Top five
1) Andy Murray
It was more through perspiration than inspiration that the world No1 reached the semi-finals of the French Open, where he badly ran out of steam in a devastatingly lopsided fifth set against Stan Wawrinka, yet Murray’s deep run in Paris was a welcome tonic after an insipid start to 2017, offering hope that he was gearing up for a vigorous defence of his Wimbledon champion. But there are no certainties for Murray at the moment. The malaise returned when he lost his first match at Queen’s to Jordan Thompson, a lucky loser and the world No90, before a sore hip ruined his plan to tune up at Hurlingham last week. He will not give up his title without a fight, though. For all his recent toils, he has the pedigree on grass to rule SW19 for a third time.
2) Rafael Nadal
The king of clay left a trail of destruction as he sought to win back his crown at Roland Garros, dealing out brutal treatment to anyone who dared stand between him and La Coupe des Mousquetaires. Nadal was on a mission from the start, turning his historic pursuit of La Decima and a 15th grand slam title into a procession, dropping only 35 games in seven matches. It has been a rollicking return to form, and an unlikely one bearing in mind the 31-year-old’s fitness problems in recent years, but Nadal is keeping expectations realistic before Wimbledon. Beaten by players ranked outside the top 100 on his last four visits to the All England Club, the world No2 knows better than anyone how his unreliable knees have failed to adapt to grass. It has been seven years since he won his second Wimbledon title and, having enjoyed some rest at home in Mallorca, he will be vulnerable in the early rounds. It would be foolish to dismiss him entirely, especially if he gathers momentum.
3) Stan Wawrinka
The Swiss, who had no reason for remorse after being thrashed by Nadal in the final of the French Open, will join the select group of players to have won all four majors if he adds Wimbledon to his trophy collection. That is a lofty goal and helps to explain why Wawrinka has added Paul Annacone, who has coached Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, to his team in a bid to hone his game on grass, which has rarely convinced at the highest level. The 32-year-old has never been past the last eight at Wimbledon and the suspicion remains the speed of the surface does not give him enough time to wind up his powerful groundstrokes. Judging by Wawrinka’s early defeat at Queen’s, Annacone has taken on a tough challenge.
4) Novak Djokovic
The “shock therapy” of ripping up his coaching team did not work, his arrangement with Andre Agassi is yet to convince and the peace and love approach does not seem to be working for a player whose aura of invincibility evaporated when Sam Querrey caused one of the great upsets last year, culminating in his spectacular collapse against Dominic Thiem in Paris. Djokovic’s warrior spirit has given way to angst, plaguing his mind to such an extent he was moved to spend the past week in Eastbourne in the hope his first appearance on grass between the French Open and Wimbledon since 2010 will restore some rhythm to his game and halt the decline that has seen him slip to No4 in the rankings. But who knows when the hunger will return?
5) Roger Federer
Having decided to skip the clay season in order to rest before Wimbledon, Federer’s grass campaign did not get off to the ideal start: losing to the 39-year-old Tommy Haas in Stuttgart was not part of the script. But who could doubt the wisdom of Federer’s carefully plotted schedule after watching him hand out a 53-minute lesson to the young German Alex Zverev in the Halle final last Sunday? Whether from the back of the court or at the net, whether with piercingly precise groudstrokes or insultingly glorious drop shots, this was Federer at his best, unceasingly inventive, relentlessly brilliant, utterly untouchable, and clear evidence he should be regarded as the favourite to win his eighth Wimbledon title. It will help that his run in Halle has elevated him to third seed, ensuring he will avoid the other members of the big four until the semi-finals at least.
Three to watch
Marin Cilic
The Croatian was two sets up against Federer in their quarter-final last year, but lost despite holding three match points in the fourth set. It was his third successive defeat in the last eight at Wimbledon and by far the most galling, so it will be interesting to see whether Cilic is carrying a few mental scars. If not, he could go far. He has been playing well since linking up with Jonas Bjorkman and was on a promising run before losing in the final of the Aegon Championships at Queen’s last Sunday.
Milos Raonic
The Canadian’s powerful game is suited to grass and he reached the final last year after a thrilling five-set win over Federer, only to succumb to Murray in straight sets. But instead of pushing on, the 26-year-old’s form has been mixed in 2017. Having struggled in a series of niggles, he lost from 2-1 up to Pablo Carreño Busta in the fourth round of the French Open and produced an erratic performance in his defeat to Thanasi Kokkinakis at Queen’s. His huge serve makes him a threat at Wimbledon, but he still lacks variety against the top players.
Dominic Thiem
The rising young Austrian offered another demonstration of his talent with his defenestration of Djokovic in Paris and he is brimming with belief after excelling on clay, although the 23-year-old has yet to prove himself on grass. He has not made it past the second round at Wimbledon, so do not be surprised if he is involved in some early drama.
Best of the rest
“Nobody’s going to want to see his name next to theirs at Wimbledon,” Greg Rusedksi said after watching the experienced Feliciano López fight back from a set down to beat Cilic in the final at Queen’s. The 35-year-old Spaniard is in excellent form and loves playing on grass. His resurgence should give hope to Tomas Berdych, a former finalist, but do not expect too much from Kei Nishikori, who has a patchy record at SW19. Grigor Dimitrov, a semi-finalist in 2014, is a better tip to ruffle a few feathers on grass, while Nick Kyrgios’s fitness problems might mean the strongest challenge from the next generation comes from Zverev, assuming the 20-year-old recovers from his Halle humiliation.
