who came through qualifying after falling down the rankings.
A standout match in the first round pits American five-time champion Venus Williams, 43, against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who was a semi-finalist in 2019.It's great to see Venus continuing to compete and she will no doubt have the crowd behind her.
All comments appreciated, Ian
[email protected]
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