The oldest tennis tournament in the world returns to the All England Lawn Tennis Club in just a few days’ time, as the third Grand-Slam tournament on the calendar – Wimbledon – kicks off on Monday.
World number one Novak Djokovic was left reeling at Roland Garros in May, when Stanislas Wawrinka upset the odds to steal the elusive French Open crown from the Serb. That defeat will have only left Djokovic hungry for redemption however and that – paired with his well-documented gruelling training regime – has left the 28-year-old as the Betfair favourite to successfully defend his crown come the tournament’s conclusion.
Further down the pack is ‘home-nation’ hero Andy Murray, who is always well-backed to succeed on the outdoor grass courts. The Scot is the adopted heir to the English tennis throne, which was left so abruptly by the likes of former great Fred Perry. Murray has battled ferociously with Djokovic over the years on centre court at Wimbledon and hopefully, the battle is far from over. Victories over the super Serb in 2012 to claim an Olympic gold medal and again in 2013 to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since the aforementioned Perry will no doubt buoy the people’s champion going into this year’s edition of the competition.
Aside from those two, the likes of Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori are also likely to be in contention as the tournament progresses to the later rounds, making the outcome of this tournament extremely hard to predict. One thing is certain, though: this tournament is sure to be a classic.
—Tom Wardman