McIntyre Tennis

Men's Wimbledon Draw Analysis

By Mike McIntyre

 A year ago at Wimbledon Novak Djokovic signaled to the tennis world that he was back in-form by capturing his first Grand Slam in over two years at the All England Club. Now he returns not only as defending champion but also as the current US Open and Australian Open champ and the World No. 1 once again. Djokovic's path towards a fifth Wimbledon title won't be easy so let's take a closer look at who he might face and other contenders at SW19 in 2019.

The Serbian defending champ starts his campaign against tricky German Philipp Kohlschreiber who is tough on any surface but in particular on grass. The pair will face one another for the fourth time this year already with Djokovic capturing the last two meetings after Kohlschreiber got the 6-4, 6-4 win in Indian Wells. These two players met once before at Wimbledon with Djokovic prevailing in the first round back in 2015 by a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. This will be Kohlschreiber's 15th appearance at Wimbledon and he made the quarterfinals in 2012, his best ever showing at a major. Djokovic has fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic, the 32nd seed, as a potential third round opponent before what would be an interesting encounter in the fourth round against rising Canadian talent Felix Auger Aliassime who is seeded 19th in just the second Grand Slam of his young career.

Auger Aliassime had never before played a professional tournament on grass until a couple of week's ago in Stuttgart where he made the finals. Then last week the 18 year old phenom defeated Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the semifinals in Queen's. Best of five sets will be something relatively new to Auger Aliassime but he has been in great form in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

Other tricky players in the top quarter include the aforementioned Tsitsipas - who has still been unable to beat Auger Aliassime in their pro careers. Daniil Medvedev is also present as the 11th seed along with veteran Gael Monfils who is seeded No. 16 and David Goffin - finalist in Halle - at No. 21.

Moving down the draw we have another Canadian to look out for - 2016 Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic. It has been another up and down year for Raonic due to injury issues but if he can manage to stay healthy he is an automatic top-5 threat on the grass. He'll open against Prajnesh Gunneswaran and could meet Stan Wawrinka in the third round. The pair have never played each other on grass and Wawrinka needs only a Wimbledon championship to complete his career Slam.

This quadrant of the draw also has last year's finalist, Kevin Anderson who comes in as the No. 4 seed this time around. Recently returning from an elbow injury that kept him off the ATP Tour for almost three months, Anderson has played in but one recent event where he fell in the second round to Gilles Simon at Queen's. The Wimbledon fifth set has been altered starting this year in part due to Anderson's lengthy semifinal match last year against John Isner where the South African prevailed 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24. From now only there will be a tiebreak played once 12-12 is reached in the fifth and final set.

Other players of note in this section include the struggling 6th seed Sascha Zverev, Russia's Karen Khachanov seeded 10th and recent Queen's singles and doubles champ - Feliciano Lopez.

In the bottom half of the draw we find a potential Nadal vs Federer semifinal that would have tennis fans lose their collective minds. It's hard to believe that the duo last met at Wimbledon all the way back in their legendary final in 2008 where Nadal prevailed 9-7 in the fifth set to capture his first ever title there. The path towards the semis will not be easy for Nadal who opens against Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita but could face Nick Kyrgios in the second round and potentially Denis Shapovalov in the third round. 2017 Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic could be a fourth round opponent while Dominic Thiem is the 5th seed and also in this section for a potential quarterfinal matchup. It would take quite the effort for Nadal to advance deep in the draw with that grueling list of opponents in front of him but with the Spaniard nothing can ever be considered a surprise given his unparalleled compete level and love for this tournament.

In the final quarter of the draw we have of course the 8 time champion Roger Federer. The World No. 3 is seeded 2nd due to Wimbledon's unique seeding formula - a process that has upset some who feel it unjustly bumps Nadal down a spot. Regardless of where you stand on that particular issue, Federer will open against South Africa's Lloyd Harris who is ranked No. 87 on the ATP Tour. Harris is going to have his hands full as he recently fell in the opening round of qualifying in both Halle and Eastbourne. Federer has a nice draw to settle into the tournament and shouldn't be overly challenged until a potential fourth round match against Borna Coric - someone who has a grass court win against him going back to last summer in the finals at Halle.

Beyond that point Kei Nishikori is the 8th seed and recent grass court star Matteo Berrettini is also floating around as the 17th seed in this bottom quarter. Tomas Berdych and Richard Gasquet are two veteran players with grass court skills who are unseeded and could make some noise as well.

Ultimately this event seems the most likely of all four Slams to have the big names continue their dominance. Going back to 2002 the only four players who have emerged victorious at Wimbledon are Federer (8), Djokovic (4), Nadal (2) and Murray (2). It would take a pretty big upset for that trend to change in 2019. While Murray is just making his return to the court in doubles, the other three have been their usual dominant selves leading the ATP in winning percentage through the first half of the season. Enjoy it while it lasts and check back with us later in the tournament for more Grand Slam coverage!

What to Expect From Andy Murray in 2019?

By Mike McIntyre

Is there a bigger question mark in men's tennis to start the 2019 season than what we can expect from former World No. 1 Andy Murray?

After being forced to go through major hip surgery early in the 2018 season, Murray returned for a mere 6 tournaments that saw him continue to limp around the court at times. The three time Grand Slam champ and two time Olympic Gold Medalist was considered to belong to the "Big Four" along with Djokovic, Federer and Nadal prior to his injury woes but is now ranked 240th in the ATP Tour rankings due to his restricted tournament play.

Murray started this season at the Brisbane International and won his opening round match in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 against Australia's James Duckworth who is ranked 234th in the world. His second round match was - as expected - another story as he faced 16th ranked Daniil Medvedev. Murray's Russian opponent is a player on the rise in the men's game and after Murray held pace for 5-5 in the opening set, the young talent broke free to win six straight games and take a strangle-hold on the match. Medvedev would prevail 7-5, 6-2 in just over an hour and twenty minutes.

Murray's play understandably faded as the match wore on as the 31 year old still seems to be lacking the confidence in his physical abilities on the court. How much of that was due to the hip is unknown, although Murray did admit to some struggles during the match. His comments after the loss did not exactly inspire much confidence in his long-term potential to return to his previous form.

"OK. Not perfect,"  Murray said. "Better than how I was competing a few months ago, when I was playing and competing back-to-back days."

With the Australian Open less than two weeks away, it is hard to imagine Murray being capable of lasting long in a best-of-five set format. And if that hip is still problematic 12 months post-op, what are the odds that he ever going to be able to play pain-free?

If not for the comments about the continuing hip issues, it would still be expected that there would be a period of adjustment to being back to playing a regular schedule on the tour. Most players do not experience an immediate return to form like Roger Federer did where he won in his Grand Slam return in Melbourne in 2017. Most players need more time than that to get back to what they once were. Even current No. 1 Novak Djokovic took a few months where he looked like a fragile version of his former self before he returned to his dominating ways at Wimbledon last summer. The difference with Federer and Djokovic however is that they both seemed 100% fit when they came back, while Murray is clearly anything but.

While Murray may never get back to Grand Slam winning form, it would be a shame to see him unable to continue his career on his own terms. Aside from his tennis prowess, he's been a wonderful ambassador for the sport and a has been a true proponent for equality between the ATP and WTA Tour's - something that should be, but too often is not, the norm.

Perhaps the hip issues are less concerning than Murray's fans are no doubt wondering at present time. Match competition is different from practice and it could be that Murray simply needs to get his body re-adjusted to the rigors of competition. If so, one wonders if even entertaining the thought of playing best-of-five matches is in his immediate best interests. We'll find out soon enough as the January 14th start day at the Aussie Open is quickly approaching.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

‘OK. Not perfect. Better than how I was competing a few months ago, when I was playing and competing back-to-back days.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/02/already-learned-2019-murray-nadal-struggle-djokovic-federer-enjoy-solid-starts-8303180/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

‘OK. Not perfect. Better than how I was competing a few months ago, when I was playing and competing back-to-back days.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/02/already-learned-2019-murray-nadal-struggle-djokovic-federer-enjoy-solid-starts-8303180/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Andy Murray Wins Opener at Citi Open in Washington

By Mike McIntyre

Andy Murray  defeated 80th ranked Mackenzie McDonald of the United States on Monday in DC at the Citi Open in his first hard court match since March of 2017

The former World No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam champ is trying to work his way up from 832nd in the ATP rankings following a lengthy layoff that was prolonged due to an elected hip surgery earlier this year.

Making his return to action last month on grass, Murray lost in his opening round match against Nick Kyrgios by a close score of 2-6, 7-6, 7-5. He then played in Eastbourne - again on grass - where he won his first round encounter against Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3 before falling to countryman Kyle Edmund for the first time in his career 6-4, 6-4.

The 31 year old Murray wisely elected to skip Wimbledon as he did not know how his hip would react to a best-of-five format so soon into his comeback.

In his match against McDonald on Monday, Murray lost the opening set but battled back after a rain-delayed day to prevail 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a battle that lasted over two-and-a-half hours. Murray sealed the victory on his seventh match point opportunity. The win sets-up a re-match against Edmund in the second round.

"I enjoyed getting through that one," Murray revealed after the win. "You could see it in the celebration. That was a tough match. It could have gone either way. It was nice to win it."

It doesn't appear that Murray is being troubled by the hip which is more important at this stage of his return than the wins or losses. Already with the first round victory he will see his ranking shoot-up into the 600s on Monday.

Next up for Murray after DC will be the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Murray has won there in 2010 as well as when the event was hosted in Montreal in both 2009 and 2015. Check back with us here at ProTennisFan for daily coverage from the Canadian Masters 1000 as we will have writers and photographers there throughout the event. You can also follow us on Twitter for timely updates and analysis.

Andy Murray Withdraws From The Australian Open

By Mike McIntyre

As the 2017 tennis season closed on the ATP World Tour there was a sense of optimism among fans that we would see the top players in the world healthy for the start of the New Year and ready to renew the exciting battles that we have come to expect over the past decade. Last season was dominated by two players - Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - who remarkably shared the four Grand Slams. Injuries took their toll on the other major contenders, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka who all missed the U.S. Open and the remainder of the season as they tried to mend from their respective ailments. As the 2018 season begins however, it seems like their bodies are not quite ready for competition and there is no firm indication of when they might be able to resume consistent play. Add Nadal to that list as the Spaniard is still dealing with a knee injury and you have what is shaping-up to be a very wild and unpredictable first Slam of the year in Melbourne later this month.

Andy Murray filled-in for Djokovic last week at the Mubadala World Tennis Classic in Abu Dhabi where he was beaten by Roberto Bautista Agut  - a player he had never previously dropped a set to - 6-2. Murray's movement seemed limited which sparked talk of whether he would be able to play this week in Brisbane where he was the No. 2 seed. Sure enough, as the event neared, Murray withdrew citing on-going issues with his hip. In an emotional  message that he shared with fans on his Instagram Account Murray revealed that surgery was a possibility - but not one that guaranteed any improvements.

"Surgery is also an option," Murray wrote, "but the chances of a successful outcome are not as I high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that. However this is something I may have to consider but let's hope not."

On Thursday, Murray officially pulled-out of the Australian Open that is set to begin on January 15th. Aussie Open tournament director Craig Tiley reacted by saying the following about the five-time runner-up in Melbourne, "We are fully aware that Andy has been going through a difficult period with his hip and that he's done everything possible to prepare for the Australian summer. Personally, I also know that Andy loves tennis and would do anything to play. This is a very hard decision for Andy and we totally respect it."

The 30 year-old Murray played through the pain last year until Wimbledon where he fell in five sets to American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals. It was remarkable he was even able to achieve that result given the circumstances. It is troubling that six months later he has still not been able to make enough progress to play more than a one set exhibition match. With all the rest and rehabilitation he is still not able to perform without discomfort.

Andy Murray is one of the most well respected players on the Tour. Not only due to his incredible career accomplishments which include three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic Gold medals, but also for his leadership and willingness to speak-out against any perceived injustice he sees on the professional circuit - both men's and women's. Hopefully Murray is able to find the right solution to allow him to continue his passion of playing tennis and fans can see him back on a tennis court soon.

Olympic Tennis Highlights Day 2

By Mike McIntyre

If tennis fans thought that day one was exciting at the Olympic Tennis event on Saturday, they must have been absolutely blown away by the shocking results from day two on Sunday. Here are some of the key matches - including the stunning upset of a certain Serbian World No. 1.

Juan Martin Del Potro d Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(2)

When the singles draw was released everyone in the tennis world locked eyes on the match between the World No. 1 Djokovic and the often injured Del Potro. The pair faced-off in the 2012 London Olympic Games with the Argentinian denying Djokovic a bronze medal. While Djokovic enjoyed an 11-3 head-to-head advantage coming into the match, the pair had not faced each other since 2013. Now ranked a lowly 141st in the ATP World Tour rankings due to ongoing injury struggles, Del Potro should be top 20, likely even top 10 if healthy and playing consistently. This was an epic battle that unfortunately could not be saved for later in the draw. On Sunday, Del Potro's forehand was lethal and he played with the confidence of a champion. His win makes it very difficult to assess where Djokovic's game is at the moment. A third round loss at Wimbledon followed by a tournament victory at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and now an opening round loss at the Olympics provide Novak with a real up and down summer so far. He walked off the court Sunday night with tears flowing freely to indicate just how much the Olympics meant to him. It will be very interesting to see how he bounces back in Cincinnati and at the U.S. Open later this summer. As for Del Potro, it sure looks like a trip to the semi-finals is a realistic prospect with how he just broke the draw wide open.

Thomasz Bellucci and Andre Sa d Andy Murray and Jamie Murray 7-6(6), 7-6(14)

Djokovic's loss clearly makes Andy Murray the favorite to win Olympic Gold in singles and I'm sure the folks at Bet Bind would agree on that one. In doubles however the second seeded Murray brothers surprisingly went out in the first round to Brazilians Bellucci and Sa. While Andy is not a doubles player of the same calibre of Jamie, it is a surprise that he and his brother have struggled so much as partners in the Olympic Games. They lost in the first round in London in 2012 and in the second round in Beijing back in 2008. Andy had not played a doubles match since April and had only teamed up once with his brother in 2016, back in February in Davis Cup play against Japan. The lack of practice together and overall absence of any real doubles preparation made the Murray brothers an overrated second seed in the draw, but a first round exit is clearly a disappointment. Andy is still alive in singles of course and Jamie will undoubtedly get another crack in doubles where I expect he will be playing in the mixed draw.

Rafael Nadal d Federico Delbonis 6-2, 6-1

Back in action for the first time since the French Open in May, Rafael Nadal wasted little time with his thrashing of Federico Delbonis. Having won their two previous career encounters, it was not a surprise that Nadal won. That being said, I'm not sure I expected such a run-away scoreline after two and a half months away from competition. The scary thing is that Nadal admitted after the match that he was still not playing at full capacity. “If there is not Olympic Games I will not be here competing, because the wrist needs a little bit more time to be 100 per cent recovered.” Hopefully he is not doing further damage to it by playing in Rio. Nadal gets Andreas Seppi from Italy in his next match whom he leads 6-1 in previous matches played.

Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova d Serena Williams and Venus Williams 6-3, 6-4

In three previous Olympic Games together, the Williams sisters had three gold medals to show for it. They won't be adding to that total in Rio after a straight set loss at the hands of the Czech Republic. Venus had been dealing with a virus that hindered her during her singles loss on Saturday to Kirsten Flipkens and that was no-doubt still holding her back from playing at 100% in doubles with her sister. Only Serena commented to the press after the loss and said, “I wouldn't say it's devastating. We had a chance to compete for our country and we did the best that we can. We had a blast out there. It was a lot of fun and we'll always remember these moments and these matches, and I think that's what matters most. We've had so many Olympic doubles golds, so many grand slam championships. It's been unbelievable." Unbelievable is exactly the word I would use to describe their opening round flop.

Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil d Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)

Gotta mention some Canadian content here and that falls on the doubles duo of Nestor and Pospisil who represent Canada's best chance at a medal in Olympic tennis in Rio. The Canucks were surprisingly tested by the duo of Daniell and Venus from New Zealand and pushed to a third set tiebreak to win the match. With the Murray brothers ousted, Nestor and Pospisil have a good draw and an excellent shot at a medal if they play up to their potential together. As we have seen thus far in the doubles draw however, anything can, and will happen here in Rio.

Murray withdraws from Rogers Cup ahead of Olympics

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has pulled out of the upcoming Rogers Cup in order to aid his preparations for the Rio Olympics. Having won his third Rogers Cup last year, Murray had been expected to take to the courts in Toronto once again. However, the Brit has instead decided to rest as he aims to successfully defend his singles title from London 2012. Murray’s absence in Canada will be his first since his inaugural appearance back in 2006, and having already missed Great Britain’s recent Davis Cup clash with Serbia, is clearly feeling the effects of a demanding season to date.

Murray was in Belgrade to cheer on his team mates as they successfully saw off the threat of a Serbian side without world number one Novak Djokovic, and with the Olympics and US Open just a matter of weeks away, he faces a rigorous schedule over the coming months. For all the latest on Andy Murray as he steps up preparations for upcoming tournaments, check out bookmakers Coral, who offer the three time Grand Slam champion as the 11/4 second favourite for the US Open in the tennis odds.

A resurgent Djokovic could well stand in Murray’s way in both tournaments, with the Serbian still reeling from his early exit at Wimbledon. In Djokovic’s absence, Murray claimed his second title in South-West London with a straight sets win over Milos Raonic, banishing the memories of two Grand Slam final defeats already in 2016. Despite his third round exit, Djokovic remains the 11/10 favourite with Coral to claim glory at Flushing Meadows in New York.

Despite losing a fifth Australian Open final at the start of 2016, a first appearance in the final at Rolland Garros, as well as a triumphant two weeks at Wimbledon will undoubtedly have Murray in confident mood heading into the latter stages of the tennis season. The fact that the Rio Olympic tennis will be played on a fast hard court will also be music to Murray’s ears, with the 29-year-old having already achieved vast amounts of success on such courts in the past.

Davis Cup: Can Britain Keep Keeping Up?

 Who could forget the last year’s triumphant Davis Cup? After 79 years of thirst, the Brits finally managed to win this competition in 2015 with Andy Murray leading them to this glorious achievement. Now it’s time to prove it was more than just luck – and more than just the Scotsman – as the team is facing Serbia in the quarter finals of the World group without their best man.

There‘s a whole lot on Murray‘s hands right now – winning Wimbledon was very physically and mentally demanding, and he‘s got the Olympics, the US Open, and other competitions to think of as well. Even though this is a first tie he‘s going to miss in three years, Andy will most probably come out to support his teammates, if only from the side-lines. However, his absence does leave a considerable hole – especially in the singles event.

Now according to the TonyBet bookies, the Brits are still going into this stage as the favourites, with their odds at a win being 11/20 vs the 13/10 that Serbia got. As it is rather apparent from these odds, Novak Djokovic is also sitting this one out, which is a big plus for the British team. Instead of Murray, we will see Kyle Edmund and James Ward playing singles, and the team will be also without Dan Evans who suffered an injury.

It‘s difficult to say whether the team will be able to carry through, as Murray was responsible for 11 out of the 12 total points they managed across the triumphant run a year ago. Meanwhile Serbia is a strong team on its own, and they won the Davis Cup in 2010 and were the runners-up in 2013 – so this will be a good test for the Brits.

If Britain does manage to advance to the semi-finals, it will have been a very strong claim that their team was not, in fact, solely relying on Andy Murray. Will that prove to be true? It’s not like Serbia is an easy opponent, so they will have their work cut out for them – which will make for some excellent tennis.    

Wimbledon Preview 2016

By Mike McIntyre

Get ready for Breakfast at Wimbledon folks! The All-England Club is set to begin play Monday and in the men's draw there will be 125 players vying to win the title for the very first time. Only Roger Federer (7), Novak Djokovic (3) and Andy Murray (1) have emerged as Wimbledon champions in years past. While young players like Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, David Goffin and Nick Kyrgios are making big strides on the ATP World Tour, it is still almost a virtual lock that a repeat winner will emerge once again here in 2016. With that being said, let's take a closer look at the draw and the Wimbledon Odds for this year.

First Quarter

If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Such is the mentality of switching from clay to grass for world No. 1 Novak Djokovic who has not played a Wimbledon warm-up event on grass since Queen's Club in 2010. Clearly it has been working for the recent Roland Garros winner who has won the past two Wimbledon's and made the finals in 2013 as well. How will Novak transition to grass this year? His draw is pretty favorable until a potential meet-up with Federer in the semi-finals. Although with Fed being injured for much of the year how can we realistically expect the seven-time champion to endure multiple best-of-five set matches here this year? Djokovic opens with local long-shot James Ward and then plays the winner between Kyle Edmund/Adrian Mannarino. Easy start, let's be honest. Then he could face either Lukas Rosol who took out Rafa Nadal here in 2012 or Sam Querrey the American veteran. Neither  of those players inspires any fear. His first true grass court opponent would be in the round of sixteen should he face the tricky Philipp Kohlscreiber. Still, Novak has beaten the 32 year old German seven times in-a-row including last year at this very event in the first round. A quarter-final encounter with Canadian Milos Raonic would be fun although likely still routine for Novak who has beaten John McEnroe's new charge all seven times they have played and only ever lost one set to the big-serving Raonic. Djokovic has proven to be shaky in at least one match each year at Wimbledon in recent memory. Last year he recovered from being two sets down to Kevin Anderson and in 2014 he needed five sets to defeat Marin Cilic. Will someone be able to offer him that type of resistance this year?

Look for David Goffin to potentially provide some sparks in this section of the draw, although his career record at Wimbledon is a meager 5-4. He's got two potential matches against big-servers with Anderson and Raonic looking likely in the third and fourth rounds but has shown steady improvement over the past year so he could be ready to go deep here on the grass.

Second Quarter

Any other year and it would be a foregone conclusion that we would pick Federer to emerge out of his section of the draw. This year is not like other years however as the world No. 3 has gone 16-6 up to this point of 2016. By his own admission he is looking to turn his season around but without a lot of match play it is tough to bank on him to find his form over the grueling best-of-five set format. He says his body is ready after playing in Halle and Stuttgart but those were best-of-three matches which is an entirely different story. Hopefully Federer is able to play as well as he possibly can given the time off. There can't be too many more Wimbledon's left in him regardless of how he fares this year but his fans are desperately hoping that he can add title No. 8 here before he calls it a career. Federer will have Alexandr Dolgopolov as a potential third round foe and the always tricky Gilles Simon as the highest seed he could face in the fourth. If Marin Cilic is in-form in the quarters I'm not sure if Roger will be able to come out with the victory. A match-up with Djokovic in the semis will be tough to attain.

Kei Nishikori is another face that one would think would be a factor in this section of the draw. The fifth seed however has never gone past the fourth round at the All England Club and after pulling out of Halle a week ago due to a rib injury I wouldn't be betting on him to cause much of a stir in this event.

Third Quarter

This quarter offers up the most intrigue to me as it could very well offer someone new the chance to make the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Number four seed Stan Wawrinka has twice made the quarters at SW19 including a heartbreaking loss 11-9 in the fifth set a year ago to Richard Gasquet. He lost in his opening match at the Aegon Championships to Fernando Verdasco which doesn't exactly give me a ton of confidence about Stan's preparation on grass right now.

While it is true that Tomas Berdych has made the finals of Wimbledon before, the number ten seed has seen his play fall off somewhat this year and I'm not feeling his chances right now. He has yet to make a final in 2016 and that certainly is not going to change here at Wimbledon. Youngster Dominic Thiem meanwhile has breathed new life into things on Tour with his play this season. The 22 year old is 47-12 and won Stuttgart on grass before falling in the semis in Halle. Thiem is my pick to make the semis from this section.

Other names to follow here include another young gun in Alexander Zverev. Anyone who beats Roger Federer on grass is deserving of our respect and a third round match against the Birdman should be a good one. Bernard Tomic is also lurking and has a nice route to the fourth round if he can try to avoid being too much like his usual eccentric self out there.

Fourth Quarter

Andy Murray is the great hope for tennis fans in the UK and will try to reverse his Grand Slam finals fortune now that he is reunited with former coach Ivan Lendl. Lendl, who was never capable of capture Wimbledon during his playing career, guided Murray to his only two Slam titles in 2012 at the U.S. Open and in 2013 at Wimbledon. I expect that the psychological impact of having Lendl back in his corner will be a positive one and that Wimbledon offers Murray the best chance of defeating Djokovic should they meet in the finals. Murray could see Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round and Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals, neither of whom will offer him an easy match. John Isner and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are also potential threats though to me if it's not Murray then it would have to be Gasquet advancing here.

I should add that there are some crazy-fun matches in this section of the draw including a first round gem between Kyrgios and the entertaining veteran Radek Stepanek. An Isner vs. Marcos Baghdatis opener would also be fun to catch. Oh and Fabio Fognini, not exactly known as a grass court guru, is also thrown in there somewhere for good measure!

Semi-Finals:

Djokovic d. Cilic and Murray d. Thiem

Finals:

Murray d. Djokovic (yeah...I just wrote that!)

Can Andy Murray Win Wimbledon This Summer?

This summer, Andy Murray will look to join an elite group of tennis players as he hunts a second Wimbledon crown. The British number one has enjoyed plenty of success in recent times, none more so than during Great Britain’s Davis Cup triumph – which was their first victory for 79 years.

Murray will fancy his chances of Grand Slam success this summer, especially after pushing Novak Djokovic close in the Australian Open back in January. At the time of writing, Murray is 7/2 in Coral’s tennis betting markets and plenty of journalists and pundits will be providing their own Wimbledon tips on Murray’s chances nearer to the event.

After the birth of his first son shortly after the Australian Open, Murray took some time out to remain close with his family in the aftermath. But now, he’s back in business and on the hunt for a third Grand Slam crown. Murray is one of the best British players in recent memory and if there’s anyone who deserves another Grand Slam, it’s him.

He’s in good form too. Murray was part of the British side that beat Japan 3-1 in their opening round of the Davis Cup defence back in March and according to Coral’s tips, Andy Murray will be there or thereabouts in all three of the major tournaments in 2016. After all, he is one of the best players on the planet right now.

For Murray to achieve his ultimate goal of victory on home soil, he will have to get past arch enemy Novak Djokovic. On his day, the Serbian is more or less invincible and Murray will find it difficult to beat the world number one, particularly as Djokovic is attempting to surpass Roger Federer’s record of 17 Grand Slam titles.

As of April 15th, Djokovic has 11 but that tally could be 12 by the time Wimbledon comes around. The French Open gets underway next month and the Serbian, who has never won the event, will be desperate to enhance his legacy further with a clay-based Grand Slam title. But to be fair, it could be Murray who emerges victorious in both competitions.

Murray was in superb form on the clay court in 2015 and the British number one will look to exploit Djokovic’s weakness on this surface. While Wimbledon remains his number one priority, a French Open title would certainly do Murray no harm ahead of what could be a defining summer for his legacy in the sport.

Two Grand Slam titles in 2016 and Murray would be well on the way to the summit of British tennis. In a difficult era, the Scot has moved with the times and is now potentially the only man to challenge Djokovic on paper. And if Murray can maintain his current form throughout the next few months, he could well claim at least one major title this summer.

Australian Open Men's Quaterfinal Preview

By Mike McIntyre

We are down to the final eight players at the Australian Open and unlike on the women's side there are very few surprises up to this point. This should make for some very entertaining and hotly contested quarterfinal matches. Here is a quick breakdown of the four contests ahead of action on Tuesay and Wednesday in Melbourne.

Novak Djokovic (1) vs Kei Nishikori (7)

The undisputed favourite coming into the event and also the defending champion, Novak Djokovic suddenly seems like he may indeed be vulnerable after his five set win against Gilles Simon in the round of sixteen. Roger Federer was quick to defend Novak and his 100+ errors in that match saying that Simon has the tendency to make players go for broke on their shots, but none the less I don't think anyone quite expected it to get to a fifth set. Djokovic has defeated Chung, Halys, Seppi and Simon to get to the quarters and will face a stiff test from the 7th seeded Nishikori.

Nishikori has not yet gone the distance in any of his victories over Kohlschreiber, Krajicek, Garcia-Lopez or Tsonga and is perhaps a bit more rested than his adversary in this upcoming match. Beating a player of Tsonga's calibre by a score of 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 is quite impressive and bodes well for his confidence at this stage of the tournament. Djokovic leads the head to head by a margin of 5-2 including the last four in-a-row. Nishikori can draw strength from the fact that he has beaten Novak at a Grand Slam before, in the semifinals of the 2014 US Open.

I think anyone would be crazy to predict anything other than a victory for Djokovic in this one. That being said I also believe the possibility for an upset has increased somewhat due to the results in recent days. All in all I'm going with Novak in four.

 Roger Federer (3) vs Tomas Berdych (6)

This will be the seventh career meeting at the Slams between Federer and Berdych with Roger holding a 4-2 advantage, although Berdych has won their last two battles which came at the U.S. Open in 2012 and at Wimbledon in 2010. Overall Federer leads their career head to head 15-6 and has taken the last four in-a-row between them. A rejuvenated Federer won all three meetings in 2015 with ease, not dropping a set in any of those matches.

Federer has started 2016 fairly strongly with a loss to Milos Raonic in the finals of Brisbane and with four relatively convincing wins so far here at the Aussie Open. He has wins against Basilashvili, Dolgopolov, Dimitrov and Goffin to get to this stage. Even Roger knows that his window for winning an 18th major gets smaller and smaller with each passing Slam so that undoubtedly is providing him with a little extra incentive. Despite the fact that he still looks like he could play for another ten years, even Fed fans know realistically that is not going to happen. As he approaches the four year mark without a Slam victory, Federer needs to make something happen while the body is still co-operating.

Berdych has been most comfortable here at the Aussie Open where he has now made the quarter-finals or better the past six years straight. The Czech has beaten Bhambri, Basic, Krygios and Bautista-Agut to reach this point. If he's able to play his best and not get caught up in the fact that Roger has had his number of late, Berdych could move into the semifinals for a third straight year. I certainly give him a better shot of upsetting Federer than I give Nishikori versus Djokovic.

That being said, I'll take Roger in three sets given how he looks lately to set-up a final-like SF against Novak.

Milos Raonic (13) vs Gael Monfils (23)

You don't want to miss this one folks! Five sets written all over it and between two enormously different styles of tennis players. This match will have canon-like serves and circus-like acrobatics. An excellent opportunity for two players who have struggled with injuries to get some satisfaction with a semifinal appearance at a Slam. The pair have faced each other but twice before in their careers with Monfils coming up victorious both times. You can throw those results out the window however as both came before Raonic solidified himself as a top-level threat on the ATP World Tour. With a tournament win already under his belt this year and a new coach in Carlos Moya to provide a different perspective on things, I would say that the Canadian is the slight favourite coming into this quarterfinal match.

This is the fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal for Raonic who will be aiming to attain just the second major semifinal of his career. For Monfils meanwhile it is the seventh Slam quarterfinal, although most of those came on the clay of Roland Garros. Regardless of the result, I think this will be the most entertaining of the four matches to watch and I wouldn't want to miss it.

I'm giving the edge to Milos who will prevail in five sets.

Andy Murray (2) vs David Ferrer (8)

Not surprised one bit at the two who will be facing each other in this quarterfinal match. Soon to be father Andy Murray has always performed well at the first Slam of the year and this edition has been no exception. He has beaten Zverev, Groth, Sousa and Tomic to get to this stage and has only dropped one set along the way. It does not seem as though impending fatherhood has distracted him from his goal of winning the third Slam of his career.

Ferrer for his part has been even more workmanlike than Murray en route to his sixth Aussie Open QF. He has taken out Gojowczyk, Hewitt, Johnson and Isner to get here. He'll work his butt off against Murray but at age 33 I don't know if he truly has enough to take the No. 2 seed down.

Murray holds a 12-6 career edge against Ferrer, including the past five straight times they have played one another and eight of the past nine in total. In fact if you take the clay matches out of the equation, Ferrer has only defeated Murray twice. Expect that trend to continue and witness Murray advancing in four sets.