Of the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon has been the one I was most excited for when it came to the men.  There really is no clear favourite.  The Wimbledon grass court formula has seen Andy Murray bumped up to number three in the seedings to represent the “big four” with Novak Djokovic at one, Rafael Nadal at two and Roger Federer at four.  This is my stupidest boldest mens draw of the entire year.  I have a feeling there will be plenty of upsets from the first round.  Let’s take a look at the draw…

TFF DreamTeam Fantasy Tennis: I have set up a league on TFF DreamTeam HERE, which everyone is welcome to join! When you have entered and picked your team, you can join the Moo’s Tennis Blog league by using the password, e4f6137e29cf984fc152bf3419e5050f.

Wimbledon Fantasy Tennis: I have also set up a league for the official Wimbledon fantasy game HERE.  It’s a bit different but looks like fun! When you have entered and picked a team, you can join the Moo’s Tennis Blog league by using the password “moo”.  Full details about the two fantasy leagues can be viewed HERE.

First Quarter: N.Djokovic (1) v T.Berdych (6)

For the first time since 2010, Novak Djokovic arrives at Wimbledon without a Grand Slam title to his name.  After another heartbreaking loss to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, Djokovic took some time off in Ibiza.  Although he ended 2013 in fine form, the Serb has really struggled to deliver his best tennis at a Grand Slam level.  Djokovic’s eighth of the draw is pretty comfortable.  In the first round, he is set to meet Andrey Golubev.  All the seeds in his section, Vasek Pospisil, Mikhail Youzhny and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, are unlikely to have what it takes to beat Novak.  Tsonga, who suffered an early exit at Queens to Marinko Matosevic, has a tough opening round match against Jurgen Melzer.  The Frenchman has had a poor year and had to rely on his previous form at Wimbledon to grab a top 16 seed.  I’d like to see him do well here, but the prospect of a Djokovic v Tsonga last 16 match bores me to tears… the match-up has become a mental one for Tsonga as Djokovic has won their last six matches without dropping a set.

Tomas Berdych headlines an eighth of the section that features a handful of dangerous opponents.  Berdych, who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last year, could meet Bernard Tomic in the second round.  Bernie has always had his best results at Wimbledon and he took a set off Berdych in a last 16 match at SW19 last year.  The first seed Berdych could play is Marin Cilic.  The Croatian player was knocked out in the first round of Queens; he still remains, to me at least, a very competent player on the grass who is capable of beating most players.  Also lurking before the quarters for Berdych, is another potential match with Ernests Gulbis.  The Latvian world number 10 (I still cannot believe he is top 10) absolutely thumped Berdych at Roland Garros and also beat him in three tiebreak sets in a first round Wimbledon upset in 2012.  Of the first round matches in this section, Marinko Matosevic against Fernando Verdasco promises to be exciting.  Verdasco did great at Wimbledon last year giving Murray his toughest match of the fortnight, meanwhile Matosevic finally earnt his first Grand Slam win at Roland Garros and looked in great form at Queens, reaching the quarter-finals.

1st Round Predictions: Djokovic d. Golubev in 3 sets, Stepanek d. Cuevas in 3 sets, Haase d. Pospisil in 5 sets, Youzhny d. Ward in 4 sets, Wang d. Gonzalez in 3 sets, Tsonga d. Melzer in 5 sets, Gulbis d. Zopp in 4 sets, Stakhovsky d. Berlocq in 4 sets, Verdasco d. Matosevic in 5 sets, Cilic d. Mathieu in 3 sets, Edmund d. Haider-Maurer in 4 sets and Berdych d. Hanescu in 3 tight sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Djokovic v Cilic

Second Quarter: A.Murray (3) v D.Ferrer (7)

The only quarter that I had no difficulties in predicting was this one featuring Andy Murray and David Ferrer.  I still get goosebumps every time I watch highlights from Murray’s sensational win at Wimbledon in 2013.  Opening play on Centre Court on Monday, Murray will play David Goffin in what should be an attractive match.  Goffin has a lovely game.  This is a really fabulous draw for Murray with Roberto Bautista-Agut, Kevin Anderson and Fabio Fognini the three seeds in his eighth of the draw.  Fognini’s section is just a complete joke.  The Italian player hasn’t played any warm-up matches on the grass and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if he were to fall to a complete random.

I was willing Grigor Dimitrov to get a good draw… and he has! There’s a few dangerous opponents early on, but generally speaking, it’s a fine draw.  In the first round, Dimitrov faces Ryan Harrison.  The American player came through qualifying in style and will be confident.  He’s recently hired Jan-Michael Gambill as a new coach, who has helped him rebuild his backhand (Via @BenRothenberg).  In the second round, Dimitrov could meet 2011 Wimbledon Junior champion, Luke Saville or rising star in 2013, Dominic Thiem.  Dimitrov’s first potential seed is Alexandr Dolgopolov.  The world number 19, Dolgopolov, takes on the HUGE serving, Sam Groth in the first round.  For a player that has had injury concerns, Dolgo could be in trouble there.

The best first round match of the tournament and entire universe will see Dustin Brown take on Marcos Baghdatis.  I’m praying this gets a show court because I am convinced it will be hugely entertaining match.  Both players are in form; Brown beat Rafael Nadal in Halle in a quite breathtaking performance, meanwhile Baghdatis won a Challenger event in Nottingham.  David Ferrer bookends the quarter.  He pulled out of s’Hertogenbosch with stomach problems, but recently declared himself fit for Wimbledon… I’ll be stunned if he makes it past the last 16.

1st Round Matches: Murray d. Goffin in 4 sets, Bautista-Agut d. Johnson in 4 sets, Puetz d. Gabashvili in 5 sets, Fognini d. Kuznetsov in 5 sets, Dimitrov d. Harrison in 4 sets, Thiem d. Saville in 5 sets, Young d. Becker in 5 sets, Groth d. Dolgopolov in 4 sets, Seppi d. Mayer in 4 sets, Brown d. Baghdatis in 5 sets and Ferrer d. Carreno Busta in 3 easy sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Murray v Dimitrov

Third Quarter: S.Wawrinka (5) v R.Federer (4)

There were a few reports in the week that Stan Wawrinka was in hospital with a high fever.  It seems Stan is going to be OK, but of the four slams, this is the only one where he has failed to reach the quarter-finals.  Stan plays Joao Sousa in the first round.  This could be a testing opener as Sousa reached the semi-finals of s’Hertogenbosch and pushed Roger Federer to three sets in Halle.  Lurking in this section is Feliciano Lopez, who stands tall and proud with the most match wins on grass this year.  He has reached both the final of Queens and Eastbourne.  He had a match point against Grigor Dimitrov at Queens, which he should have done better with and then seemed to lose his nerve in the third set tiebreak.  I’m glad he got a few matches in Eastbourne to get over that loss.  I’m surprised he hasn’t pulled out though.  Lopez powered through to the final without losing a set.  He’s the in-form player, but I wonder if he’s played too many matches.  It’s hard to not back someone who has played so well over the past two weeks.

In my opinion, Federer has a great draw.  In the first round, he will play Paolo Lorenzi.  The one danger in his draw comes in the second round where he could play Gilles Muller or Julien Benneteau.  Muller is a true grass courter with a huge serve, meanwhile Benneteau has pushed Federer hard in the past and was two points from beating him in 2012 in a third round match at Wimbledon.  Federer’s first seed is the weakest of the lot, Marcel Granollers.  I’d fancy Nicolas Mahut to come through to the third round.  Last year’s semi-finalist, Jerzy Janowicz is a potential last 16 opponent for Fed.  Janowicz’s form has been woeful this year; since Rotterdam, he has won just two matches, which both came at Roland Garros.  If he beats Somdev Devvarman in the first round (HOW MANY TIMES), then he should meet Lleyton Hewitt.  The Aussie hasn’t been in great form this year, apart from winning Brisbane, but he has a habit of finding his game from nowhere.  The other seed in this section is Tommy Robredo, who will be vulnerable.

1st Round Predictions: Wawrinka d. Sousa in 4 sets, Istomin d. Tursunov in 5 sets, Lopez d. Sugita in 3 sets, Nieminen d. Delbonis in 4 sets, Isner d. Smethurst in 3 sets, Janowicz d. Devvarman in 5 sets, Hewitt d. Przysiezny in 3 sets, Robredo d. Lacko in 4 sets, Mahut d. Granollers in 4 sets, Muller d. Benneteau in 4 sets and Federer d. Lorenzi in 3 super quick sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Lopez v Federer

Fourth Quarter: M.Raonic (8) v R.Nadal (2)

Rafael Nadal.  This is the most intriguing of storylines for me at this year’s Wimbledon as Rafa goes into Wimbledon having lost his last three matches on grass, including two at Wimbledon.  Those losses were littered across the headlines; in 2012, Nadal lost to Lukas Rosol in five sets and in 2013, he limped out to Steve Darcis in straight sets.  This year, he has a really tough draw; in the first round, Nadal will play Martin Klizan.  His second round would be against Benoit Paire or LUKAS ROSOL and the first seed he could play is Ivo Karlovic.  Ironically, of those four players mentioned, the one least likely of pulling an upset in my opinion is Rosol.  When I heard Nadal had drawn Klizan, I thought it was interesting.  Klizan is a really powerful hitter with a streaky game that *can* catch fire.  Nadal is always more vulnerable in the early rounds and call me stupid, but I really like Klizan’s chances of causing a huge upset.  If Nadal gets through his first three rounds, then he’s likely to roll to at least the semi-finals.  I believe though, one of his first three opponents will have the beating of hi and i’m going for Klizan.

Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils are the other seeds in Nadal’s eighth.  Gasquet appears to be fighting fit again and reached the final in Eastbourne.  His first round against James Duckworth won’t be a walk in the park.  The young Aussie displayed bucket loads of variety in a great performance against Tomas Berdych at Queens, eventually going down in three sets.  Another talented Australian, Nick Kyrgios, could also have a perfect game for the grass; he would potentially meet Gasquet in round two.  Monfils remains a mystery.  He could meet the very talented Jiri Vesely, who has quietly been putting together a very solid year.

Milos Raonic‘s eighth of the section features Kei Nishikori and Philipp Kohlschreiber; it’s one of the toughest to break down.  I’ve always felt like Raonic’s game should be perfect for grass.  He performed poorly in 2013 and started his grass court season in 2014 with another loss, going down in straight sets to Peter Gojwoczyk in straight sets.  Kohlschreiber and Nishikori are set to meet in the third round.  Both have tough opening round matches; Kohlschreiber will play Igor Sijsling, who he is 0-3 in the H2H although they have never played on grass.  Nishikori plays Kenny De Schepper, who has had great results on the grass in the last year including a last 16 showing at Wimbledon last year.

1st Round Predictions: Raonic d. Ebden in 4 sets, Herbert d. Sock in 4 sets, Kubot d. Struff in 4 sets, Garcia-Lopez d. Lajovic in 5 sets, Kohlschreiber d. Sijsling in 4 sets, Nishikori d. De Schepper in 4 sets, Gasquet d. Duckworth in 3 tight sets, Kyrgios d. Robert in 5 sets, Vesely d. Estrella Burgos in 3 sets, Karlovic d. Dancevic in 5 sets, Rosol d. Paire in 4 sets and Klizan d. Nadal in 5 sets

Moo’s Quarter-Final Prediction: Nishikori v Gasquet

Draw Analysis:

From the top half, I don’t see anyone threatening Djokovic in his quarter.  In general, I don’t fancy Djokovic’s chances at Wimbledon and he really hasn’t proved himself at the Slams since Australia 2012.  I’m backing Murray all the way.  Out of all the top four, he has shown the best form on grass over the last couple of years.  The one potential stumbling block in his section could be an in-form Dimitrov.  In the third quarter, Stan isn’t a threat and Federer should sweep through.  I know quite a few people think that his second round match could be a potential banana skin… I *think* he’ll be OK.  In the final quarter, I think it could break up.  I’ve obviously gone Nadal out in the first round.  It’s a bold move that will make me look stupid in a couple of days, but I think it’s always important to go with your gut instinct.  Kohlschreiber is the best player on grass in the top eighth of the fourth quarter, but I just don’t trust him to win four matches.  I’ve gone for a repeat of the 2012 Wimbledon and Olympic final… I really think Andy is the favourite to retain his Wimby title.

Moo’s Final Prediction: Murray d. Federer

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the draw.  Am I only the one who anticipates an early exit for Nadal?