Wimbledon 2019
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Wimbledon 2019 Men’s Singles: Players to watch out for

Qasim Mujtaba Naqvi·
Tennis
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As we did with Roland-Garros, we take a look at the players who could claim their maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon 2019…

With Wimbledon’s qualifying stages kicking off on June 24th 2019, the big guns arrived on July 1st to begin their journey. The Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic inevitably began the tournament as favourites. Since 2004, only 10 of 62 men’s singles events have been won by someone other than the aforementioned legends.

That amounts to fifteen years of dominance, blotted only by Stanley Wawrinka and Andy Murray picking up three slams (each) during that period. A couple of US Open wins for Marin Čilić and Juan Martín del Potro also thwarted the trio’s dominance, while Gastón Gaudio’s 2004 Roland-Garros win and Marat Safin’s 2005 Australian Open triumph rounded off the lot.

Keeping their stature in mind, they remain the safest bet. However, every sport is unpredictable – and of the three stalwarts, Nadal has shown a tendency to falter in the early stages. Moreover, Roger’s age is catching up with him and Novak’s grass game leaves plenty to exploit. To broaden the playing field, here are four individuals who could hold their own at Wimbledon 2019:

Feliciano López

We begin with the Spaniard who’s in sublime grass court form. Feli didn’t do much of note at Surbiton or in Stuttgart, but won a wildcard into Queen’s. The unseeded Spaniard then won the men’s doubles title with the returning Andy Murray, and nicked the men’s singles title as well. The singles title was won in a field that included Cilic, Wawrinka, Del Potro, and last year’s Wimbledon finalist, Kevin Anderson.

That shows the pedigree López displayed to win the title at the ripe old age of 27. His serve-and-volley game was brilliant throughout – and if he can do well at Eastbourne, he could generate enough momentum to do well at Wimbledon. Historically tough to beat in the tournament, López’s 2019 campaign began with a relatively straightforward match against American qualifier Marcos Giron.

Milos Raonic

Another man who seems to bring his best game to the grass of England, Raonic has been thriving at Wimbledon for a few years now. A former finalist, the Canadian has relied on his huge serves and strong forehand to dominate the fast-paced grass court. Raonic has also illustrated his consistency in the past, going as high as world number 3 a few years ago.

The giant from the North made the quarter-final in both Stuttgart and Queen’s after missing the clay court season through injury. If he can find the rhythm he did last year, some will back the big server to go two steps further than he did in London last year. He’ll be one to look out for given his seeding as well. Raonic opened his campaign against Indian number 1 Prajnesh Gunneswaran.

John Isner

Tall men have gone deep at Wimbledon lately, and John Isner will hope to continue the tradition in 2019. Another North American who missed the clay court season, Isner’s last appearance on tour was a loss in the Miami final to Roger Federer. Despite being 2.08 m tall, Isner has shown great durability, winning tennis’ longest-ever match in 2010. He walks into Wimbledon as the world number 10.

Moreover, he’s improved over the years and at Wimbledon 2019, he’ll look to make up for last year’s semi-final exit. He possesses similar characteristics to Raonic, but will be buoyed by the birth of his child and the prospect of breaking America’s recent Grand Slam duck. Isner’s campaign began against Norwegian clay specialist Casper Ruud.

Matteo Berrettini

Matteo Berrettini is among nine Italians in the main draw for Wimbledon this year. He’s also had a magnificent grass court season. Winning the title in Stuttgart, Berrettini went on to play the semi-final in Halle as well – but lost out to David Goffin. He has since been on record talking about how good he feels.

The 23 year-old has been on tour since just 2017, and will now look to improve on a subpar Grand Slam record. Seeded at number 17 and kicking off against Radu Albot, a victory could launch a memorable Wimbledon 2019 campaign for the Italian.

Other individuals to keep an eye on will be the Canadian duo of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov. Moreover, Stefanos Tsitsipas looks poised to break the ceiling – with Borna Ćorić and Kei Nishikori not far behind. Lastly, if he can focus on his game, Nick Kyrgios will always be a threat on grass.

Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi will look to make a deep run in the men’s doubles with Mexican partner Santiago González. The pair have won two consecutive ATP Challenger tournaments on grass in Nottingham and Ilkley, with Aisam also coming off a career-best mixed doubles semi-final in Paris. They started their campaign against the Serbian duo of former world number 8 Janko Tipsarević and current current 30th seed Laslo Đere.