It's Wimbledon time, and after Stan the Man shocked the tennis world by beating Novak Djokovic to claim the French Open title, everyone is eagerly anticipating another tense tournament. A tournament that has everyone asking questions; can Djokovic put his disappointing French Open display behind him and retain the title at Wimbledon? Can Nadal come back into form and stake a claim for the trophy? Can Federer prove once again why he dominated Wimbledon for so long? And can Britain see Andy Murray lift the trophy on Centre Court for the second time?
We will provide our mystic insight and discover what the world's greatest tennis tournament has in store for us in its 129th edition by analysing some of the lead candidates for the trophy, starting with the fourth seed and French Open champion, Stanislas Wawrinka.
Stanislas Wawrinka:
After defeating Djokovic and denying him the career Grand Slam, Wawrinka will be looking to continue his good form into this year's grass major. However, grass is not his favourite surface, and his best performance at Wimbledon came when he fell in last year's Quarter Finals. He is much better suited to clay as we saw recently, and won't make it past the Quarter Finals this year. He may even struggle in the 3rd round against Dominic Thiem, and either Dimitrov, Kyrgios or Raonic should beat him in the Quarter Finals.
Prediction: Quarter Finals
Kei Nishikori:
Although it would be surprising to see him make the semi-finals having recorded his best performance at Wimbledon last year by reaching the 4th round, the Japanese player is undeniably talented and certainly has the ability to spring a surprise on one of the higher seeded players, yet the only higher seed than him on his side of the draw is reigning champion Novak Djokovic. He should progress further than the 4th round this year, disposing of Cilic along the way, but Djokovic will be a step too far for Kei this year, and he will crash out in the Quarter Finals.
Prediction: Quarter Finals
Nick Kyrgios:
The 26th seed wowed everyone last year as he marched into the Quarter Finals of Wimbledon, beating Rafael Nadal along the way, and expectations will be high for Australian this year. A clash against Milos Raonic in the 3rd round will be a big test for the man from Canberra, but he may find that with the backing of the Wimbledon crowd he can topple the 7th seed. The higher seeds around him are Raonic and Dimitrov, and although Dimitrov reached the Semi Finals last year, Kyrgios might just have what it takes to beat him, and he could certainly upset Raonic, who despite enjoying the speed of the Wimbledon courts, has a poor record on grass and may be carrying an injury; he may find himself left in Kyrgios's wake. After these two, Wawrinka would be all that is in the way of Kyrgios and a Semi Final, and as mentioned before, with the grass surface Stan will not be up to the high level he showed at the French Open. He is our dark horse for the competition, and could find himself capturing the tennis world's attention yet again.
Prediction: Semi Finals
Ivo Karlovic:
The big Serb finds himself in the most interesting quarter of the Wimbledon draw this year, but, like Kyrgios, could shock some of the higher seeds with his powerful serves and big shots. A good game with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga awaits him in the 3rd Round, and we think he will come through that battle to face Andy Murray in the 4th, yet his Wimbledon run will end there for this year.
Prediction: 4th Round
Rafael Nadal:
Rafa has a point to prove in this year's tournament. He needs to show that he is still one of the world's best, despite being seeded 10th in 2015 for Wimbledon. With David Ferrer having dropped out of the tournament, Nadal should have a rather simple path to the Quarter Final, and should be well-rested for when he comes to face Andy Murray. However, the Brit has been in fine form and his only loss this year came to Djokovic, so it looks as if Rafa will have to settle for a Quarter Final this year.
Prediction: Quarter Final
Roger Federer:
Federer will look to show everyone that he still has that magic, that he is still the king on grass, and has a relatively straight forward, especially considering his form, having won in Halle recently. His first test will come against Tomas Berdych, the number 6th seed, yet we don't see him as causing the Swiss maestro a problem this year, and he should coast into the Semi Finals before facing Andy Murray. Both players are in good form, and draw a huge amount of support from the Wimbledon crowd, but 2015 looks to be Murray's year, he has played brilliant tennis so far, as he showed at Queen's, and he will end Federer's tournament in the Semi Finals.
Prediction: Semi Finals
Novak Djokovic:
The defending champion will look to bounce back after a disappointing French Open, and will use that loss as motivation to continue his good Wimbledon form. A relatively straightforward path to final will also comfort him, and we expect him to meet Andy Murray in the final yet again. It is a very, very tough call to make, but we're going to have to say that Djokovic will lose in what will be a Wimbledon classic. Looking at Murray's form this year makes it difficult to bet against him, and he gets to meet Djokovic and grass instead of clay this time, so Murray will back himself to play better than he did in the French Open against Novak. It will be thrilling, it will be brilliant, it will be tense, and it will be an Andy Murray victory in the Final.
Prediction: Runner-up
Andy Murray:
We have already mentioned everything that makes this year's competition Andy's, and the Scot will look to continue his good form this year by beating everyone in his path. A tough draw that sees him come up against Nadal and Federer in the Quarter Finals and Semi Finals respectively will make this year's victory for him even sweeter.
Prediction: Winner
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