Tag: Roger Federer

Imperious Roger Federer easily through to second round at Wimbledon 2018.

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The defending champion comfortably breezed past Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court.

Blue skies, hot temperatures, and freshly picked strawberries smothered with cool cream…that can only mean one thing; Wimbledon 2018 is finally upon us.

All of the courts looked like seas of emeralds on day one. The grass, which has been finely kept under maintenance over the last year, looked immaculate ahead of the opening matches. The crowds flocked in, with many heading to Centre Court to see the one man that has lit up the tennis scene over the past two decades.

Roger Federer – a man that has such a great affiliation with this tournament – will once again be the favourite to lift the trophy in two weeks’ time. This is his 20th appearance at Wimbledon since winning the Boy’s Singles in 1998, and he will be looking to match Martina Navratilova’s record of nine single’s titles. The defending champion suffered a shock defeat in the Halle Open Final as part of his preparations for this Grand Slam, but he is too experienced and too wise to let that affect his confidence.

It has now been 10 years since that infamous final against Rafael Nadal; the man that many predict will provide the biggest threat to the Swiss. Both have won the last six Grand Slams between them (Federer: Australian Open 2017, 2018 and Wimbledon 2017. Nadal: French Open 2017, 2018 and US Open 2017) and both are the current world number one and two.

With the Spaniard not on court until tomorrow, it was down to Federer to throw down the gauntlet.

He began his title defence against Serbian Dusan Lajovic, the world number 58 in the world rankings. The two also met in last year’s competition, with the Swiss comfortably coming through on that occasion in straight sets.

This match was almost a carbon copy. It took Federer only a short amount of time to find his rhythm and ranges before securing a double-break on Lajovic. The Swiss was relaxed, comfortable and always in command of the court, and won six games on the bounce to take the opening set 6-1 in just 20 minutes.

Federer continued his dominant performance in the second set. The variety of serves and shots he produced were just too good for his Serbian opponent – as it began to look like a practice match. Lajovic had lost nine games in a row to the Swiss, but did manage to end the rot halfway through the second set. By that point Federer was in cruise control anyway, and served out the second set 6-3.

The third set lacked intensity. Federer had reserved his energy knowing his job was pretty much done. Lajovic offered nothing in reply. He stuck by it but ultimately got himself into the match at too late a stage to scare the number one seed. Federer served out the match, which he’d won in just 79 minutes.

It may have ended up being a Monday afternoon stroll in the summer sun for the Swiss, but Federer will be expecting tougher tests to come. This was however another warning shot to his rivals – showing them all that even at 36, he is still as hungry to win as ever.

Australian Open 2018: Talking points (Day Six and Seven)

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The first week of this year’s Australian Open concluded with one of the matches of the tournament. Here is a look back at the weekend action before we enter the business end of the competition.

The favourites for the men’s title power through 

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic made it into the fourth round after both won in straight sets on Saturday.

Defending champion Federer defeated Richard Gasquet 6-2 7-5 6-4 as the Swiss continued to dominate down under.

Gasquet failed to break the second seed until the third set by which time the match was as good as over.

Djokovic suffered an injury scare during his 6-2 6-3 6-3 win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

The Serb had treatment on his lower back and leg early in the second set and struggled throughout the match. He had saved numerous break points before getting over the line, but the scoreline was slightly flattering for the 30-year-old.

Halep still on for maiden Grand Slam

World number one Simona Halep saved three match points as she managed to just about overcome unseeded American Lauren Davis in an epic encounter.

The Romanian – a two-time quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park – needed almost four hours to defeat the world number 76.

With one set a piece, both players gave it their all in the decider, which lasted 142 minutes. Halep saved the match on three occasions before serving out for a 4-6 6-4 15-13 win.

The contest equalled the longest ever in a women’s singles match at the Australian Open, and could hinder Halep’s quest for a first Grand Slam title should she not be able to recover fully ahead of her fourth round match against Naomi Osaka.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev is out

The German is tipped to be a real star in the men’s game for years to come, but the 20-year-old struggled against the unseeded Hyeon Chung.

Zverev was two sets to one up against the world number 59, but fell to a dramatic 5-7 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-0 defeat.

Despite his world ranking of fourth, the German is yet to make it as far as the fourth round in any Grand Slam. Perhaps a little bit more experience of the longer format will help the young man fulfil his potential.

Grigor Dimitrov battles past home favourite Nick Kyrgios

The Bulgarian is the man most likely to upset the big names in the men’s draw and the third seed showed his mental nerve to power past Kyrgios 7-6 7-6 3-6 7-6.

With the Australian crowd fully behind their man, neither Dimitrov or Kyrgios could claw away from their opponent. Both the first and second set went to tiebreaks, which were won by the Bulgarian.

Kyrgios, who hit 36 aces throughout the match, rallied the crowd with some excellent tennis. The 17th seed deservedly got himself back into the match with a 6-3 win in the third.

You could sense the nerves of both players in the fourth set, but Dimitrov produced some excellent stuff to win a third tiebreak of the match to set up a fourth Grand Slam quarter final appearance.

Kyle Edmund making huge strides after fourth round win

The Briton will face Dimitrov in his first ever Grand Slam quarter-final on Tuesday after coming back from a set down to beat Italian Andreas Seppi.

Edmund won 6-7 7-5 6-2 6-3 and hit 25 aces on his way to a famous victory.

The world number 49 has really come on leaps and bounds since last year’s French Open, and is now just the second British man to make it to the last eight in Melbourne since 1985 (the other being Andy Murray).

His next opponent will be a massive step up on his past three, but it will be one that he will be looking forward to.

Edmund goes into the quarter-final match with nothing to lose and the chance to showcase his ability against the best the game has to offer.

A career high ranking will follow the tournament, one that the 23-year-old will remember for the rest of his life.

 

Australian Open 2018: Talking points (Day Five)

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There was plenty to discuss after yesterday’s action in Melbourne. Money and the weather continued to make the headlines, as did some excellent performances. Here are five talking points from an exhilarating fifth day in Australia.

It’s hot, hot, hot! 

“The extreme hot policy should be re-evaluated!” That’s according to the likes of French player Alize Cornet and top seed in the men’s draw- Rafael Nadal.

Temperatures in Australia have risen to as high as 40 degrees over the last couple of days, and the humidity has taken its toll on some of the players.

Cornet collapsed to the ground during her third round defeat to Elise Mertens due to the heat and Petra Martic, who took two hours to get past Luksika Kumkhum, suffered from blisters because of the sizzling court.

Play was suspended in 2014 due to the rising temperatures on court that year, however the officials have taken a much firmer approach this time around.

Tournament director Craig Tiley insists the rules cannot be altered halfway through the tournament, but admitted that policy will be looked at again once the Australian Open has wrapped up.

Show me the money!

Roger Federer is the latest person to speculate about the ongoing situation over player’s earnings at Grand Slams.

The issue came into the spotlight just as this tournament was beginning after it was reported that Novak Djokovic suggested that the players form their own union separate from the ATP.

The Swiss, who is the former President of the ATP player council, believes that “change only comes when the players demand it and that the Grand Slams only react when people rally together.”

Federer did go on to say that change doesn’t happen in a day, and that both the players and the slams should collaborate together to reach the best possible agreement.

Edmund’s fairytale run continues 

Onto the action itself, and British hopes are still alive after Edmund came from behind to beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.

The 23-year-old won 7-6 3-6 4-6 6-0 7-5 to advance to the fourth round in Australia for the very first time.

The gruelling three hour and 34 minute swung one way and then the other before Edmund firmly took control in the fourth set.

The world number 49 finished with 70 winners but missed 20 of 27 break points. The conditions made it tough and Edmund admitted after the game that physically it was tough to play at his very best.

But it was another test passed for the Brit, who has been on an upward trajectory since making it to the last 16 in the US Open two years ago.

He will face Italian Andreas Seppi in round four.

Only two previous Grand Slam winners remain in women’s draw. 

Latvian Jelena Ostapenko suffered a shock defeat in the third round as another current Grand Slam holder bowed out.

Following Garbine Murguruza’s exit yesterday, world number seven Ostapenko fell to Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-3 1-6 6-3.

The French Open champion was on the back foot from the off, as Kontaveit broke in the very first game.

The Latvian powered through the second set, before the world number 33 went on again to break in the final set and wrap up a win that puts her in the fourth round in Melbourne for the very first time.

Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber are now the only two women left in the draw that have previously ever won a Grand Slam. They both face other this weekend.

Nadal looks right at home down under. 

World number one Rafael Nadal cruised into the fourth round and is looking the most likely to challenge Federer for the men’s title.

The Spaniard beat Damir Dzumhur 6-1 6-3 6-1, and is yet to drop a set at this year’s Australian Open.

Nadal has only won down under once before, but he is playing with a ruthless nature and is looking increasingly difficult to beat.

Bosnia’s Dzumhur hardly made a dent in Nadal’s push for glory, with the world number one going on to face Diego Schwartzman – a man he has defeated three times previously – in round four.

 

Australian Open 2018: Top 5 matches (Day Two)

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Day two of the Australian Open saw the conclusion of the first round of singles matches in Melbourne. Whilst there were some that impressed, others disappointed. News also broke out of a potential boycott of next year’s competition (with Novak Djokovic playing ring leader) due to player’s pay. Here are my top matches from a busy second day of action.

Johanna Konta bt. Madison Brengle (6-3 6-1)

Australia proves to still be a happy hunting ground for Konta after she comfortably overcame American Brengle in straight sets.

The 26-year-old, who was born and raised in and around Sydney before moving to the UK, put in a good opening performance but not a perfect one. She hit eight aces and 37 winners on the way to victory and was hardly threatened by the world number 90 – who was the last woman to beat Serena Williams in a competitive match before she went on maternity leave.

However, the Brit hit 34 unforced errors, 18 more than Brengle, and scampered three match points before finally sealing the win with her fourth. Given the match situation it didn’t prove to be a massive issue, but moving forward Konta will need to be more precise and ruthless, especially around the net.

The ninth seed needed time to find her groove, but once she did she took complete control. Konta moved a double-break up in the first set to lead 5-2. The American broke back instantly but it was too little to late.

An early break saw Konta take a 3-1 lead in the second set and from there she turned on the afterburners and hurried to the finish.

Roger Federer bt. Aljaz Bedene (6-3 6-4 6-3)

Defending champion and tournament favourite Federer made a solid start to his campaign with a straight sets victory over former Brit Bedene.

Bedene switched his allegiance back to Slovenia ahead of the new season, but he was no match for the Swiss, who is seeking his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam title.

Federer only dropped three points on serve in the first set and hit 41 winners in what was a commanding performance. The 36-year-old has not been knocked out in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 and judging by this performance he won’t be packing his bags anytime soon.

Novak Djokovic bt. Donald Young (6-1 6-2 6-4)

It was a comfortable return to competitive tennis for the 30-year-old Serbian as he brushed Young aside in straight sets.

The number 14 seed was playing for the first time since Wimbledon and played with a cast over his elbow, which didn’t seem to affect his playing style.

Djokovic dropped serve just once throughout and won 11 of the first 12 games to establish a lead he was never going to relinquish.

The Serbian also reacted to reports he had called for a boycott of next year’s Australian Open in a feud regarding player’s revenue.

The Daily Mail claimed that Djokovic had asked all officials to leave the players’ meeting, and that the Serb was accompanied by a lawyer to make the case for setting up a players-only union. (See the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-5268709/Novak-Djokovic-career-earnings-82m-wants-more.html)

The 12-time Grand Slam champion denied the claim and rejected the notion that he was ‘greedy’.

Maria Sharapova bt. Tatjana Maria (6-1 6-4)

The five-time Grand Slam champion made a victorious return in what was her first appearance in the Australian Open since her drug ban.

The Russian was suspended for 15 months back in 2016, and struggle at times against the world number 47 on the Margaret Court Arena.

Sharapova hit 28 unforced errors and found herself a break down in the second, but recovered to claim a morale-boosting win.

Lukas Lacko bt. Milos Raonic (6-7 7-5 6-4 7-6)

Former Wimbledon finalist Raonic has been shown the exit door after crashing out to unseeded Slovakian Lacko.

The Canadian was playing for the first time after a injury-hit second half of 2017, and a lack of match fitness ultimately caught up with him.

Lacko, who is ranked 86th in the world, has always performed at his best in Melbourne, having got as far as the third round on two previous occasions. But to have knocked out 22nd seed Raonic is a big scalp for the 30-year-old.

Other selected results

Men’s singles

Zverev (4) bt. Fabbiano (6-1 7-6 7-5)

Thiem (5) bt. Pella (6-4 6-4 6-4)

Goffin (7) bt. Bachinger (6-7 6-3 6-2 6-4)

Wawrinka (9) bt. Berankis (6-3 6-4 2-6 7-6)

Del Potro (12) bt. Tiafoe (6-3 6-4 6-3)

Berdych (19) bt. De Minaur (6-3 3-6 6-0 6-1)

Women’s singles

Halep (1) bt. Aiava (7-6 6-1)

Muguruza (3) bt. Ponchet (6-4 6-3)

Pliskova (6) bt. Cepede Royg (6-3 6-4)

Garcia (8) bt. Witthoeft (7-5 6-3)

Barty (18) bt. Sabalenka (6-7 6-4 6-4)

Putintseva bt. Watson (7-5 7-6)

Australian Open 2018 preview: Who will triumph in Melbourne?

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The days of Christmas turkey and pigs in blankets are truly behind us as the first Grand Slam of the new year is about to get underway.

We may only be two weeks into 2018 but the biggest stars in tennis are all in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open.

Injuries and late withdrawals have yet again plagued the build up to the tournament, which has been a constant theme since Wimbledon last summer.

So who’s in the running to lift the trophies at the Rod Laver Arena in two weeks time? Here’s all you need to know ahead of tomorrow’s curtain raiser.

THE FAVOURITES (MEN’S SINGLES)

The men’s tournament looks set to be a three-horse race according to the bookies. Roger Federer – who looked back to his best in 2017 – will be hoping he can add a sixth Australian Open title to his overcrowded trophy cabinet. Having overcome Rafael Nadal in last year’s magnificent final, the champion beings his title defence against Aljaz Bedene, who switched his allegiance back to Slovenia after three years representing Great Britain.

Returning to competitive tennis after a six-month absence is former world number one Novak Djokovic. The Serbian has not played since Wimbledon but the 30-year old could follow in Federer’s footsteps. The Swiss came back after a long lay-off last year to win two Grand Slam titles, and that should boost Djokovic’s confidence of success. However a tough draw pairs him with American Donald Young in round one, and a potential clash with Frenchman Gael Monfis, who won in Qatar earlier this year, in round two.

Federer and Djokovic could then meet in the semi-finals should they both make it that far.

Nadal may not have played any tennis since the ATP Finals in London last November, but the current world number one says he is ready to challenge for the men’s title. The Spaniard won his tenth French Open and also the US Open in 2017. Last year’s runner up plays Victor Estrella Burgos, the world number 81 from Dominican Republic, in his opening match.

ONES TO WATCH (MEN’S SINGLES)

ATP Finals’ champion Gregor Dimitrov comes into 2018 with a career high ranking of third. The Bulgarian made the semi-finals of this tournament 12 months ago and has now experienced enough Grand Slam tennis to make a serious push for a maiden title. His playing style matured in 2017, and comes into the tournament in the best form of his career.

Alexander Zverev is a star in the making. The 20-year-old German is ranked at world number four and if he continues this radical rise it will be a question of when he wins a major, not if. But a lack of five-set tennis could hinder his chances. Zverev has never made it past the fourth round of a Grand Slam and after being drawn in the same half as Federer and Djokovic, the German will need to get over his inability to beat a ‘top four’ player in a five-set contest quickly if he is to clinch his maiden major title.

THE FAVOURITES (WOMEN’S SINGLES)

Karolina Pliskova is the favourite for the women’s title after making the semi-finals at Brisbane a couple of weeks ago. The Czech’s consistency could be a key asset in her arsenal but she also has a powerful serve in her locker that could steer her through the tougher times on court. She may not have won a Grand Slam yet, but she has all the skills to change that.

Simona Halep is the current world number one but has struggled in Melbourne in the past. She exited in round one for the last two years and has never made it past the quarter finals. The Romanian has also yet to win a Grand Slam and her game may not be suited to the fast courts in Australia. However on her day she can beat anyone and can’t be ruled out entirely.

Garbrine Muguruza has struggled in the build-up to the tournament. The two-time Grand Slam champion retired in Brisbane and withdrew in Sydney with a thigh injury and could be touch-and-go in Melbourne. If she can get through to second week she will one to watch out for.

ONES TO WATCH (WOMEN’S SINGLES)

Elina Svitolina burst onto the scene in 2017, winning five WTA titles. Her 2018 season started successfully after winning in Brisbane and now has her sights on a first Grand Slam title. At just 23, she still has some development to do before she is the full package, but like Zverev in the men’s’ draw, it could be a matter of when, not if.

Angelique Kerber won this tournament two years ago to start a memorable 2016. That year she became world number one but things changed drastically for the German in 2017. Early tournament exits saw her drop to world number 22, and will need to be consistent and on top form to get out of a tough quarter of the draw.

REPRESENTING GREAT BRITAIN 

Johanna Konta will be leading the British contingent over in Melbourne. The ninth seed has made it to the quarter and semi-finals in her previous two visits but faces a potentially tough route to the final.

Her opening match is a potential banana skin against USA’s Madison Brengle. Should she get past that test, she may have to overcome women’s favourite Pliskova in the fourth round before a likely last eight contest with top seed Halep.

Ahead of the tournament, the 26-year old left the nation on tenterhooks when she withdrew from Brisbane with a hip injury over her own. She recovered enough to take part in Sydney last week, despite losing her opening match to Agnieszka Radwanska.

Konta insists she will be ready to go from Monday, and she will have the whole country behind her as she looks for her first Grand Slam title.

Heather Watson joins Konta in the women’s draw, and starts against Kazakstan’s Yulia Putintseva.

Kyle Edmund has shrugged off an ankle injury, but faces a tough opener against 11th seed Kevin Anderson. The big serving South African won their only other encounter in a Grand Slam.

ANDY MURRAY AND SERENA WILLIAMS MISS OUT 

Three-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one Andy Murray will miss the tournament and the spring season after undergoing surgery on his persistent hip injury.

The 30-year-old hasn’t played a competitive match since Wimbledon, and decided to have the operation in Brisbane before flying back to London to rest and recover.

Serena Williams was hoping to be back in time for this one following the birth of her baby girl Alexis Olympia. However, she felt that she wasn’t yet at the level to be competitive and now looks to add to her 23 single Grand Slams in Paris later on this year.

OTHER NOTABLE ABSENTEES 

World number 22 Kei Nishikori has not played since August because of a wrist injury and the Japanese star has not recovered in time for Melbourne.

Victoria Azarenka will also miss out due to a court hearing, which has yet to finalise. With the Belarusian unable to leave the US with her 11-month old son, she has decided to stay and fight for custody despite her love for Melbourne.

CHANGES TO THE FORMAT

A shot clock will be introduced at the Australian Open after it was trialled last year. The clock will mean players must serve within 25 seconds between points.

The idea has been met with some criticism from players, including Nadal, but the Grand Slam board has decided to go with it in a number of changes planned.

Rules regarding prize money have also been changed. Any main draw singles player who is unfit to play and who withdraws after 12:00 noon on the Thursday before the start of the main draw will now receive just 50% of the first round prize money. The replacement lucky loser will receive the remaining 50% plus any additional prize money earned thereafter.

Other possible changes in the future could see the number of seeds drop from 32 to 16 in Grand Slam tournaments from 2019.

We may be without some of the big names, but that won’t stop this being a enthralling two weeks of tennis. The courts in Melbourne are notorious for their fast pace, which should suit a majority of the stars on show.

With the younger generation of players starting to break through the ranks, these Grand Slam tournaments are looking more and more open each year. When that’s the case, we are all usually in for shocks, thrills and memorable matches.

The Swiss and Spanish renaissance: A year to remember for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

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They won all four Grand Slam titles between them and will end the year as world number one and two. What a 12 months it has been for the 36-year-old Swiss and 31-year-old Spaniard.

Just when it seemed like two legends of tennis had been chewed up and spat through the exit doors by the impressive, younger stars at the end of 2016, both came rallying back to dominate the 2017 season.

Of course, I’m talking about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Both subsequently came into this year following injury lay-offs. Federer had been out of action since Wimbledon 2016 with a knee injury, whilst Nadal ended his tour in October of that year after problems with his wrist.

As a result, Nadal was seeded ninth and Federer 17th going into January’s Australian Open.

However, the Swiss beat two of the top 10 seeds in Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori in the early rounds, before defeating Mischa Zverev (Andy Murray’s victor in the fourth round) to become the oldest player to make it to a Grand Slam semi-final since Jimmy Connors in 1991.

Federer battled past fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in five sets to become the oldest singles male player to make a final since 1974, where he would meet old nemesis Nadal.

The Spaniard himself had beaten Zverev’s impressive younger brother Alexander and Gael Monfis before coming out of his five-hour, semi-final grudge match against Gregor Dimitrov victorious.

This was Nadal’s first Grand Slam final since 2014, whilst Federer had not been in a major final since the 2015 US Open.

The subsequent match at the Rod Lever Arena was almost a reincarnation of that exhilarating Wimbledon final of 2008, but this time it was Federer – who was playing in his 100th match at the Australian Open – who came out on top in five sets.

Federer’s win was his first Gram Slam title for five years, but it was also his first Grand Slam win over his old rival since 2007 and the first that wasn’t at Wimbledon.

That win in Melbourne was a historic one for the illustrious Swiss. He became the first man to win five or more times at THREE of the four Grand Slam events and the second-oldest man behind Ken Rosewell to win a major singles tournament.

Titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Halle swiftly followed, but Federer had his eyes on one prize that was close to his heart and had evaded him for half a decade: Wimbledon.

From round one all the way to the final, the Swiss maestro dominated his opponents, and after defeating Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in the final, he managed to win his eighth Wimbledon title without dropping a single set.

Federer became the record holder for most Gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon titles, surpassing both Pete Sampras and William Renshaw who had won it seven times.

He won more trophies in Shanghai and in his native Switzerland at Basel to cap off his best season statistically since 2007.

As for Rafael Nadal, defeat at the Australian Open only spurred him on for the rest of the year.

In April he won his first title of the year at Monte-Carlo, before winning both the Madrid and Barcelona Open back-to-back in his native Spain.

Much like Federer, Nadal had an eye on the one prize he had won so many times- the French Open title.

Roland Garros was like a second home to the 31-year old, and once again he was at his very best in Paris.

He comfortably made it to the final where he would face Wawrinka, but even he was powerless to stop Nadal from winning ‘La Decima’ (“the tenth” in Spanish) and become the first tennis player to ever win 10 titles at the same Grand Slam.

Nadal dropped no sets and only 35 games at Roland Garros this year, the second-lowest return in Grand Slam history.

The final Grand Slam of the year – The US Open – was again dominated by the old guards. After overcoming a difficult test in Juan Martin Del Potro in the semi-finals, Nadal comfortably beat Kevin Anderson in straight sets for his 16th career Grand Slam title.

His final victory of the year came at the Chinese Open in Beijing in October.

In December, the ATP Rankings saw Nadal and Federer ranked as world number one and two respectively, sending a message to the ATP Tour that despite their age they are both far from finished. At 31, Nadal is the oldest man to ever end the year top of the tree.

Despite his and Federer’s successes, 2017 wasn’t so rosy for Novak Djockovic and Sir Andy Murray.  These were two of the leading members of this new, younger, ambitious group trying to push Federer and Nadal out, but now it looks like they will all need to go back to the drawing board.

Djokovic and Murray have both had injury problems this year, with the former splitting with coach Marian Vajda in April.

Beforehand the Serbian had lost to a player outside the top 100 for the first time at a Grand Slam in his career in Australia.

He appointed Andre Agassi as his new coach in the summer but an elbow injury at Wimbledon saw him retire during his quarter-final match with Berdych and ultimately ruled out for the rest of the season.

Murray went into 2017 as world number one following his best season to date the year before. However, an early exit at the Australian Open was just the first of many shock defeats that the Scot endured during the season.

He lost in the first round at Queen’s Club before also exiting Wimbledon at the quarter-final stage.

A hip injury saw him miss the remainder of the season and drop as low as world number 16 in November, his lowest ranking since 2008. He also split with Ivan Lendl for a second time in the autumn, as he now prepares for the new season which starts next month.

All of these developments set up an exciting 2018 for Men’s tennis. With Djokovic, Murray and Wawrinka all set to return from injury and both Nadal and Federer in their best form for years, we could see fireworks in the months ahead.

One could even argue that there has never been a greater anticipation for an upcoming ATP Tour since it was established back in 1990.

French Open 2015 Draw: Clash of The Titans

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Andy Murray has been drawn in the same half as ‘King of clay’ Rafael Nadal and world number one Novak Djokovic in this year’s French Open.

Murray, seeded third for the tournament, faces some tricky looking ties but the draw could have been nastier for the Scot.

The real big talking point is the possibility of a mouth-watering heavyweight Quarter Final between Djokovic and Nadal.

There is a renewed optimism about how far Murray can go in this year’s French Open after what has been an impressive clay season for the 2013 Wimbledon winner. He has a record of ten wins and zero defeats on a surface that has been seen as his Achilles heel for much of his career.

He won his first title on clay in Munich at the start of the month before defeating Nadal in his native country of Spain to win the Madrid Masters just a week later.

“I’ve played well at Roland Garros in the past, but my game wasn’t ready to win there.” Said Murray, following his Madrid win last week.

“I’ve played Rafa a few times on clay, and this obviously gives me confidence. I don’t go in as one of the favourites, but if I play like this I’ll give myself an opportunity and that is all you can ask.”

The Scot will potentially have to get past the likes of the energetic Australian Nick Kyrgios, hard-hitting American John Isner, and the resilient Spaniard David Ferrer in order to make it to the Semi finals, where he will face the winner of that probable blockbuster between Nadal and Djokovic.

Nadal, who has won at Roland Garros an incredible nine times, has beaten Djokovic in two of the last three finals. However the Serb is on a current 22 match unbeaten run and looks set to add the only grand slam trophy missing from his illustrious trophy cabinet come June 7th.

It would be the first time in nine years that the pair would face off at the Quarter Final stage, ironically that match was also played in Paris.

“It’s strange because it hasn’t happened in a very long time.” Said Nadal following the draw.

“But at the end of the day, I have four matches before the quarter-finals and I need to be ready for that first round. I am ready to fight again and we will see.”

Nadal has struggled since his return to the court following a wrist injury he suffered last year. After that defeat to Murray in the Madrid Masters, the Spaniard lost to Stan Wawrinka in the Italian Open at the Quarter Final stage. His ranking has since dropped to seventh, meaning that this year is the first time he heads into Roland Garros since 2005 without being one of the top four seeds. But bare in mind 2005 was Nadal’s maiden French Open victory. The Spaniard has won the tournament five years on the trot so he can’t be underestimated.

Currently though, the momentum is certainly with Djokovic, which may well be enough to see him over the line. The world number one won his fourth Italian Open this year, beating veteran Roger Federer in the final. The 27 year old is arguably in the form of his life and it will take a huge effort to deny him that first Roland Garros title.

“I don’t know how it will go at Roland Garros, but I’m very confident,” said a very down to earth Djokovic, who knows that it won’t be plain sailing in order to win the tournament.

Federer will also have certain challenges to overcome if he is to win his first French Open title since 2009. The Swiss legend could come up against fellow countryman Wawrinka in the last eight should he make it that far. However, he will also have Ernests Gulbis, the man who knocked him out of the competition last year, in his section. Gulbis was the surprise package at Roland Garros last year as he made it through to the Semi Finals before being defeated by Djokovic.

Federer may also have to deal with both opponent and crowd, as French star Gael Monfils could be a potential fourth round opponent.

Federer though has been quick to say he thinks that his greatest foe will once again triumph in Paris.

“He’s (Nadal) still one of the fittest guys on tour, he’s won Roland Garros nine times and he definitely deserves to be one of the favourites,” he said.

“The guy’s only lost their once in 10 years!”