At first glance, it appeared that the yesterday’s Wimbledon draw had been rather harsh on Britain’s Andy Murray. In a worst case scenario, the 2013 champion will have to defeat Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic if he is to bag a second crown at the All England Club. Of course, any of those players, or Murray himself, could get beaten at an earlier stage, but the headlines in the UK will be all about Murray’s nightmare draw. So, is it really that bad for the Scot?
As things stand, it could be said that Murray has the edge over both Nadal and Federer this season and if anything, they should fear him. Of course, they are both top quality players but neither are playing at the level they were 2 or 3 years ago when Murray won his first Grand slam titles.
If there is one player that Murray will be concerned about, it’s Djokovic. His Serbian nemesis has won their last eight meetings so it is perhaps a bonus for the Brit that they cannot meet until the final. If he is going to have to face the World No. 1 at any stage then what better place to do it than on the centre court in the final. It was exactly this situation that led to Murray’s impressive victory in 2013.
If Murray’s draw is tough, then Rafa Nadal’s is even tougher. The Spaniard may have to face Murray in the quarter finals, Federer in the semis and Djokovic in the final. But before he even gets to that stage, he could face Dustin Brown, the qualifier that knocked him out in Halle, in the second round; and fellow countryman and world No. 7 David Ferrer in round four.
Assuming he passes his first round test against Damir Dzumhur, Roger Federer could also face some tricky matches on his way to the latter stages. Nottingham semi-finalist Sam Querrey, reigning Wimbledon doubles champ Jack Sock and powerhouse server Sam Groth could all be faced in the early rounds; while Feliciano Lopez and Tomas Berdych are potential fourth round and quarter-final opponents.
Novak Djokovic may not have the toughest draw out of the “big four” but he does have one of the toughest opening games against Philipp Kohlschreiber. The German was a quarter-finalist three years ago and gave Roger Federer a scare in the first round at Halle less than two weeks ago. Bernard Tomic and Kevin Anderson are both good on grass but are unlikely to cause too many problems for the reigning champion ahead of his potential quarter-final clash with Kei Nishikori.
Stan Wawrinka has perhaps the most favourable draw of all the Grand Slam winners taking part with an opening game against Joao Sousa followed by potential meetings with Dominic Thiem, Tommy Robredo or David Goffin. Later encounters could feature Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Nick Kyrgios.
Predictions
Player to win first quarter: Novak Djokovic
Player to win second quarter: Stan Wawrinka
Player to win third quarter: Andy Murray
Player to win fourth quarter: Roger Federer
Outright Champion – latest odds:
Novak Djokovic 7/5
Andy Murray 3/1
Roger Federer 7/1
Stan Wawrinka 16/1
Rafael Nadal 22/1
For a great choice of Wimbledon betting including live in-play options sign up with Bet365 today. If you want the flexibility to back and lay outcomes, Betfair leads the way in exchange betting.