Wimbledon 2017

Nervous about tomorrow. I know Federer should beat Mischa but a number 3 or 4 seeding at Wimbledon is on the line. So want him to win so he can be on the opposite side of the draw to Nadal. I know that Federer is fast approaching 40 and Rafa hasn't gone far in Wimbledon since 2011. But just checked the betting odds and Federer is the favorite and Nadal has been playing brilliantly

For the first time in ages I'm excited about Wimbledon

Well you never know HE Novak has still got time to make a difference if he employed a full time experienced coach.. Boris would probably take the job for a bargain price

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/21/boris-becker-declared-bankrupt-over-substantial-debt

Reckon there's a very real chance of the defending champion going out on the opening day this year, if Murray should get a tough first rounder.
   Hasn't happened since 2003 when Karlovic upset Lleyton Hewitt. Before that, Manuel Santana was beaten in 1967.
   Let's hope Murray got his horror match out the way at Queen's. As for Wimbledon favourites, may be people should not discount Djoko. He's going to play Eastbourne where he might get some confidence-boosting wins.

Let's not rule out Tommy Haas

Haddie-nuff wrote:Well you never know HE Novak has still got time to make a difference if he employed a full time experienced coach.. Boris would probably  take the job for a bargain price

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/21/boris-becker-declared-bankrupt-over-substantial-debt

Funny how much Boris Becker has in common with Boris Johnson:

* both known simply as "Boris", which is an adjunct to their images as 'funny' larger than life characters
* both probably have hidden depths, but they are very well hidden under layers of ill-prepared BS, and a willingness to say almost anything and bluster when it suits
* both keenly ambitious - Becker has the edge here because with Johnson it has never been possible to discern any purpose to his ambition nor any discipline (beyond the ruthlessness with which he forwards his own interests) - Becker's successes, first as a player and then as a coach indicate (at times) discipline, purpose, and an ability albeit grudging but not in anyway shared by Johnson, to let others hold the limelight
* both have a disgraceful track record with women, and I am not being pompous about someone who has the odd indiscretion, I am talking about people who casually betray the trust of those close to them and drift from impregnating one person to another
* both deeply irresponsible, narcissists & selfish

The one silver lining is that the shine seems to be coming off Johnson.

Ugh!

barrystar wrote:

Haddie-nuff wrote:Well you never know HE Novak has still got time to make a difference if he employed a full time experienced coach.. Boris would probably  take the job for a bargain price

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/jun/21/boris-becker-declared-bankrupt-over-substantial-debt

Funny how much Boris Becker has in common with Boris Johnson:

* both known simply as "Boris", which is an adjunct to their images as 'funny' larger than life characters
* both probably have hidden depths, but they are very well hidden under layers of ill-prepared BS, and a willingness to say almost anything and bluster when it suits
* both keenly ambitious - Becker has the edge here because with Johnson it has never been possible to discern any purpose to his ambition nor any discipline (beyond the ruthlessness with which he forwards his own interests) - Becker's successes, first as a player and then as a coach indicate (at times) discipline, purpose, and an ability albeit grudging but not in anyway shared by Johnson, to let others hold the limelight
* both have a disgraceful track record with women, and I am not being pompous about someone who has the odd indiscretion, I am talking about people who casually betray the trust of those close to them and drift from impregnating one person to another
* both deeply irresponsible, narcissists & selfish

The one silver lining is that the shine seems to be coming off Johnson.

Ugh!

You seem to have the same regard  I have for both.. the only difference is that I do have respect for what Boris achieved ON COURT.. I liked him as a player .. and I think he did a fair job as a coach to Novak,  however his personal life leaves a lot to be desired... as for the other buffoon  who I have no respect for whatsoever (omg when I think he is in the global limelight as Foreign Secretary  I cringe..)  Why doesn't the USA take him back ..Trump would give him a job.. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum(b) They both have the same hairdresser at any rate   sorry JHM daresay I should remain apolitical on the forum

Amazing how many people can make millions and end up bankrupt. Becker has never seemed particularly smart to me.

JuliusHMarx wrote:Let's not rule out Tommy Haas

Really ?

Thing is ...... I already have done

So who's actually going to Wimbledon this year? I'm thinking of going 1 day during the 1st week, to queue up for ground-pass. What time do you need to join the queue in order to actually see some tennis? I'm not trying to queue for showcourts, just a ground-pass.

I have done it a couple of times.

If you join the queue at 5am you will have a very high chance of getting in and may even be in the first half of the queue and may be in by 11am give or take an hour.

If you join the queue at 6am-7am you will have a reasonably good chance of getting in eventually, but may miss the first match and have to queue forever and not get in until 1pm or something, with no absolute guarantee of getting in at all.

I would aim for 5am based on my experience and other stats I've seen. 6am is probably OK too.

The queue length will be increasing rapidly between 5am and 7am. If you stop to tie your shoelaces 20 people walk past you and into the queue.

You could get there at 4.30am if you are uber keen and feel like towards the front of the queue and want to absolute guarantee getting in, but you will just end up kicking your heels for an hour when you get in anyway and it's crap because most of the grounds are closed for a little white after getting in. However that time of arrival might increase the chances of some court 2/3 options.

Any earlier than 4.30 is overkill for sure.

btw last time I went was 4-5 years ago. Not sure if anything changed.

Seedings announced.

The old 'Big Four' (old being the operative word ....!) occupy the top four seed spots for the first time at any Slam since Wimbledon 2014.

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2017-06-28/seeding_announced_for_the_championships_2017.html

Look at #19-23 in the Men - that's quite some batch of nasty grass-court opponents; enough to go round for the top 4 in Round 3.

Thanks HenmanHill - I have also queued up for groundpass, around 5-6 years ago.  I seem to recall joining the queue between 7:30am and 8am, and getting in for 12noon, and wondered if that would likely to be the case this time round.  I'm not hard-core enough to get to the queue before 7am really!  In previous years I also seem to remember the queue was bigger on the days that Murray was playing (a lot of fans like to watch him on 'Henman Hill' even if they can't see the match in person) - ditto for Federer and wondered if this was still the case.

Don't they call it Murray Mound now

barrystar wrote:Look at #19-23 in the Men - that's quite some batch of nasty grass-court opponents; enough to go round for the top 4 in Round 3.

Yes, a tasty section for sure. #9-13 has some tricky ones also.

Gilles Muller, aged 34, sitting at a seeding of 16 (10 places above his ranking of 26 - itself a career high) looks very odd!

seeded announced

cant understand why donald young and troiki are out? injured?

Is it coming together a bit for Federer?

Won Halle, Nadal pulled out of Queens, Murray slight injury, Federer looks slightly ahead of the pack of favourites at the moment?

http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/19740708/this-just-roger-federer-stealing-headlines-wimbledon-approaches

naxroy wrote:seeded announced

cant understand why donald young and troiki are out? injured?

Donald Young played Djokovic today?

Think Troicki has just had a baby.

Young is #47 in the world - perhaps that's why he's not seeded?

Alexander Ward has just qualified for the Wimbledon main draw. For one moment I was thinking it was James Ward. ALexander Ward with a ranking of around 760 needed to get a wildcard to enter Wimbledon qualifiers. James Ward got a direct wild card into the Wimbledon main draw.

Henman Bill wrote:Is it coming together a bit for Federer?

Won Halle, Nadal pulled out of Queens, Murray slight injury, Federer looks slightly ahead of the pack of favourites at the moment?

http://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/19740708/this-just-roger-federer-stealing-headlines-wimbledon-approaches

Yes, the signs are certainly good - BUT perhaps also a case of expect-the-unexpected, given the way the past six months have panned out.

In the same way that very, very few people (not even the man himself) could have foreseen Federer taking the AO on his immediate return after a 6 month layoff (swiftly followed by two 1000's), I wouldn't be wholly surprised if we see a reversal of fortunes, including about a potential exit in week one.

I think this is actually shaping up to be a very 'open' Wimbledon - with a fair possibility of a first-time winner.

Here's hoping for some thrills & spills  

Yes I would be very surprised if we don't have one of the top players (male or female) suffering a major shock defeat or early exit, or some other major story coming out of the opening week.

Wimbledon does tend to throw up some good stories.

No name Bertie wrote:Alexander Ward has just qualified for the Wimbledon main draw.  For one moment I was thinking it was James Ward.  ALexander Ward with a ranking of around 760 needed to get a wildcard to enter Wimbledon qualifiers.   James Ward got a direct wild card into the Wimbledon main draw.

Speaking of good stories:
http://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/40449803

Federer is the clear favourite here 

I can't see any one player beating him here. 

The only thing that could happen is he drops sets here and there and gets worn down 

I actually reckon cilic as second favourite

Draw is done:
Qf
Murray v Stan
Rafa v Cilic
Fed v Raonic
Djoko v Thiem.

Fed in Djoko's half.

Murray has Kyrgios in R4 if both get there (Kyrgios may have to beat Pouille first)
Fed has the Dog in R1, Dimitrov R4
Rafa has Muller in R4
Djoko has Delpo R3

Terrible draw for Andy - Kyrgios, Stan, Rafa is as bad as it could be from R4 onwards.

Fed has a reasonably tough first round but it's a great draw for him. Strengthens his position as favourite.

Born Slippy wrote:Terrible draw for Andy - Kyrgios, Stan, Rafa is as bad as it could be from R4 onwards. ...

There is no guarantee that Kyrgios, Stan, Rafa will make it to face Murray assuming Murray doesn't get knocked out. Krygios seems to be not quite fit. Stan & Rafa don't have a great record on grass - at least recently. That said Murray seems to be carrying a hip injury - characterised as hip soreness.

It's looking open, and that's because the distance between the big 4 and the rest feels much less than it used to.

I'm not sure I'd say Fed's draw is great, I'd say it's tough to neutral:

R1 Dolgopolov
R3 poss M Zverev who gave him a hard match at Halle
R4 poss Dimitrov
QF poss Raonic
SF poss Djoko or Del Potro

OK - it can be said that, perhaps barring Dimitrov, none of those guys are coming into the tournament in particularly decent form, and they may fall away, but if Fed gets past R3 and faces any of those guys, by definition the opponent will have played himself into a bit of form, and of them only Dimitrov has never beaten Fed, but is still very capable on Grass.

I agree that Murray's potential latter rounds look horrible, and Nadal's are similar - Kyrgios is not a good potential opponent if fit. Djoko's looks tough in parts with poss Del boy in R3 - but if he somehow finds form poss Monfils or Lopes in R4 and Thiem in QF are not that frightening are they?

It's a daft and obvious thing to say in one sense, but I think current form will be a far better pointer to success than past reputations this year.

If that's Feds draw. That definitely isn't easy 

I mean he should beat them. But they're all well capable of taking chunks out of him

temporary21 wrote:Federer is the clear favourite here 

I can't see any one player beating him here. 

The only thing that could happen is he drops sets here and there and gets worn down 

I actually reckon cilic as second favourite

:whistle:Maybe too much shouldn't be taken for granted.. one never knows

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/nadal-wimbledon-2017-preview

If Rafa finds his feet (quite literally) on the grass. Then maybe

No chickens to be counted in this years Wimby me thinks

Looks like someone has already uploaded the draw to wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Wimbledon_Championships_%E2%80%93_Men%27s_Singles
I am going to work off that to save time and annoyance factor vs the official website.

Looks like all the interesting first rounders are in the bottom half, so I see a dull day on Monday, and a more interesting one on Tuesday. If you're considering attending or have got some kind of coverage with multiple courts (I doubt I can access BBC online from outside UK), Tuesday could be a good day.

Interesting first rounders on bottom half:

Youzhny-Mahut
R Haase - Tiafoe
Ward-Baghdatis
Zverev-Tomic
Dolgopolov-Federer
Gasquet-Ferrer
Coric-R Harrison
Kyle Edmund - A Ward (mentioned above)
Sugita - B Klein

Looking at this last one, I'm wondering if this could be an opportunity for Brydon Klein, as Sugita will be playing in the Turkey final and flying in, so with a bit of luck could be worn out. However if the Turkey final is presumably Saturday and their match Tuesday, that isn't too bad so still the favourite.

Also if Sugita wins he could get Mannarino which would be a rematch from the Turkey final.

Murray

R1 Bublik
R2 Sousa/Brown
R3 Fognini
R4 Pouille/Krygios
QF Tsonga/Wawrinka
SF Nadal/Cilic/Nishikori
F Federer/Djokovic/Raonic

A quite reasonable draw. R1-3 look easy to allow him to play himself into form, just what he needed.
R4 does look a bit tricky but probably on par with what you might expect at that stage.

I don't think Stan is a tough draw. For one thing Stan is only 50/50 to even make QF, which he has only done twice at this tournament, and never gone further. On clay or hard Stan is a tough QF to avoid but on grass Raonic or one of the up and coming youngsters (Thiem/Zverev) is just as bad. THe thing with Thiem/Zverev is that at some point they might suddenly go up a level, so are not a good draw to have before the semis.

Djokovic

R1 Klizan
R2 Pavlasek/Escobedo
R3 Del Potro/Gulbis
R4 Monfils/Lopez/Mannarino/Sugita/Edmund
QF Thiem/Gasquet/Berdych
SF Federer/Zverev/Dimitrov/Raonic
F Cilic/Nadal/Wawrinka/Murray

An OK draw. The good point is easy first two rounds which will be welcome as he doesn't want long matches on top of playing all this week, he wants to either have striaght sets matches, or allow himself a lull. THe downside is R3 Del Potro since that is losable. (if Del Potro gets that far of course)

Federer

R1 Dolgopolov
R2 Tsitsipas/Lajovic
R3 M Zverev
R4 Isner/Dimitrov
QF Raonic/Zverev
SF Djokovic/Thiem/Berdych/Raonic/Zverev
F Cilic/Nadal/Wawrinka/Murray

A slightly bad draw, but only because of Dolgopolov in R1. If he gets through that with ease he'll be looking in good shape.

Nadal

R1 Millman
R2 Young/Istomin
R3 Khachanov
R4 Karlovic/Muller
QF Nishikori/Cilic
SF Murray/Wawrinka/Tsonga
F Federer/Djokovic/Raonic

I think good draw.

I think Nadal/Murray have slightly easier draws of the four, and Federer the hardest, but there is very little in it.

Sound analysis HB but I'm not sure Djokovic will be pleased to see Klizan waiting for him in R1 - given how fragile Novak is at the moment he might struggle against that kind of firepower.

On paper the draw looks fairly balanced with regards to the top 4, although I reckon Cilic is the most dangerous #5-8 seed so I'm glad Federer has avoided him in his quarter.

P.S. You might want to make a small amendment to Federer's draw, he obviously can't play Raonic or A Zverev in the SF if they're both in his quarter.

You are right about Klizan, that is probably harder than average for R1, it was more the second round I was thinking about when I said an easy first two rounds. I think he would be more worried about Klizan had he not played Eastbourne. I think he might be pleased he has now. Given the Eastbourne week, I dont think he will be too worried about Klizan.

Thanks for the correction - I don't suppose you have a few minutes to spare to cross check the rest of them. I did post in a hurry and need to go back to work now.

Nadal has a good draw? Are you sure? He has Khachanov, Karlovic, Mulker and Cilic - all big servers - in his quarter, and all are doing well this season on grass. Khachanov reached the SF at Halle (lost to Fed); Muller won a grass title and reached SF at Queens (lost to Cilic); Karlovic lost to Muller in the final at the grass court event in Holland; and Cilic lost a tight three sets match to Feli at Queens.

He has all the form players in his section, starting from R3 to QF, I doubt it's a good draw for him.

Djoko's draw looks good, there's no one to trouble him until the SF; only problem is probably Feli, Delpo hasn't played much so far, dont think he can go far. I doubt any of Gasquet, Monfils, Berdych or Thiem could beat or trouble Djoko, provided Djoko himself doesn't play like crap.

I think Fed's has the easiest quarter of the four, with no one really standing in his way - Dimi playing so poorly these days; Raonic not back to his normal level yet, he even lost his first round match at Queens. Alex Zverev doesn't play well at the slams so far this year and he was soundly beaten by Fed at Halle.

Murray seems to have the toughest draw. If Brown shows up to play on grass, he can be a tricky opponent. He then may have Kygrios or Pouille in R4, and then Tsonga/ Querrey/ Verdasco/ Stan in the QF. With the exception of Stan, the other three can play on grass. Murray can beat all of them when he's playing well, but is he playing well now?

I think Murray is going to have a good run at Wimbledon. It's a bit like the French this season. No one expected him to go far and he almost reached the final. Difficult to see a winner coming from outside the top five, although Cilic, Zverev and Thiem might have a say in it all.

Yep have a good day Andy .. congratulations on your news of becoming a father again