This year's Wimbledon Championships is now on sight for everyone who has a basic interest in the matter. Yesterday, the main draw came out amplifying the level of excitement. While in the women's tennis the absence of Serena Williams will weight quite much, the men's singles tour has a full house heading to the London's lawns.
Andy Murray will be the leading violin of men's contest as he is the current world no. 1 in the ATP ranking and the defending champion as well. Murray enters Wimbledon having a full plate in front. Failing to produce a constant decent tennis, he is now in danger of being surpassed in the ranking by either Rafael Nadal or Stan Wawrinka.
Andy Murray shares the draw with Rafael Nadal
The top seed of men;s contest, Murray was designated the first quarter of the draw also having Rafael Nadal in the upper half. The Spaniard who has recently won his 10th French Open is the biggest threat for Murray. Last year he skipped Wimbledon due to a wrist injury which puts him on a favorable course for the upcoming weeks with nothing to defend or to worry about. It'll be interesting to see whether or not Nadal will manage to take the momentum from clay and adapt his game to a faster surface like grass. Nadal and Murray could make quite a semifinal. Besides a place in the last act, the no. 1 slot would be at stake.
The opening round will have Andy Murray facing a lucky loser in the person of Alexander Bublik (134 ATP) from Kazakhstan.
It'll be the first time the 20-year-old Kazakh will play against Murray. For the second round, the projected trajectory has Murray on a collision course either with Dustin Brown or Joao Sousa.
Despite being low-ranked, these two can put Murray in trouble especially the nonconformist Dustin Brown. A versatile player on grass, he has a glorious record at Wimbledon.
A few years back, he ousted Rafael Nadal in the opening stages.
The third round could put Fabio Fognini on the other end with the Italian being a dangerous player. He scored an impressive victory against Murray not long ago in Rome. Moving forward, if he'll find his balance and will advance to the second week, Murray could face Nick Kyrgios or Lucas Pouille in the fourth round while the quarterfinals may bring Stan Wawrinka or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on the other side of the net.
Twelve months since Murray started that tremendous bid to clinch the world no. 1 seat
A year ago, once Novak Djokovic surprisingly lost to Sam Querrey in the opening stages, Murray started a titanic work in closing the gap between him and the no. 1 spot. Wimbledon was the beginning as those 2000 ranking points boosted his status up.
Now, it's Murray who has to defend his spot as other could surpass him once Wimbledon reaches its conclusion. It's a dynamic constantly shifting environment at the top of the ATP ranking, and Murray is fully aware of the situation. That's why he will try to do his best over the next few weeks especially with the tremendous support he will receive from his home crowd.
