Ahead of the start of Wimbledon 2016, Jon Turner picks five players to keep an eye out for at the All England Club this year.
Roger Federer
A seven-time champion at the All England Club and one of, if not the, greatest grass court player of all time, Federer will always claim a great deal of attention from fans and the media. And yet, Federer, 34, enters this year’s Wimbledon following the most testing and frustrating stint of his career. Back and knee injuries have limited Federer to just 22 matches this season, and he has reached just one final. His Wimbledon preparation has been below his immeasurably high standards, reaching the semi-finals at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart and the Halle Open, a tournament he has won so many times (eight) that it should be renamed the Roger Federer Invitational. Despite all this, it is still Federer at Wimbledon. Only a fool would completely write him off. It all makes for intriguing build-up. Will the best-of-five sets format allow Federer time to find his groove? Or could his lack of court time make him a high-profile early round causality? We’ll soon find out.
Juan Martin Del Potro
If Federer thinks he’s had a frustrating time with injuries, he should spare a thought for Del Potro. Without question, the so-called Big Four would have been the Big Five had the 27-year-old Argentine not suffered numerous wrist injuries that, at one point, made him consider walking away from tennis. A former world No 4 and US Open champion, Del Potro will be making his first appearance at a grand slam since the 2014 Australian Open, and his first at Wimbledon since 2013, when he reached the semi-finals before losing a five set epic to Novak Djokovic. In possession of a huge serve and one of the best backhands on the ATP Tour, the unseeded Del Potro has the ability to cause anyone problems. Indeed, should he get past Frenchman Stephane Robert, he will likely face No 4 seed Stan Wawrinka in the second round, a match Del Potro is more than capable of winning. From there, he could have a clear route to the quarter-finals. It might be a big ask, but for a player of Del Potro’s talent, anything is possible.
Nick Kyrgios
There are reasons to include Kyrgios on every ‘Players to Watch’ list at every tournament he plays, given the enigmatic behaviour and form of the talented Australian. Yes, that is part of the reason he has made this particular list; opponents still do not know which Kyrgios they are facing on any given day. Will it be the mesmerising version that stormed to his first ATP title in Marseille earlier this year? Or the sulky, petulant player that was accused of tanking against Richard Gasquet at Wimbledon 12 months ago? Granted, the latter version is not as common a sight as it was in past seasons, hence Kyrgios’s rise to No 18 in the world, yet it can still make the odd appearance. If the very best Kyrgios turns up consistently over the next two weeks, with his monstrous serve and forehand, he has the game to defeat anyone and make a deep run at the All England club.
Garbine Muguruza
It’s been a strange year for Muguruza. Blessed with an abundance of talent and in posessesion of a powerful all-round game, the Spanish world No 2 should be making mince meat of most of her rivals at every tournament. And still, in 2016 she has made just one final. To be fair, she certainly picked the right tournament, dismantling an albeit injured Serena Williams at the French Open to clinch her maiden grand slam title. Muguruza has expressed her doubt over grass being her weakest surface, and her Wimbledon preparation has been far from ideal, losing in straight sets to world No 61 Kirsten Flipkens in her only grass court match in Mallorca. But this is still the same player that reached the Wimbledon final last year, when she went toe-to-toe with Williams for spells of the match. Given her patchy form, some are predicting an early exit for Muguruza, while others point to her enormous ability as reason for optimism. She also enters the tournament as the WTA’s most recent grand slam champion, so will need to deal with having a target on her back. The question marks surrounding her only serve to increase the intrigue.
Madison Keys
While Muguruza may be concerned about her poor grass court preparation for Wimbledon, few female players could be more pleased with theirs than world No 10 Keys. The big-hitting American, 21, won her first title of this season last week at the Birmingham Open, dropping just two sets en route to victory. It has been a solid season so far for Keys, who also reached the final of the Rome Masters before losing to Serena Williams, although her showing in the grand slams — a pair of last-16 exits in Paris and Melbourne — perhaps betray her ability. Keys, who has one of the most powerful games on the WTA Tour despite her diminutive size, will feel Wimbledon is her best chance to make a major impression at a grand slam this season. Talent is not an issue, but consistency might be. Given how open the women’s game is at present, Keys has as good a chance as anyone to go all the way at Wimbledon this year.
