| Wimbledon blockbuster on cards |
LONDON Any men’s competitor not named Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal or Roger Federer might as well stay clear of the All England Club for the next six weeks as the tennis world gears up for a double blockbuster smash at Wimbledon.
Dozens of bit-part players will be determined to break up the domination enjoyed by title holder Djokovic, double winner Nadal and six-times former champion Federer, but the evidence suggests the challengers will be left nursing sore egos and broken dreams, not once but twice.
The golden trio have now won 28 of the last 29 grand slams - it would have been all 29 if Federer had not blown a two-sets-to-one lead against Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 US Open final - and so far no-one has come close to ending that reign.
The leading contenders have taken a rather laidback approach as they try to win back-to-back titles on the hallowed turf - Wimbledon will be throwing open its gates for the grasscourt grand slam on Monday and again for the London Olympic tennis event on July 28.
Djokovic shunned the warm-up events and opted for rest and relaxation after Nadal thwarted his bid to win a fourth successive slam in the French Open final, while the Spaniard retreated home to sunny Mallorca for some golf and fishing after losing early in Halle.
Though Federer will be in a three-way race to secure the top ranking by the end of the championships, the man who used to collect titles at will is painfully aware that he has not held aloft any of the four major trophies for 2-1/2 years.
Despite all the talk of the ‘big three’, the 16-times grand-slam champion knows that he has been trailing in third place by some distance.
Djokovic and Nadal have blocked out all opposition at the last nine slams and have contested four straight major finals.
The Serbian world number one thought fans should cherish this unique era in tennis as it was not often that any sport would have so many supreme athletes competing at the same time.
“The sport is experiencing some really good times now. We’re attracting a lot of attention to men’s tennis because we have these two great players and (Andy) Murray, and myself. We really have some great players, some charismatic players, a lot of personalities. This is good for tennis,” said Djokovic, who must reach the final to preserve his number one ranking.
Murray will be heartened to learn the world’s best player counts him as one of the movers and shakers of the men’s game but reality suggests he has faded into the background since losing a nerve-shredding, five-set semifinal to the Serbian at the Australian Open in January.
His coaching union with Ivan Lendl, a man whose love-hate relationship with Wimbledon went to extremes, will be scrutinised to the nth degree over the next fortnight as he bids to become the first British man in 76 years to win the title.
Apart from Murray, players such as Tomas Berdych (2010 Wimbledon finalist), Andy Roddick (three-times Wimbledon runner-up) and Del Potro, all possess the talent that would have made them multiple slam winners in any other era and title threats at Wimbledon.
In 2012, however, they just happen to be the best of the supporting cast.
In the women’s section, Maria Sharapova heads to the less alien setting of Wimbledon’s grass a clear favourite having completed the career grand slam and regained her place at the pinnacle of the rankings.
Having washed the red dust of Roland Garros out of her long blonde hair, she waves goodbye to her least favourite surface - on which she once described herself as a “cow on ice” - and says hello to Centre Court where she feels much more at home.
The Russian arrives as the number one seed and world number one having managed to keep her long limbs in check to win her first French Open title.
In doing so, Sharapova proved that she is head and shoulders above the
current crop of women players.
Those who would be expected to challenge her at Wimbledon, such as four-times champion Serena Williams and last year’s winner Petra Kvitova, have all looked distinctly second best in the run-up to this year’s event.
Sharapova, on the other hand, comes to Wimbledon having joined an exclusive club of 10 women who have won all four majors.
Reuters
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