Amid the hysteria surrounding the World Cup, the 128^th year of Wimbledon has slipped under the radar somewhat. Twelve months ago, a host of big names fell in the early stages of the competition, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Maria Sharapova. Home hope Andy Murray finally ended the long wait for a British winner, with Marion Bartoli winning the women’s event. This year promises to be just as unpredictable. Novak Djokovic came up short in the final last year, but has enjoyed a positive start to 2014, securing titles in Rome, Miami and Indian Wells. However, he has not won a Grand Slam since the 2013 Australian Open, which he has looked to address by bringing Boris Becker into his coaching set-up. If he is to claim his second Wimbledon title, he will need to emulate his 2011 form (the only time he has prevailed in SW19) and continue to demonstrate his incredible defensive skills and resilience. He begins his campaign against the world no.54 Andrey Golubev, before a possible second-round meeting with the skilful Czech Radek Stepanek.

While Nadal should be the favourite for the title, given his status as world no.1 and his triumph at Roland Garros, his recent performances at the All England Club have been a cause for concern. In the last two years he has gone out to Lukas Rosol and Steve Darcis, players who were virtually unknown going into those matches. While his overall level in the rest of the Slams has been as incredible as ever, playing on grass seems to have aggravated the long-standing knee problems that the Spaniard has been carrying, due to the low bounce of the ball putting extra strain on his joints. However, if he does manage to come through the first week of the tournament, it can be expected that Nadal will excel, as the courts become more worn and the ball begins to bounce higher, like on a clay or hard court. In any case, it would be foolish to write off a man with 14 Grand Slam titles. He starts off his campaign against Martin Klizan of Slovakia, with a possible second-round face-off against nemesis Rosol.

Murray has, by his own admission, struggled recently. The enforced split from his coach Ivan Lendl and the relatively recent appointment of former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo has dampened expectations that he can defend his crown. The pair have only had a couple of weeks to work together and his defeat to Stepanek in the round of 16 at Queen’s raised further doubts about his ability to challenge for the trophy. It is easy to forget though that he has just equalled his best French Open result, reaching the semi-finals, and the Scot will feel confident that he can replicate last year’s success, given that the pressure of being without a Slam on home soil is well and truly behind him. He kicks off against Belgian David Goffin.

Federer is another player who could well be in contention in the latter stages. He is heralded by many as the greatest player to have ever played the game and his record of 17 Grand Slam titles is unmatched on the men’s side. Heading into this tournament he picked up the grass court title in Halle, beating hot prospect Kei Nishikori along the way. His crisp groundstrokes and extraordinary capacity for improvisation have won him many fans over the years, but while this is his favourite tournament, it appears that his star is waning, as he has not won a Slam for two years. Arguably his lowest point at the All England Club was the surprising second-round exit at the hands of Sergiy Stakhovsky during his last visit to SW19. However, his previous success suggests this was just a blip and he can go far once again. His first opponent is Italian Paolo Lorenzi.

There are also quite a few other players in the draw below this select group who could pose a significant threat. Stepanek, despite being 35, is playing some of the best tennis of his career. He dismantled Murray at Queen’s and went on to reach the semi-finals. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is always a tricky customer and despite a lull in form in 2014, he is well capable of equalling, or perhaps improving on his two semi-final performances in 2011 and 2012. Tomas Berdych is another player who has recently dropped out of the spotlight, but his only final in a Grand Slam came at Wimbledon four years ago.

Grigor Dimitrov is in a rich vein of form, having recently picked up the title at Queen’s, suggesting that he is starting to live up to the considerable hype surrounding him. His victim in that final, Feliciano Lopez, has proved that he is a very reliable performer on grass, and quickly got over his loss in London by notching up the Eastbourne title. He has reached three quarter-finals in SW19 and there is no reason to suggest that a fourth is out of reach. Richard Gasquet was the man he vanquished on the South Coast and is someone who none of the main protagonists will want to face. Despite never living up to the tag of ‘the next big thing’ in French tennis, he certainly hasn’t done badly, and his game is made for grass.

David Ferrer is starting to achieve the levels of success on grass that he has experienced at the other Slams and has time and again shown that being short is no barrier to success. Stanislas Wawrinka made a massive breakthrough in his career earlier this year, picking up his first Grand Slam in Melbourne. His game revolves around his solid groundstrokes and his one-handed backhand is one of the most elegant in the game. His unexpected first-round defeat at the French Open has been out of keeping with a significant year for the Swiss and he will hope to get back on track here. Pole Jerzy Janowicz came from almost out of nowhere to reach the Wimbeldon semi-finals last year with an explosive brand of tennis that many of his opponents found impossible to handle. He hasn’t played as well in 2014, but certainly has the weapons to make an impact.

Another youngster, Milos Raonic, the big-serving Canadian, is also starting to make his mark in the upper echelons of the game and has reached a career-high of no.9 in the world. He has yet to really get going at Wimbledon, but that could all change this year. Finally, Gael Monfils could also mount a challenge. Known for his outrageous athleticism and inventive shot-making, he claimed his first title for three years in Montpellier and has recovered from the injuries that have dogged him for the past few years to put together a decent run of results for the first time in a while.

 

On the women’s side of the draw, Bartoli’s retirement means that the Frenchwoman cannot defend her title. Sharapova will go into the tournament with a lot of momentum and confidence following her victory in a sensational French Open final with Simona Halep. She has won two other titles this year, in Stuttgart and Madrid, and her considerable grit will be invaluable as she looks to win back the trophy that she won as a seventeen-year-old. The Russian suffered a shock second-round exit to Michelle Larcher de Brito in 2013 and will look to rekindle the form that she displayed on grass earlier in her career. She starts her campaign against Briton Samantha Murray.

Halep will no doubt be looking to avenge that heartbreaking loss. All of her seven titles on the women’s tour have come in the last year, with victories over illustrious opponents including Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova. It is this dramatic improvement (put down to an increased enjoyment of the game) which has seen her become touted as a potential world no.1, having begun 2013 as the no.47. The excellent movement and fluid groundstrokes that she showcased at Roland Garros point to a future littered with more titles. She starts off against Teliana Pereira.

Nineteenth seed Sabine Lisicki will also pose a big threat. Her run to the final last year saw her beat Radwanska, Sam Stosur and the 2012 Champion Serena Williams. Since her magnificent form in South West London, she has struggled to put together a consistent run of victories, with a combination of illness, injury and a loss of form thwarting her. However, Wimbledon has provided her with some great memories and the aggressive brand of tennis which saw her captivate audiences last year could be in evidence again this time. She faces Julia Glushko first.

Victoria Azarenka has also been a consistent presence at the top of the rankings and her performances on all surfaces suggest that she could progress to the final. Despite injury forcing her out at the second-round stage last time, she had achieved two successive Wimbledon semi-finals before that. If she remains fully fit and can continue to improve, she will challenge at the top of the game for the foreseeable future. She opens her account against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.

Serena Williams unexpectedly bowed out at the fourth-round stage last year, but has enjoyed, by her standards, a solid if not spectacular year, picking up three titles so far. However, unlike sister Venus, her Grand Slam success has remained plentiful, as she secured two of the four last year. If her thunderous groundstrokes and serve are on song, she could yet add to her five triumphs in SW19. She comes up against Anna Tatishvili.

Radwanska also has to be one of the favourites for the Venus Rosewater Dish. After runner-up and semi-final finishes in her last two appearances at the All England Club, the feisty Pole will hope she can go further. With impressive defensive skills and good movement, she has the game to nullify taller, more powerful opponents. She racked three titles last year, and Wimbledon would be an ideal opportunity to open her account in 2014. Her first obstacle is Romanian Andreea Mitu.

Other possible contenders include the ‘golden girl’ of Canadian tennis Eugenie Bouchard, who is putting together an ominous set of results leading up to Wimbledon, and, at the tender age of 20, is sure to have a trophy-laden career ahead of her, having claimed her first title on the women’s tour in Nürnberg. The German Angelique Kerber’s form is looking good and reaching the final of Eastbourne will give her confidence that she can replicate her semi-final performance of two years ago. The Serb Ana Ivanovic has experienced an alarming slump in form since her maiden Grand Slam triumph at Roland Garros in 2008. After a dramatic loss of confidence in recent years, it would appear that she is regaining at least some of it, picking up three titles so far this year.

There is also a batch of talented young Americans coming through who could make their mark. Taylor Townsend outlined her considerable potential by reaching the third round of the French Open at just 18 years old, while Madison Keys, one year her senior, wrapped up her first ever singles title at Eastbourne. Sloane Stephens is another in this promising group and, after a breakthrough 2013, she has not quite carried that consistency into the 2014 Grand Slams, yet has still come up with two successive fourth-round finishes.

Jelena Jankovic’s record in recent years at Wimbledon has been poor, having failed to pass the second round in the last few years. However, she has been a significant player at the top of the women’s game and it would be premature to write her off just yet. Relative newcomer Garbine Muguruza was thrust into the spotlight after a stunning straight sets win over Serena Williams on the way to her maiden quarter-final at the French Open. This backed up a run to the fourth round in Melbourne at the Australian Open, making 2014 easily her most successful year to date. She may not be one of the frontrunners, but she can make life difficult for anybody. The diminutive Dominika Cibulkova is another in this category. The world no.10 achieved her best result in SW19 in 2011, and she reached her maiden Grand Slam final in Australia, losing to Li Na.

Other outsiders include Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has racked up a series of Grand Slam quarter-final appearances in recent years. While her two Grand Slams titles came a while ago, the Russian can match anyone on her day. The Czech Kvitova was the Champion in 2011, but hasn’t quite hit the heights since then. She will hope she can rediscover the consistency of three years ago, but is one of the few in the draw who knows what it takes to win the biggest tournament in the world. Finally, Li Na is someone who will be looking to get further than the quarter-finals, the stage that she has reached on three occasions. However, having beaten Dominika Cibulkova to seal her first Australian Open triumph, as well as sewing up a title in her home country of China, her spirits are bound to be high, despite a first-round exit from Roland Garros.

The destination of the men’s and women’s titles is very difficult to call, but I am going with Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams.

 

Alex Bowmer

Featured image: The Telegraph