Summer 2018 Grass Court Season

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They are back on the grass from today. Can Fed get another Wimbledon title? Will Rafa have his first good SW19 for a while? Will Murray get back on court? Can anyone under the age of 29 step up?
Fed could get back to number one if he reaches the Stuttgart final although his main thoughts will be on Wimbledon. He must be favourite for another GS, although not such a big a favourite as Rafa was at the French. Other possible contenders include Cilic, Raonic (if fit) Zverev (if he can adapt), delpo, and....Rafa ? It would not be before time if the Spaniard had a good showing at Wimbledon.
The women's, as ever, is wide open, especially if Serena is not able to play. Mug and Kvitova could go a long way, as could Kerber. Stephens could also go deep.

All I see are the scores (not from the BBC) and Kyle Edmund has a double break in the second set and is about to serve for the match 6-4 5-2

So I see Murray breaks Edmund and it is 6-4 5-3 to Edmund with Murray serving and it is deuce on Murray's serve.

Murray manages to hold serve so it is 6-4 5-4 to Edmund with Edmund getting another chance to serve out the match.

Edmund serves out to win the match 6-4 6-4.

A good work out for Andy. At times his lack of match fitness showed as he was a tad slow getting to some of Kyle's shots. Credit to Kyle in getting the job done. Andy can take heart from his showings in his three matches so far where he has been competitive.

Pleased for Edmund. He inherited the British No. 1 mantle by default, but he's carried it well, and improved, rather than falter under it as a burden.

Murray still to make his mind up about Wimbledon, although he says the hip is not a problem. It could be argued that he should play and not worry about going out early or being a bit rusty. He has a one in four chance of meeting a seed but with a favourable draw he could make some progress.
Either way, it's probably the lack of match fitness/sharpness that's the problem at the moment rather than overall fitness. IMHO the signs are good whether he plays Wimbledon or not.

My concern is that Murray is rushing himself back (according to Tim Henman) when he isn't match fit and certainly not tournament fit.

Under such circumstances there is a risk that due to his lack of fitness and conditioning he may over-exert / over-push / over - stress something leading to injury, especially his joints, and in particular his hip.  

With all the hullabuloo surrounding Wimbledon there is a likelihood he might be pushed on by a roaring crowd to over-exert himself.  

Personally I think it is unnecessary - so why take the risk - surely he is in no condition to actually win Wimbledon 2018 so what is the point.  Better to build up fitness and conditioning through the challenger circuit and ATP 250's in preparation for US 2018, with 2019 being a more likely target for slam wins.

Murray already has knowledge as to what can happen when you try to rush back too early (US Open 2017, AO 2018). The surgery seems to have done the trick - but there is no need to take unnecessary risks - if the ultimate target is to win tennis slams again - before he is too old for it. At his age - any major injury setback will push back his recovery to an age where it becomes unlikely he will be challenging for slams again (even given the apparent poverty of next generation talent).

The only caveat I have for my above comment - which I could see could be beneficial for Murray to enter Wimbledon 2018 - is that Murray has said he was surprised how competitive he was despite not training much for the matches.  

He said that he used to work really hard in training before each match and he is now saying that maybe he doesn't need to work so hard in training - given his surprise in how well he has performed (against Kyrgios, Wawrinka, Edmund).  If he is going to reduce his training / preparation load - then he is less likely to go into the "red zone" in his actual competitive matches.  ps red zone is something I have recently heard in describing recovery periods for footballers. If a footballer plays while in the "red zone" it means he is at greater risk of a major injury occurring.

I see what you are saying No name Bertie but you have to sit back and weigh up the pros and cons.

The only cons I see for him is that the injury resurfaces at Wimbledon. However, seemingly Andy has been told by specialists that he is not in any danger of that happening just now. I suppose it is a bit like being scared of being hit by lightening - be overly-concerned and you would never leave the house. The other con and this is stretching it a lot is that in some way it damages his legacy in some way.

The pros are that it continues to build his match fitness, it shakes off more of that thick rust, it lessens his points loss and improves his fitness and court craft for the remainder of the season.

Yes we all know he has no chance of winning Wimbledon but that needn't disqualify him from taking part given that perhaps 90% of the field stand no chance either.

Andy has said he'll play if he feels he can be competitive and I am happy to leave the decision up to him. What will be, will be.

CaledonianCraig wrote:I see what you are saying No name Bertie but you have to sit back and weigh up the pros and cons.

The only cons I see for him is that the injury resurfaces at Wimbledon. However, seemingly Andy has been told by specialists that he is not in any danger of that happening just now. I suppose it is a bit like being scared of being hit by lightening - be overly-concerned and you would never leave the house. The other con and this is stretching it a lot is that in some way it damages his legacy in some way.

The pros are that it continues to build his match fitness, it shakes off more of that thick rust, it lessens his points loss and improves his fitness and court craft for the remainder of the season.

Yes we all know he has no chance of winning Wimbledon but that needn't disqualify him from taking part given that perhaps 90% of the field stand no chance either.

Andy has said he'll play if he feels he can be competitive and I am happy to leave the decision up to him. What will be, will be.

Depends what he means by 'competitive' - if he's meaning getting to say R4, that's a reasonable target given where he is and how long he's been out, but aiming for SF/F is clearly beyond his current scope. Agree with Craig's point that Murray will have to play matches, and against good opposition, to get back to decent form and match sharpness - 2 or 3 wins at Wimbledon (provided he avoids any horror draws in R1) would be good for the confidence and would address any of the lingering doubts over recovery from the injury.

Wimbledon draw being made now. Have started a Wimbledon topic.