Tennis News

After taking some time off to spend a short few weeks with his growing family, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic is set officially begin his grass court season at SW19, where he will contest a match-up against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber for the eighth time on the professional tour. The Serb leads the Head to Head with 6-1, with five straight victories in their most recent outings.

The last time Djokovic stepped on court to take part in a professional match was at the final of the 2015 French Open, where he lost to Stan Wawrinka in four sets to deny himself a career Grand Slam. Since then, he has refrained from competing in any ATP World Tour events but did find time to get some practice at The Boodies exhibition event at Stoke Park.

“I needed a little bit of time to regroup, to recharge my batteries, stay with the family, the little one and come here to London preparing for the biggest event in the world in our sport,” the 28-year-old said this week at the Boodles exhibition event.

Unlike his upcoming opponent, Kohlschreiber is coming off a couple of weeks on grass already, as he performed at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, where he lost to Gael Monfils in the quarter-final stage of the tournament and later in Halle, where he lost to eight-time champion Roger Federer in the opening round. He came quite close to winning the match and picking up his first ever win against the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

This marks the eighth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Djokovic leading the series 6-1. Djokovic is 5-0 on hard court matches and 2-1 on clay against t the German, so this is going to be their first ever grass court meeting. Given that Djokovic is one of the overwhelming favourites of the tournament, this should be a straightforward match for the Serb, even though Kohlscheriber is a dangerous threat when in form.

World No. 1 Serena Williams is still riding high from her second Grand Slam title of the season at the French Open, and 20th overall. With rumblings of her being able to complete the calendar Slam this season, all eyes will be on Williams as she steps out on the grass courts for the first time this season to take on Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour.

Situated in the same half of the draw as Maria Sharapova and her sister Venus Williams, Serena will attempt to win her third Grand Slam title of the season when she begins her fortnight at SW19. She overcame illness last month en route to the French Open title and was yet to step out on court for a match time on grass. However, she is completely aware that she is on the hunt for a calendar slam, something that has not been achieved in the Open Era.

“Personally, uhm, it doesn’t make it feel any different, which I think is a good thing ’cause I don’t feel any pressure to win all four. I’ve been saying that, but I really don’t feel that pressure. Maybe if I would happen to win here, then maybe I might start feeling it after that. Ultimately, I’m taking it one day at a time and I’m not thinking that far.”

Williams will come up against world No. 113 Margarita Gasparyan, who will be a remarkably large underdog against Williams as she attempts to usurp the dominant champion.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams holding the undoubted advantage with the oddsmakers. While it is all too possible that Williams struggles a bit during the match, it would be utterly shocking to see her suffer a defeat this early in the tournament.

Maria Sharapova, once a 17-year-old underdog who conquered the All England Tennis Club to everyone’s surprise, will return to the Championships once again to attempt to relive that childhood glory 11 years ago. The Russian superstar will begin her campaign against Great Britain’s Johanna Konta, whom she has never faced previously on the professional tour.

The world No. 4 has not stepped out on court for a professional match since her fourth round loss o Lucie Safarova at the French Open last month. While she hoped to get some match time under her belt ahead of the fortnight on grass, it was an not possible due to her tight schedule.

“I was hoping I could play a warm up tournament leading up to this. But due to the circumstances, the way I was feeling, actually I had to go back home and do some tests, run through all that. It took a little while for me to really refresh and recover and, yeah, give myself just a chance to feel good again and get back to work.

“I planned on going to Florida. But then I needed to do a few things back in California for my health. Then just came here as soon as I got the green light to start the training. It’s been a really good 10 days. To finally have that energy, I think that’s quite important as an athlete. But, yeah, despite not playing an event, I’ve played a few practice matches, played a practice match in Eastbourne. It’s been going well so far.”

Sharapova will come up against Johanna Konta, who reached the quarter-final stage of Eastbourne last week. Now she will begin her campaign at the Championships with a contest on Centre Court against the 2004 champion.

This is set to be the first time that Sharapova and Konta meet on the professional tour and should be an easygoing match for the vastly more experienced Russian. However, an upset here would sent the English crowd into a frenzy, as it would undoubtedly be a huge upset so early in the tournament.

Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori is set to begin his campaign at the All England Club and where he will be faced with the task of beating Italy’s Simone Bolelli, whom he has faced once previously on the professional tour. Their sole meeting took place at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, even though their last one took place in the third round of that event. It will be interesting to see if this year’s contest is as competitive as the previous one, as Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 1-0 after fending off a legitimate five-set threat from Bolelli.

Following a quarter-final showing in Paris at the French Open, all looked well for Nishikori as he played in Halle to prepare himself for the grass court Slam.

“I don’t feel any pressure from Japan, you know, because I live in the United States,” he told a news conference at the All England Club on Saturday. “In the match, I just try to focus what I have to do. I try not to think too much about outside things. I mean, I feel pressure sometimes, but I think I’m handling really well.”

Nishikori will come up against Simone Bolelli, who has had ample preparation on grass ahead of the Championships. Bolelli reached the first round of the Aegon Championships following two qualifying matches and then had an even better week thereafter when he reached the quarter-final round in Nottingham, where he lost to Marcos Baghdatis.

This marks the second time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour and could make for an interesting contest if Bolelli can once again find the magic he possessed during their last meeting. Even if he does come in form, Nishikori is a ruthless competitor who had proven to be worthy of his ranking in the upper echelon of the men’s game. The truth is that the Japanese star’s injury could also play a factor in their latest encounter, which does not bode well for his chances of a deep run at this year’s event, even if he gets past the durable Bolelli.