By Sheldan Keay
After a shaky start, Andy Murray reeled off 15 straight games to beat Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 4-6 6-3 6-0 6-0 and advance to the second round of Wimbledon. Over the last few years, the nation's hopes of a British player winning Wimbledon have rested on Murray’s shoulders, and this year more than ever could see those hopes become a reality. There is no doubt that Murray has a huge task ahead of him if he is to be the first British player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry won the title in 1936, due to the mass of star names that surround him in the draw. Most notably the trio of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Coming off the back of his sixth French Open title, Rafael Nadal returns to Wimbledon as the defending champion, and also got his campaign off to a successful start on Monday. The prospect of a Nadal-Murray semi-final is a possibility if both men get to that stage, and while Nadal would be the favourite, his failure to impress at Queen’s may allow Murray to overcome the world number one, that of course being if both men reach that stage. Perhaps the member of the top four that is floating under the radar is Novak Djokovic. While his 43 match winning streak may be over, he is producing arguably the best tennis of his life, and after capturing the Australian Open in January, will be hoping to add a maiden Wimbledon crown to his ever increasing trophy cabinet. While Djokovic avoids top seed Rafael Nadal on his route to the final, he instead may face the man who ended his unbelievable streak, Roger Federer. A clash between Djokovic and Federer is possible for the semi-finals, and after a disappointing Wimbledon last year, Federer has shown an improvement in his game as of late to show signs that he is returning to the form that earned him a record breaking 16 grand slam titles. Federer is 30 in August, and has dropped to number three in the world rankings, but a win at Wimbledon would restore him to world number one, a position he held for a record breaking 237 consecutive weeks.
What all three of these men have that Andy Murray does not have, is the experience of winning a grand slam title in the past, something that Murray drastically wants to change. Murray’s form in grand slams has been extraordinary as of late, reaching two semi-finals and two finals in his last six grand slams shows the level that his game is currently at, and after a slight slump following the Australian Open, Murray bounced back to win Queen’s earlier this month. If Murray continues to show the form that earned him his first Queen’s title, then he has as much of a chance as any of the other top seeds of winning Wimbledon.
There is no doubt that Murray’s biggest challenge will be overcoming Nadal if both men reach the semi-finals, however Murray should not overlook anybody else in the draw, as we have seen in the past that the likes of Andy Roddick, Tomas Berdych and Robin Soldering gatecrash a grand slam final, and with former grand slam champions like Juan Martin Del Potro and Lleyton Hewit also in the draw, there are several players who could halter Murray’s quest for a grand slam title. Nonetheless, Murray is the clear home favourite, and appears to be more motivated than ever before in his efforts to capture a Wimbledon title, and with all the build up and hype surrounding this years tournament, could it be Murray’s year?
Follow Sheldan on Twitter: @SheldanKeay
