Earlier today the main draw of Wimbledon emerged stirring those unavoidable debates which revolve around the main favorites for the trophy. Judging by the grass-court history and the recent events on this surface, Roger Federer is widely regarded as the main contender for this year's edition. Seeded third in men's draw, Federer was assigned a slot in the bottom half of the draw. Aiming for an eight Wimbledon success and 19th overall, the Swiss put some serious work last year in Halle winning his fourth title of the season after beating Alexander Zverev in a one-sided final clash.
Resuming his schedule after an extended break had some risks on the table but Federer gently navigated his way to the shore.
Roger Federer shares quarter with Milos Raonic, Dimitrov, and Alexander Zverev
The 35-year-old Swiss and Novak Djokovic are the biggest names of the second part of the draw. While Djokovic is on the same quarter-chamber with Dominic Thiem, Federer received a fair share of possibly dangerous opponents. One of the last year's semifinalist, Federer will have his opening statement against Alexandr Dolgopolov (84 ATP). Their head to head includes three previous meetings all being won by Roger Federer. The second round could put Federer against another easy test as the projection indicates Dusan Lajovic (78 ATP) as the one who will stand on the other end of the court.
The next round is where the first genuine test might happen as Mischa Zverev could emerge. The German faced Federer in this year's Australian Open quarterfinals after dispatching the world no. 1 Andy Murray in the previous round. Zverev went on losing in straight sets to Federer so the time for revenge might be just right.
Federer's projected trajectory puts Grigor Dimitrov as the fourth round opponent.
The Bulgarian star could use this Wimbledon to revive his season. After a solid star back in January when he reached the semis of the Australian Open, Dimitrov slowly faded away. Moreover, it's common that the Bulgarian has a playing style pretty much using the same register as Federer so a confrontation between them would be interesting to watch.
Moving deeper in the contest is what Federer definitely wants but there is a lot of work to be done over the next week. If he reaches the semis, Milos Raonic could step up against the Swiss champion. The Canadian is the one who dramatically ended Federer's run last year at the end of a 5 sets thriller. The last four stages is a wild guess at the moment as there are plenty of options for Federer. Still, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem are the most likely names to occur at that stage.
Federer might want to keep a safe distance between him and Rafael Nadal
Having Federer as the winner of 2017 Australian Open and Rafael Nadal as the runner-up reignited that race of who has the biggest Grand Slam harvest.
Nadal didn't concede the fight as he won the French Open maintaining the gap on a reasonable three units. Federer and Nadal already have a strong history this season even though the Spaniard lost all their three clashes. Unlike Federer who has to defend last year's semifinal, Nadal will enter Wimbledon without any concern on his mind. If he gets his hands on the trophy he will be the new world no. 1.
