Wimbledon 2018: Men's singles draw preview and analysis

It is strawberries and cream time in the tennis calendar. We are in for a visual treat as tennis stars adorn themselves in crisp whites for Wimbledon, with tradition and the gentle green grass promising to offer a breathtaking backdrop at SW19.

The grass court Major, which attracts maximum eyeballs, is the third Grand Slam of the season and is almost knocking at the door. The 132nd edition of the prestigious Championships is set to commence from 2nd July.

Swiss great Roger Federer will be playing his 20th consecutive Wimbledon. He is set to draw level with Jimmy Connors, who also made a record 20 Wimbledon appearances. Federer is once again the favourite to clinch his ninth title at SW19; a staggering 91-11 win-loss record at the All England Club stands testimony to the fact that the fast grass courts are his forte.

The Gentlemen's singles draw that was announced on Friday came with a lot of intrigue, as always. Federer is placed in a relatively sparse top half of the draw alongside Marin Cilic and Kevin Anderson, while the bottom half weighs heavy with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro.

Spanish great Rafael Nadal, who is fresh from his Roland Garros triumph, is likely to play the Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter-finals, or Andy Murray - who is jostling to find his feet on his comeback.

With some notable first round matches like Stan Wawrinka vs Grigor Dimitrov, Gael Monfils vs Richard Gasquet and Andy Murray vs Benoit Paire, tennis fans can expect a cracker of a menu served hot for them to savor.

We take a dip into the Men's singles draw and try analyse the players who hold the potential to make it deep into the tournament.

First quarter

Projected quarter-final by seeding: #1 Roger Federer vs #8 Kevin Anderson

The World No. 2 Roger Federer will set foot at the All England club for his 103rd singles match as he begins his title defense on Monday. The Swiss lacked steam last week in Halle, losing to Borna Coric in the finals, but the Stuttgart title a week before showed that the 36-year-old has the weapons to wade through the grass. By ousting 7th seed Milos Raonic in the finals in Stuttgart, Federer made a convincing comeback after skipping the clay season.

The defending champion, who has eight Wimbledon titles to his resume, has been handed a favorable draw this season, which could pave the way for a 99th career and a 21st Grand Slam title. He opens against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic. The earlier meeting between the two was in the second round of Wimbledon 2017 when the Swiss defeated Lajovic in straight sets. Federer is expected to replicate the feat this time too.

The World No. 57 Dusan Lajovic is not the most accomplished player on grass. A fourth round finish in Antalya this week is his only preparatory heading into the impending Major. The Serbian has managed to make it to the second round at the Wimbledon Championships in 2014 and 2017. In 2015 and 2016, Lajovic bowed out in the opening round itself.

The second round for Federer could be either against Lukas Lacko or Benjamin Bonzi. This would likely not pose any threat to the World No 2. A projected third-round meeting with #32 Leonardo Mayer is on the cards, but there also looms the dangerous Ivo Karlovic who can take down Mayer and sneak into the third round instead. Even if that happens, Federer should probably make it safely to the fourth round to possibly meet Halle Champion Borna Coric.

Coric's best result at Grand Slams has been a third round appearance at the French Open in 2015, 2016 and 2018, but he has never made it beyond the 2nd round at Wimbledon. The World No. 21, Coric needs to put his best foot forward as he begins his campaign against the Russian Daniil Medvedev who is a tricky opponent. A potential third round clash with the 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino looks likely for the Croat.

On the other side of the top quarter is 8th seed, Kevin Anderson. The South African has never made it beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon, but he has an impressive 27-12 win-loss record in the season.

That said, the World No.8 is not going to have it easy. A potential third round clash with Gilles Muller could be a bit tough for the South African. Muller had famously taken out Rafael Nadal last year in the fourth round at Wimbledon and eventually lost to Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals at the championships. He could meet either Sam Querrey or Richard Gasquet in the fourth round. The American Querrey, who had a semi-final finish at SW19 in 2017, will be a tough nut to crack for Anderson.

Meanwhile the 32-year-old Frenchman Richard Gasquet is going to pose a threat to Anderson too. Gasquet has been a picture of consistency this season, a 24-13 win-loss being a statement in itself. Coming off a title in Hertogenbosch, Gasquet had also dismantled teenage Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

But whoever makes it ahead, it seems very likely that the Swiss great will cruise into the semi-finals.

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SECOND QUARTER

The Croatian Marin Cilic will look to go deep into the Championships.

Projected quarter-final #3 Marin Cilic vs #6 Grigor Dimitrov.

World No. 5 Marin Cilic leads 3-1 over the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. The 2017 Wimbledon runner up Cilic has been consistent at the All England Club over the past years, making four back to back quarter-finals since 2014. The Croat is unbeaten on grass this season, picking up the Trophy at Queens.championships.

Arguably a threat to Federer, Marin Cilic is the man to watch out for. He opens against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Cilic could be staring at a potential third round clash with Philip Krajinovic. Milos Raonic or Lucas Pouille should possibly meet the Croat in the fourth round.

The in-form Raonic, the 2017 quarter-finalist at Wimbledon, has also had some consistent results this season on grass. He made the Finals in Stuttgart and also posed a scare to top seed and the eventual champion Roger Federer in the showdown. If Raonic manages to stay injury free, there is little that can hold him back. That said, I believe Cilic has all the weapons in his bag to wade through any challenges strewn in his way.

It's fairly safe to say that Cilic will emerge as a semifinalist from this quarter.

What is more intriguing in this quarter is the first round clash between Wawrinka and Dimitrov. But then Wawrinka has been at the receiving end of knee injuries that have pushed him on the sidelines since the last season. The Swiss is not playing his best tennis lately and so might not be able to subdue Dimitrov.

Meanwhile Dimitrov, who carved a niche for himself in 2017 by clinching the ATP World Tour Finals, has yet to find his ground in this season. Given Wawrinka’s injury struggles, Dimitrov should find it easy to make it past the opening hurdle, but could face big obstacles after that.

Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been gaining momentum recently, is a potential third round opponent for the Bulgarian, while Miami Open champion John Isner looks as a potential fourth round opponent for Dimitrov. But the records say that Isner has never made it past the third round at Wimbledon, and it will be worth the wait to watch if Isner can rewrite the script with his new found enthusiasm. The American has not played a single match since his fourth round loss to Del Potro at Roland Garros.

Those who follow the all-year-round tennis action will know that the Bulgarian Dimitrov is not very dependable in crunch situations, and is vulnerable to a loss at the hands of Tsitsipas. Time will tell if the 6th seed can hold on and go deep in the tournament.

THIRD QUARTER

The World No.3 Alexander Zverev will look to break from the Grand Slam jinx

Projected quarter-finals #4 Alexander Zverev vs #7 Dominic Thiem

In this loaded quarter of the draw, three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic and the mercurial Nick Krygios will add company to Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem.

Djokovic’s comeback this season has been gaining momentum lately. After retiring from Wimbledon last year, Djokovic was forced to stay away from the second half of the season with an elbow injury. The Serb has shown marked improvement in the second half of the year by reaching the Finals at Queen’s club last month, although he lost to Marin Cilic after putting up a brave fight.

The Serbian starts against Tenny’s Sandgren. Horacio Zeballos should be his second round opponent and Kyle Edmund should meet him in the third round, while a projected fourth round with Dominic Thiem is possible. But Thiem also is staring at an early struggle against dangerous floater Fernando Verdasco in the third round. Thiem is not very comfortable on grass; the Austrian's best at Wimbledon is the fourth round last year in 2017 where he lost to Tomas Berdych in five sets.

Novak Djokovic looks set to make it to the fourth round to meet Alexander Zverev. The World No 3 Zverev is yet to make a significant impact at Majors, his best result at a Grand Slam being the quarter-final at the French Open this season where he lost to Dominic Thiem in straight sets after pulling off three back to back 5 setters on his way up. In the past three years, Zverev has never managed to go beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon which was in 2017.

The fourth seed, who has three Masters 1000 titles adorning his trophy cabinet, opens against James Duckworth which can be tricky for the German. As the draw suggests, if Taylor fritz can get past Sonego, then he can be a possible second-round opponent for Zverev. Either of Maximilian Marterer, Damir Dzumhur or Ernest Gulbis can meet Zverev in the third round.

A very interesting fourth-round encounter is projected between Zverev and Nick Krygios from this quarter. But then the mercurial Australian is very unpredictable even though he has one of the best serves on the ATP tour. This season Krygios has had semi-final finishes in Stuttgart and Queen's Club, which is very impressive from the World No 19. It will be a visual tennis treat if he carries that momentum into the championships.

Krygios is drawn to meet Denis Istomin in the opening round and could possibly meet Robin Haase in the second round. After that it could probably be Kei Nishikori in the third round for the Australian.

In my opinion, if Krygios keeps his cool, he can most certainly make it to the quarter-finals from this section of the draw.

FOURTH QUARTER

The World No 1 Rafael Nadal will look to better his records at SW19

Projected quarter-final #2 Rafael Nadal vs #5 Juan Martin Del Potro

The two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has not had the best of outings at the All England Club lately. The Spaniard has not made it beyond the fourth round at SW19 in recent years, but The 2018 French Open Champ is certainly riding a wave of confidence and will try going the distance at the championships.

The Spaniard has been handed a fair draw. An easy opening round in the form of Dudi Sela for the World No. 1 should set things rolling for Nadal. Vasek Pospisil could be his second round opponent while Marco Cecchinato, a potential third-round opponent, should be the one to watch out for. The Italian Cecchinato has been mighty impressive this season, making the semis at Roland Garros and Eastbourne. But he needs to tackle Mischa Zverev first who has the credentials to oust the Italian.

Deigo Schwarzman or the dangerous Fabio Fognini will look to pose a threat to the World No 1 in the Round of 16. But Nadal looks hungry at present and will not give up easily. A quarter-final meeting with the Tower of Tandil, the Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, looks to be the most interesting clash in this quarter.

Del Potro, who is equipped with a lofty serve and a blistering forehand, can challenge the toughest men on tour. But it is surprising that the 2013 semi-finalist has not made it past the fourth round at the Championships in recent years. The Acapulco and Indian Wells champ has also made the semis in Miami and the French Open, and this confidence could help him tide through.

The Argentine begins his campaign at the All England Club against Peter Gojowczyk. A second-round meeting with Feliciano Lopez is also on the cards for Del Potro. Lopez is playing his 66th straight Grand Slam Main draw heading into the championships at the All England Club.

Del Potro could face the unseeded Andy Murray in the third round. Murray is jostling to stage an impactful comeback after staying away for a year with a hip injury. He did play some great tennis at the Queen’s club and Eastbourne, but the fact remains that he has a monumental task at hand if he really wants to make a dent at the Championships.

The Brit, now ranked No 156, opens against the very unpredictable Benoit Paire. The Frenchman made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2017 and managed to scare Roger Federer in Halle last week.

If at all Murray gets past Paire, he could possibly face either Denis Shapovalov or Jeremy Chardy in the second round and meet Del Potro or Lopez in the third. The winner from this section will most probably meet David Goffin in the round of 16. But Goffin opens against Mathew Ebden and has not had much preparation heading into the grass-court Major. He bowed out in the opening round at Queens where he was defeated by Feliciano Lopez.

Rafael Nadal in my opinion looks likely to make the semis from this section despite the strength of the other pla.

Let us sit back and watch the action unfold as the Rolex keeps ticking and taking us into the timeless treat of a tennis extravaganza.