Wimbledon 2019: 3 Dark Horses who could pip Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to the title

#1 Rafael Nadal

Previews: The Championships - Wimbledon 2019

This choice will definitely raise a few eyebrows. The World No.2 as a dark horse will surprise many people, but grass has never been Nadal’s favorite surface. The low bounce and fast-paced nature of the surface has been difficult for the Spaniard, which has led to a few early exits.

However, this Nadal has evolved as a player. The Spaniard has adapted his game to grass very well as he showed with his last two Wimbledon runs.

Rafa comes in to Wimbledon after having won an unbelievable 12th French Open title in Paris and just to put things in perspective, that is the sum you will get if you add the Wimbledon titles won by Federer and Djokovic together!

Grass though has given a lot of trouble to Nadal. He has come up short against many lower ranked players but I feel he could be a genuine threat this year. The biggest reason for this will be his changed serve motion. The serve is much more consistent for Nadal, allowing him to put in a high percentage of first serves and shortening the points which was clearly visible at the 2019 Australian open.

Another weapon up Nadal’s sleeve will be the much improved double-handed backhand. Nadal caused havoc with that shot at the French Open semi-final and Federer had no answer to the flat and fast backhand crosscourt.

The problem for Nadal is a horror draw. The Spaniard will have to go through Nick Kyrgios, Denis Shapavolov, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem just to reach that potential semi-final against Roger Federer.

If Nadal can stay healthy and somehow get through the first week, he could be deadly dangerous for Roger Federer. The Spaniard will need to return well against Federer and make the swiss play a lot of points from the baseline - something he did so well in the famous 2008 final, then he could be very hard to beat for the Fed express.

The King Of Clay will also be backing himself in the potential final against Novak Djokovic having lost a very close five-setter to him last year.