mtenis.com.pl

Thiem, Anderson handed challenging opening matches

Rafael Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 titlist, has been drawn in a loaded quarter at The Championships, and in the same half as eight-time former winner Roger Federer. Defending champion Novak Djokovic, a four-time winner at the All England Club, headlines the top half of the draw with last year’s finalist Kevin Anderson, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The draw ceremony, held at the All England Club on Friday morning, has pitted Nadal in the same section of the draw as No. 29 seed Denis Shapovalov, Nick Kyrgios, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Bernard Tomic. Early popcorn matches include fifth seed Dominic Thiem against Sam Querrey, No. 12 seed Fabio Fognini versus Frances Tiafoe, 2017 runner-up and No. 13 seed Marin Cilic versus Adrian Mannarino and No. 27 seed Lucas Pouille versus Richard Gasquet.

View Singles Draw

Popcorn First-Round Matches At A Glance
Anderson v Herbert
Thiem v Querrey
Tiafoe V Fognini
Cilic v Mannarino
Tomic v Tsonga
Kyrgios v Thompson
Fritz v Berdych
Pouille v Gasquet

If Nadal, who plays Yuichi Sugita in the first round, is to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon title double for the third time (2008, 2010), the Spanish icon may need to work his way past Kyrgios, Tsonga or Shapovalov in the third round, Cilic in the fourth round, Thiem in the quarter-finals, second seed Federer in the semi-finals and Djokovic in the championship match. Nadal, who has won 18 Grand Slam championship trophies and has a 48-11 match record at Wimbledon, lost to Djokovic 10-8 in the fifth set in last year’s fourth round.

Djokovic, who lifted the Wimbledon crown ranked No. 21 in the ATP Rankings last year, will open his campaign against Philipp Kohlschreiber and could meet No. 16 seed Gael Monfills, MercedesCup finalist and No. 19 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or 2014 semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round. Should Djokovic reach the quarter-finals, the World No. 1 may potentially challenge seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who advanced to the fourth round in 2018, or No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev.

Nadal and Djokovic, who are in the top two spots in the 2019 ATP Race To London, could both potentially qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November, as a result of deep runs at The Championships. Buy Your Tickets Today

Federer, the second seed, who will be looking to add to his 20 Grand Slam championship crowns, competes at the All England Club for the 21st year. With a 95-12 record at the grass-court major, the Swiss superstar will open his campaign for a ninth trophy against Lloyd Harris. The 37-year-old, who captured a 10th Noventi Open trophy last week, could face Pouille or Gasquet in the third round, No. 14 seed Borna Coric in the fourth round, and potentially eighth seed Nishikori or ninth seed Isner in the quarter-finals. Federer has compiled the best record on grass (181-26, .874) in the Open Era and has lifted a record 19 titles, according to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone.

Fourth seed Anderson, who beat Federer in last year’s quarter-finals prior to a 26-24 fifth-set finish against Isner in the semi-finals, continues his comeback from an elbow injury and takes on Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round. He may face 2015 finalist and No. 15 seeds Milos Raonic or two-time former quarter-finalist Wawrinka, the No. 22 seed, in the fourth round. Sixth seed Zverev, a two-time quarter-finalist at Roland Garros, faces Jiri Vesely first up, while No. 10 seed Karen Khachanov, who also features in Anderson’s quarter of the draw, takes on Soon-woo Kwon in the first round.

Swiss to meet Harris in first round

If Roger Federer is to lift his ninth Wimbledon trophy at The Championships this year, he will have to hit a major milestone along the way.

The second seed, who owns a 95-12 record at The All England Club, is aiming to become the first man to claim 100 victories at a Grand Slam event. Federer can achieve that feat by advancing to the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the 13th time in his career. Federer has reached the semi-finals or better in five of his eight tournament appearances this year.

Federer enters the grass-court Grand Slam championship in fine form, following his 10th triumph at the NOVENTI OPEN (d. Goffin) last week. The 37-year-old holds a 32-4 record and leads the ATP Tour with three titles this season.

You May Also Like: Nadal, Federer In Loaded Half At Wimbledon; Several Top First-Round Clashes
As the first man in Wimbledon history to compete in the singles draw for 21 consecutive years, Federer will meet Lloyd Harris of South Africa for the first time at tour-level in the first round. With a win, Federer would advance to a second-round encounter against Jay Clarke or Noah Rubin. En route to his 18th Grand Slam crown at the 2017 Australian Open, Federer defeated Rubin in straight sets at the same stage.

The first seeded opponent Federer could face would be 27th seed Lucas Pouille, who opens against countryman and two-time semi-finalist Richard Gasquet, in the third round. If Federer were to earn his 98th victory at Wimbledon in that encounter, the World No. 3 could meet Borna Coric in a repeat of the 2018 Halle championship match. In that final meeting, Coric snapped Federer's 20-match win streak on grass with a three-set victory.

Should Federer overcome that tricky obstacle, the 102-time tour-level titlist would find himself in the last eight just one victory away from his 100th Wimbledon win. The two players seeded to battle for a place in that quarter-final are Kei Nishikori and last year's semi-finalist John Isner. Federer owns a 7-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Nishikori and has claimed seven victories from nine FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes against Isner.

“Follow

If Federer successfully navigates his path to 100 victories at Wimbledon, he could face one of the most difficult tests in tennis to add to add to his tally and achieve his ultimate goal: a ninth Wimbledon trophy. From the semi-finals, the 20-time Grand Slam champion could meet Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in back-to-back matches.

In a packed third quarter of the draw, Nadal may challenge Nick Kyrgios in a blockbuster second-round encounter, while defending champion Djokovic shares the top quarter of the draw with #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

With the best record on grass in the Open Era (179-26, .873) and a record 19 titles on the surface, Federer's achievements on and off the turf will be remembered for the rest of tennis history. But a ninth Wimbledon title and a 100th match win at Wimbledon are within reach at The Championships this year and, if last week in Halle is anything to go by, Federer will be heavily motivated to write a new chapter in the history books.

Kyrgios features in Nadal's section of draw

The action will come thick and fast at The Championships, so grab some popcorn and get ready to settle in for a number of intriguing first-round matches at the All England Club, Wimbledon.

[4] Kevin Anderson vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert — FedEx ATP Head2Head 1-0
Anderson rode on a crest of a wave into last year’s Wimbledon final, which included victories over Roger Federer and John Isner, in an epic 26-24 fifth-set finish. However, the fourth-seeded South African has found 2019 a lot tougher, because of a nagging right elbow injury that has curtailed his schedule to just four tournaments. Last week, Anderson returned at the Fever-Tree Championships, losing to eventual finalist Gilles Simon in the second round, but will prepare wisely when he faces Herbert, who will also partner Andy Murray at SW19 next week. Three summers ago, Anderson beat Herbert 6-4, 7-5 in the Winston-Salem Open final, but for the majority of 2019 Herbert has narrowed his focus to singles play and the decision has paid dividends with a final run at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier (l. to Tsonga), in addition to two semi-final exits at the Hungarian Open (l. to Krajinovic) and last week’s NOVENTI OPEN in Halle (l. to Federer).

You May Also Like: Nadal, Federer In Loaded Half At Wimbledon; Several Top First-Round Clashes
[5] Dominic Thiem vs. Sam Querrey — FedEx ATP Head2Head 3-1
Thiem, more accustomed to clay-court excellence with two straight Roland Garros final runs, is developing an all-court game in 2019 under the guidance of Nicolas Massu, with victory at his first ATP Masters 1000 tournament on the hard courts of the BNP Paribas Open, and the clay of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Nadal in SFs, Medvedev in final). With a Wimbledon-best fourth-round showing in 2018, Thiem faces 2017 semi-finalist Querrey, who has a 19-11 record at The Championships and the 2010 Fever-Tree Championships title to his name. Thiem leads 3-1 in their career series, but the pair has not met before on grass courts. Expect World No. 79 Querrey to rise to the occasion.

Frances Tiafoe vs. [12] Fabio Fognini — FedEx ATP Head2Head 0-1
Tiafoe’s form may have been patchy in recent tournaments, 1-4 since the Mutua Madrid Open, but the 21-year-old American will be sure to pose a threat to first-round opponent No. 12 seed Fognini, two years on from their five-set clash in the 2017 Roland Garros first round. Tiafoe, who lost to Karen Khachanov in last year’s Wimbledon third round, can draw on the confidence he gained from reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals (l. to Nadal) – his first at a Grand Slam championship – in January. The 32-year-old Fognini, winner of his first ATP Masters 1000 crown at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April (d. Lajovic), has reached the third round on four occasions in 10 visits to the All England Club, but has not played an ATP Tour grass event, in the build-up to a Wimbledon appearance since 2013 at Eastbourne (l. to Dodig in the quarter-finals).

[13] Marin Cilic vs. Adrian Mannarino — FedEx ATP Head2Head 1-1
It’s been quite the six months for Marin Cilic, who has recorded consecutive wins at two of his 10 tournaments in 2019 (10-9 match record). But in walking through the Doherty Gates on Church Road in Wimbledon, the Croatian will grow in confidence, two years on from his runner-up finish to Roger Federer. Cilic, who lost to Guido Pella over five sets in last year’s second round, will meet Mannarino for the third time. World No. 38 Mannarino comes in with his own grass-court pedigree, having lifted his first ATP Tour title on the grass of the Libema Open (d. Thompson). Coupled with two previous runner-up finishes at the Turkish Airlines Antalya Open, and Cilic may have his work cut out. Mannarino beat Cilic 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-0 in their last clash at the 2017 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

[27] Lucas Pouille vs. Richard Gasquet — FedEx ATP Head2Head 4-1
Pouille comes into an all-French battle with a 4-1 lead over Gasquet, but the No. 27 seed has been searching for form ever since he advanced to his first Grand Slam championship semi-final at the Australian Open (l. to Federer) in January. Gasquet, who has been limited to 12 matches this year as a result of groin surgery in mid-January, comes into Wimbledon on the back of reaching the ‘s-Hertogenbosch semi-finals (l. to Thompson). The 2007 and 2015 semi-finalist has a 28-13 record at The Championships, but aims to beat Pouille for the first time since the 2015 Open Sud de France.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Jordan Thompson — First FedEx ATP Head2Head Meeting
Unseeded at The Championships for the first time since beating Rafael Nadal en route to the quarter-finals five years ago, World No. 43 Kyrgios comes to the All England Club with an 11-9 record on the year. He will challenge fellow Australian and in-form Thompson, the World No. 45, who has won six of his past seven matches on grass courts and has compiled a 21-12 record in 2019. The victor will potentially face third seed Nadal in the second round. Kyrgios beat Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, John Isner and Alexander Zverev en route to the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC crown in early March.

Jan-Lennard Struff vs. [WC] Marcos Baghdatis — FedEx ATP Head2Head 1-0
Wild card Baghdatis, who is set to retire from professional tennis after he competes at Wimbledon, contests his first tour-level event since February at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships against World No. 34 Struff, who recently reached the MercedesCup semi-finals (l to Berrettini) and won their 2016 Stuttgart grass clash 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. The 34-year-old Baghdatis reached the 2006 Wimbledon semi-finals (l. to Nadal), six months after he contested that year’s Australian Open final (l. to Federer), and will be hoping to bid a fond farewell to spend more time with his family.