Swiss Roger Federer is the favorite once again to win Wimbledon, the third Grand slam of the year, which will start on July 2 and conclude on July 15 at the All-England Tennis Club in London.
In the 132nd edition of this prestigious tournament, Federer will try to repeat last year’s performance when he defeated Croatian Marin Cilic in the finals. Federer looks to earn his 9th Wimbledon trophy and the 99th tournament of his long career.
Federer is also looking to win Wimbledon in back-to-back years for the first time since winning the tournament five years in a row from 2003 to 2007.
Spaniard Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic will be the Federer’s biggest threats and will try to win their third and fourth Wimbledon trophies respectively.
Nadal last won the tournament in 2010 and Djokovic last lifted the trophy at the All-England Club in 2015.
Nadal is in excellent form and is coming off a huge win in Paris where he earned his 11th French Open. Although grass is not his favorite surface Nadal is always dangerous when he is healthy and in good shape.
Djokovic is also a threat on paper, but after losing to the top-seeded Cilic in the final of the Queens Club Championships he ruled himself out of contention to win the trophy.
Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro is also a candidate as he loves playing on grass and reached the semifinals back in 2013.
On the women’s draw, there is not a clear-cut favorite. Romanian Simona Halep was the favorite to win the French Open because she thrives on clay, but for this grass tournament, there is no consensus as to which player can dominate and come out on top.
There are of course several players that are expected to fare well and would not be a surprise if they end up winning it all, but unlike other years, no lady is seen as the sure thing to lift the trophy.
Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza is perhaps the player with most pressure this year as she looks forward to defending her 2017 title, but others such as Czech Petra Kvitova, German Angelique Kerber, Russian Maria Sharapova, Czech Karolina Pliskova and American Serena Williams are some of the biggest threats.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner, is considered one of the favorites although she gave birth to her first child back in September. The youngest Williams sister has played in only three tournaments in the past 12 months and is ranked 183rd in the world.
