Wimbledon starts next Monday!
Will Andy Murray be able to defend his title? He has the No. 3 seed for Wimbledon, with Djokovic at No. 1 and Nadal at No. 2. Last year's women's winner, Marion Bartoli, has retired, leaving no defending champion to play her way back to glory. Can Serena Williams step up after her disappointing French Open performance? Will Maria Sharapova bring home her second Grand Slam win of the year?
Honestly, I'd love to see either Williams or Sharapova in the final in this year's Wimbledon. After dominating in 2013, Serena hasn't had the best 2014. If Serena can win, she'll claim her 6th Wimbledon victory. Unfortunately, we can't see the two of them compete in the final but... if we could... a rematch a full decade later would be very exciting. Sharapova won Wimbledon back in 2004, defeating Williams when she was only 17. That was one of only two victories that Sharapova has over Williams (her career record against Serena is 2-16). While both women are strong players, Simona Halep is also looking good and could be a real contender.
There has been a lot of talk about how this may be Roger Federer's best chance to win a Grand Slam title, certainly his best chance to win Wimbledon. Last year was hard for Federer, but he's back in the ATP top four (and seeded 4th for Wimbledon) and, if he can stay healthy, he definitely has the experience and skills to win one more Grand Slam title… Number 18. Plus, Djokovic hasn’t won a Grand Slam since Australian Open 2013, Murray is coming off of minor back surgery, has split with his coach and hasn't even made a final this year, and Nadal is still battling a back injury.
Even though he's still ranked No. 1 in the world, Rafael Nadal has his fair share of skepticism around Wimbledon. He shocked everyone by getting knocked out in the first round last year and in Round 2 in 2012. Now people aren't wondering if he will win, but, if he will even make it to Round 2.
Defending champ Andy Murray has a lot to live up to. Breaking the curse by winning last year made him an even bigger superstar in Great Britain, which means way more pressure than he had last year. Can he step up and prove that last year's win wasn't a one-time victory? As I mentioned above, he hasn't made it to a final yet this year and his split with Coach Ivan Lendl is a very big change.
As the number 1 seed for Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic is the favorite. He hasn't won a Grand Slam yet this year but I wouldn't count him out. In fact, I think he has a real chance of winning and I'd love to see Djokovic vs Federer in the final.
What do you think? Who will win Wimbledon?
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