Murray given tough Wimbledon draw
Originally published on 30/06/17 00:00
The world No.1 is bidding to win a fourth Grand Slam title however he has been handed a tough draw at the All England Club. He could face the enigmatic, Dustin Brown, who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2015, in the second round and Fabio Fognini is a potential third round opponent.
Lucas Pouille or Nick Kyrgios will look to challenge Murray in the fourth round and Stan Wawrinka – who defeated Murray in the French Open semi-finals – is expected to meet the world No.1 in the last eight. Nadal, still on cloud nine after completing ‘La Decima’ at Roland Garros, could encounter the Brit in the semi-final stages.
Nadal may be a two-time Wimbledon winner, but he has not made it beyond the fourth round in the last five years. He can be vulnerable in the first week of the Championships and he will play Australia’s John Millman in the first round.
The French Open champion could face the exciting Russian, Karen Khachanov, in the round of 32 and Gilles Muller is a potential last sixteen opponent. Marin Cilic, who reached the final of Queen’s Club last week, is scheduled to meet Nadal in the last eight.
In the other half of the draw, Roger Federer will begin his quest to win an eighth Wimbledon title against Alexandr Dolgopolov. It’s a tricky first round assignment for the Australian Open champion but he will expect to come through unscathed.
Federer could encounter Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and Milos Raonic or Alexander Zverev will look to challenge the Swiss in the quarter-finals. Novak Djokovic, currently playing in Eastbourne, is seeded to meet his arch-rival in the last four.
Djokovic will need to be wary as he faces talented Slovakian, Martin Klizan, in his opening round match. Juan Martin Del Potro could be waiting at the third round stage and Dominic Thiem is a potential quarter-final opponent.
Kyle Edmund will start his campaign against a qualifier or a lucky loser and his countryman, Brydan Klein, will commence against Yâichi Sugita. James Ward will take on Marcos Baghdatis and Northampton’s Alex Ward, ranked No.855, who battled through qualifying to take his place in the main draw, will find out his first round opponent in due course.
Aljaz Bedene will face the big serving, Ivo Karlovic, in the first round and Cameron Norrie will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
There are a number of intriguing first round ties but Wawrinka against Daniil Medvedev, Richard Gasquet versus David Ferrer and Thiem against Vasek Pospisil, look particularly interesting.
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