Wimbledon Preview 2009
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 22 June 2009 - 10:27
Author: Jon Hawkins
Will he or won’t he? It’s a question that could apply to any one of the chief male protagonists in the run up to the Championships, Wimbledon.
Will Roger Federer overhaul Pete Sampras’s record of 14 grand slam wins? Will Rafael Nadal’s rickety knees hold up for long enough to allow him to defend his title (or, indeed, turn up at all)? Will Andy Murray’s pre-event status as second favourite see him metamorphose into a hideous and massively underwhelming hybrid of Tim Henman and Jeremy Bates? Which Novak Djokovic will show up? The fluid shot-maker with the game’s best backhand, or the disappointment artist who lost in the third round of the French Open to a German no-name (whose name, incidentally, is Philipp Kohlschreiber).
Defining moment for crocked Nadal
It seems reasonable to start with the man with most to lose at this year’s tournament: the reigning champion, Rafael Nadal. Were Nadal’s only problem the state of his knees he would have concerns enough, but it’s not; his early exit at the Roland Garros to Robin Soderling - the eventual runner-up, but generally not in the same league as Nadal on any surface, let alone clay – presents him with an enormous psychological challenge that his stunning form in 2008 and early 2009 did not suggest he would have to face.
Nadal’s progress over the past three years has been relentless, seeing him win not just on his favoured clay, but master the hard courts and grass too. Now, with that momentum dashed, his ability to recover his composure may define the rest of his career, as may the fragility of those knees. A forced withdrawal from Queen’s, and a defeat on grass at the Hurlingham Club to the latterly unfashionable and unfancied Lleyton Hewitt, suggests Nadal goes to SW19 (if he goes at all) with less than ideal preparation.
Nadal doubts liberate Federer
Roger Federer was much maligned throughout a 2008 in which he looked jaded and ruffled, despite winning a fifth consecutive US Open. Toppled from his perch by the upstart Mallorcan, Nadal, the man frequently called the greatest to ever play the sport looked like a spent force. And then he won the French Open. It wasn’t an entirely unlikely victory – Federer had defeated Nadal on clay in the final of the Madrid Open shortly before Roland Garros after all – but it was certainly unexpected, and while Nadal may have crumbled at someone else’s hands rather Federer’s, the record books now say that the Swiss has won each of the four grand slams; one of only six men to have done so.
Whether the win is indicative of the return of the glossy, virtually infallible Fededer, or whether it is purely a sign of how liberated he is when Nadal is cleared out of the way by someone else (his previous slam win, at the US Open, was after Andy Murray had dispatched with the Spaniard in the semis) may be clarified at the All England Club. What’s clear is that if Nadal does not play, or is not 100% fit, it is almost impossible to see past Federer for a sixth Wimbledon title.
Murray faced with weight of expectation
With all due respect to Andy Murray, layers would not make him a second favourite to win at Wimbledon this year were Rafael Nadal fit, French Open disappointment or not. But second favourite he is, and he once again carries the burden of British expectation, like Tim Henman before him. Murray is clearly a very different animal to his predecessor as Britain’s great white hope - not least in terms of raw ability – and crucially he appears less bothered by what the partisan crowd make of him. Nevertheless, he was a quarter-finalist in 2008, has a game well suited to grass and is playing well, and will be bitterly disappointed not to improve on that this year. A first title at Queen’s club has sent a warning out to his rivals that they would do well to heed.
Inconsistent Djokovic hard to call
It’s difficult to objectively assess Novak Djokovic’s chances, because however talented he is (exceptionally talented, as it happens), his propensity to underperform when least expected can always materialise. He retired injured from the Australian Open - not for the first time in a grand slam – and fizzled out against unheralded opposition at the French. Having reached the final of the Halle Open in Germany, where he lost to an in-form Tommy Haas (himself a solid bet to have a strong tournament at Wimbledon), in theory he should trouble the top three seeds.
All the ingredients
Looking outside of the top four, this year’s Wimbledon could be the breakthrough tournament for Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine had an excellent French Open, where he reached the semi-finals before going out to the eventual winner, Roger Federer. Del Potro does not yet look at home on grass, but at 6ft 6 and 20 years old he would seem to have all the necessary ingredients.
As does Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The 24-year-old Frenchman reached the final of the 2008 Australian Open, but has failed to reach such heights since as a niggling knee injury curtailed his progress. Powerful and blessed with an excellent net game, if he can find his feet on the grass he can offer a threat to the more fancied players.