Despite crossing over the 30 years of age limit, Rafael Nadal is showing no signs of fatigue. The recovery from that wrist injury of 2016 is now a closed chapter and the Spaniard is gathering momentum. So far, he has 4 titles under his belt from a total of 7 finals in which he appeared. The most important one is his 10th French Open crown which came as a finest conclusion of a spectacular clay court swing. The grass session has some terrible implications at the top of the ATP ranking having Rafael Nadal along with Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic trying to steal the no.1 seat from the current holder Andy Murray.
Transition from clay to grass has never been easy
The first six months of the season now include a total of 49 matches on Nadal's side. There are some huge numbers and, although there were concerns regarding his health, he hasn't shown any signs of weakness yet. Winning every single event he entered on clay except for the Masters 1000 in Rome, he also captured the no. 1 spot in ATP Race of 2017. In order to adjust to a faster surface like grass he initially had a warm-up event prior to Wimbledon. He went on dropping off the commitment at Queen's in order to recharge his batteries.
Entering Wimbledon without any official event on grass is not uncommon for Nadal. In the past, he had success despite being forced to shift from a slow surface to a faster one in a short period of time.
He accomplished Roland Garros-Wimbledon double twice in the past (2008, 2010).
The draw puts Nadal in the same half with Murray and Wawrinka
It's quite hard to predict the outcome of the first half of the draw having so many big names involved in the battle. Rafael Nadal is clearly a favorite but so are Murray, Wawrinka, Cilic or Nishikori.
The Spaniard will have his opening round match against John Millman (137 ATP) a 28-year-old Aussie who gained access to the main draw benefiting from his protected ranking status. It's gonna be their first meeting on an ATP level tour and Nadal is clearly the one to put the money on. The second round could oppose Denis Istomin to Nadal.
Istomin is a name with a special resonance as he delivered a shock earlier this year at the Australian Open when he stunned Djokovic in the opening stages.
Overall, the first rounds are rather easy for Nadal but things tend to get trickier on the grass court especially for a player who left so many resources on the clay courts of Europe. The quarterfinals may be the ultimate test as Marin Cilic or Kei Nishikori is most likely to emerge. The semis could put either Wawrinka or Murray on the other side, while a confrontation with Roger Federer could only take place in the final. The same goes for Djokovic who remains the only member of the Big Four having an upper hand on Nadal in head to head stats.
