I think Federer is still one of the favorites for Wimbledon. There just aren't many players who excel on grass. Most of the younger players seem to do better on slower courts.
A factor that none of us has taken into account: Andy Murray, the only man (2016) to interrupt the Nole/Rafa/Roger year-end #1 dominance since 2004. If he returns to anything like his old self, he could make the accumulation of GS titles by the Big Three more difficult to achieve. Big "if," though.
The fact that he still seems pretty cautious about his injury I think means that a full return to form may not be possible.
But, it would be impressive to see him get there
Imagine Murray winning another slam before the next gen does lol. In all seriousness though, I think Murray is sadly finished. His injury is very severe and the fact that he can still play on the tour is amazingA factor that none of us has taken into account: Andy Murray, the only man (2016) to interrupt the Nole/Rafa/Roger year-end #1 dominance since 2004. If he returns to anything like his old self, he could make the accumulation of GS titles by the Big Three more difficult to achieve. Big "if," though.
McEnroe feels that year end #1 is more important than majors.A factor that none of us has taken into account: Andy Murray, the only man (2016) to interrupt the Nole/Rafa/Roger year-end #1 dominance since 2004. ...
Well, he is wrong. McEnroe has more funny ideas than a hoot owl. January 1 is an arbitrary day picked because it is the start of a new year. No break points are saved, no overheads returned, no half volleys scooped out. Theoretically a player could be #2 or worse the rest of the year. win or do well in a couple 0f Asian tournaments and, voila, is #1 when the magic date arrives. For McEnroe I guess this stuff just helps him feel current, but his comment does nothing except muddy the waters unnecessarily.McEnroe feels that year end #1 is more important than majors.
Well, he is wrong. McEnroe has more funny ideas than a hoot owl. January 1 is an arbitrary day picked because it is the start of a new year. No break points are saved, no overheads returned, no half volleys scooped out. Theoretically a player could be #2 or worse the rest of the year. win or do well in a couple 0f Asian tournaments and, voila, is #1 when the magic date arrives. For McEnroe I guess this stuff just helps him feel current, but his comment does nothing except muddy the waters unnecessarily.
even tho Roger/Rafa/Nole were all in the quarterfinals it did feel like a bit of a changing of the guard with Zverev and Thiem in the semis. And the final was well within Thiem's grasp, but he just ran out of gas late.
even tho Roger/Rafa/Nole were all in the quarterfinals it did feel like a bit of a changing of the guard with Zverev and Thiem in the semis. And the final was well within Thiem's grasp, but he just ran out of gas late.
The first sentence is why. From the looks of it, Rafa will just keep making it rain at RG for the near future and if he picks off even one of the other three majors, no ones gonna catch him.I don’t know why people are changing their opinion on this because Nadal won on a surface he’s better than anyone on. Djokovic is still the favorite three of the four tournaments per year, he’s had less injury issues than Nadal, and is younger. Even if he’s three behind, I don’t see why he can’t and won’t catch Nadal.
This sounds like a good guess to me, though I might go with Nole for 19. Though Rosewall, Federer and now Nadal have done it, three majors is still a lot to ask at his age, and I think the competition is going to get better, too, on both grass and hard court surfaces.Updated predictions after the just-concluded French Open. Unsure whether Novak will even get to 20 now (IMO the crowd will NOT be on his side at any major next year given the multiple faux-pas he's committed this year), but fairly confident that Rafa will end up with the most majors when all is said and done.
Nadal: 22 ('21 FO, '22 FO)
Federer: 20
Djokovic: 20 ('21 AO, '21 Wimby, '22 AO)
Comp will get better on HCs but not on grass. Besides the big 3, no one on tour is a good grass court player right now.This sounds like a good guess to me, though I might go with Nole for 19. Though Rosewall, Federer and now Nadal have done it, three majors is still a lot to ask at his age, and I think the competition is going to get better, too, on both grass and hard court surfaces.
You are probably right. However, Felix was 9-3 on grass in 2019 with wins over Raonic, Dimitrov, Krygios, and Tsitsipas. He's got the potential, maybe not the head, though. I could see Sinner developing a grass game, though it could take longer than two years, I wouldn't dismiss Fritz completely yet, but I don't know if he has the temperament for it. Tsitsipas has just barely a winning record on grass, but he has never beaten anyone of note; still, he does have a lot of skill and doesn't seem afraid of volleying. Opelka looks a long shot, but he is ahead of Isner in terms of his development, so he deserves some consideration. So, mostly slim pickings, but not a completely empty cupboard. Plus, Nole is not getting any younger either.Comp will get better on HCs but not on grass. Besides the big 3, no one on tour is a good grass court player right now.
All of the younger players have terrible track records on the lawns and that includes Thiem, Medvedev, Stefanos, Shapo, and Zverev. Grass is also Stan's worse surface, while some of the former top 10 players like Cilic, Berdych and Tsonga - all very good grass courters - are long past their primes. Raonic should be a deadly player on grass but he's hurt way too often, and same with Kyrgios but the dude is a straight up nutjob/headcase.