Bill Simons and Douglas Hochmuth
- Earlier this year Taylor Fritz did what no other American guy did. He gutted it out on Europe’s gritty clay court circuit. Following the Miami Open in early April, he traveled with his wife and son and played on clay every week. In Madrid and Rome, he even played qualies and got into those two big Masters. Then he reached the Lyon semis. And soon he did what no other American man did at the French Open – he won a match. All this prompted us to ask, is Fritz “Taylor-made” for clay? Now the 21-year old has done what no other American has done in a good while. He’s won a Wimbledon warm-up tournament. So this begs a new question: Is Fritz headed to the Ritz? It looked that way as he took down his fellow Southern Californian Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4 in just 61 minutes to win the Nature Valley International at Eastbourne. Taylor came out blazing and quickly broke Querrey’s serve. Never mind that Sam is a 31-year old seasoned vet who has reached the Wimbledon semis and has won ten titles. Fritz was in control from the beginning. Dominating baseline rallies, he took advantage of many Querrey forehand errors to earn his first ATP title and $117,000. So, now, there’s another question. Can “the Fritz blitz” continue at Wimbledon? There he will first face another considerable veteran, Czech Tomas Berdych, in the first round. Clearly, the 6’5” father with a forehand has something going. And it doesn’t hurt that he lives in Palos Verdes where a guy who won Wimbledon seven times, Pete Sampras, grew up. Fritz is also under the tutelage of Sampras’ former coach Paul Annacone.
- Roger Federer has great numbers. The Swiss master is the No. 2 Wimbledon seed and faces South Africa’s Lloyd Harris first round. He just lifted the trophy for the 10th time in Halle, which was his third win of the year and the 102nd of his career. But forget the stats. The almighty Roger is far more about magic than numbers. And his countless fans wonder, “Can he again do his graceful grass court dance and gain his 10th Wimbledon title?”
- In one of Wimbledon’s best matches in years, last year Rafa fell in a titanic two-day semi against Djokovic. It was tennis at its best. Despite being relegated to the No. 3 seed, can the claymeister win back-to-back slams, his third Wimbledon title and his 19th Slam title – putting him within just one of Roger? Nadal could face his nemesis Nick Kyrgios in the second round. They’ve split their six previous matches.
- This year Serena’s only played in five tourneys and her best result is reaching the Aussie quarters. Can last year’s finalist master this mommy-superstar thing? It’s not easy. Since coming back from childbirth, she has amazingly reached two Slam finals, but this year has been either dormant or has struggled. Many wonder what kind of shape she’s in and whether she can prevail in seven matches at a Slam. Losing to 20-year-olds, as she did in Paris when she fell to Sonya Kenin, is not her thing. Now, winning her 24th Grand Slam to equal Margaret Court’s record seems a mighty task. Then again, few others relish hefty challenges more than Serena. She has a reasonable draw until the second week, when she could face defending champ Angie Kerber and then Ash Barty in the quarters.
- The Big Four – Rafa, Roger, Novak and Andy Murray – have won every Wimbledon since 2003. Still, many Next Gen, New Gen, and Lost Gen players are knocking at the door. Tsitsipas has wins over Fed, Nadal and Djokovic. Felix Auger-Aliassime has great promise and Nick Kyrgios gives meaning to the phrase wildcard. The tennis world is just waiting for Alexander Zverev to show his chops deep into a slam. Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori are outside threats, and Canadians, who recently roared so loud for the Raptors, hope 2016 finalist Milos Raonic is no dinosaur. But will any of them be able to prevail?
- Can Miami and French Open champ and Fed Cup star Ash Barty, who’s having an incredible breakout year, retain her newly gained No. 1 ranking and win her third huge tourney of the year? Indications are good. She won the Wimbledon warmup in Birmingham.
- Can Novak Djokovic, who played sublime tennis last year to win Wimbledon, win his second Slam of the year? He won’t have to play Federer or Nadal until the final.
- When Andy Murray’s long-standing hip injury became too much for him to continue playing, some thought he was toast. Seven months and one hip surgery later, Murray’s now the toast of the London town. He just won the Queen’s Club doubles title. Now that the ATP’s foremost feminist is planning to play dubs with a fortunate WTA player, will this year’s Wimbledon competition be the most closely followed mixed doubles tournament since McEnroe and Graf played in 1999?
- Outside of Serena Williams winning, or Taylor Fritz going deep, what American storyline will shock us the most? Venus is now 39. Can she reach the second week? Madison Keys has shown incredible Slam consistency, and former US Open champ Sloane Stephens often surprises. Young Americans Amanda Anisimova and Sonya Kenin had extraordinary French Opens; they may well be our future. Tall and powerful, John Isner and Sam Querrey have both have recently reached the semis. And can America’s male contingent bounce back after collectively winning just one match in Paris this year?
- Last year there were four scintillating matches at the end of the men’s competition: Nadal vs. del Potro, Anderson vs. Federer, Anderson vs. Isner and, perhaps the best of all, Djokovic’s match against Nadal. Can the tournament possibly again give us such drama?
- One of Wimbledon’s most fabled moments was when John Isner took down Nicolas Mahut over three days in a match lasting over 11 hours. That almost certainly will never happen again now that Wimbledon will finish matches with a tiebreak at 12 games all in the fifth set. This begs the question, what kind of sport is tennis? All four majors now end their matches in different ways.
- Last year, when Mike Bryan won the doubles with Jack Sock, he became, at 40, the oldest player to ever win a doubles Slam. But if he and brother Bob win a Slam this year, the slightly older Bob would gain the record.
- Kevin Anderson reached the finals last year but skipped Indian Wells and the clay court season due to an injury. On the flip side, thanks to Wimbledon’s controversial seeding formula, the South African, who is No. 8 in the world, was given the No. 4 seed.
- Can defending champ Angelique Kerber turn her so-so year around on the grass? The Wimbledon champ has had fine results, reaching three semis and the Indian Wells final. But she’s hasn’t yet won this year. Then again, more than ever, the WTA has a slew of active Slam champs and finalists. Will two-time Slam winners Petra Kvitova, Naomi Osaka, Victoria Azarenka or Garbine Muguruza, or single Slam winners Ash Barty, Sloane Stephens, Simona Halep, Jelena Ostapenka or US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova prevail?
- Just wondering – which is more stunning? Juan Martin del Potro, who lost his 2018 quarterfinal match in 5:15 to Nadal, is once again sidelined and may be facing career-ending knee surgery. Or Jack Sock, who won the Wimbledon doubles with Mike Bryan (along with the US Open and the World Tour Finals), but now has fallen to No. 173 in singles?
- Will Coco be in the mix? Translation: former French Open junior champion Coco Gauff cruised through the qualifying rounds to become, at 15, the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon main draw in the Open Era.
- Will Wimbledon announce plans for the 73 acres they acquired from a nearby golf course that’s across the street from the AELTC?
