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Swiss hoping to improve upon quarter-final run last year
For whatever reason, Stan Wawrinka has struggled to bring his best tennis to Wimbledon. The Swiss star has fallen in the first round in two of the past four years and has never advanced farther than the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
But Wawrinka, who will be making his 12th appearance at the Grand Slam, thinks this year could be different. He’s spent the past few weeks working with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. The Lausanne native also will draw from quarter-final runs the past two seasons at SW19.
“I feel quite good. Had a lot of time on the grass. Quite happy with the way I’m playing so far. I think I’m ready for the tournament,” Wawrinka said during his pre-tournament press conference.
The Swiss No. 2 has been close to breaking into the final four at Wimbledon. In 2014, he fell to seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets. Last year, Wawrinka was a set away from reaching the semi-finals before Frenchman Richard Gasquet came back and won 11-9 in the fifth set.
“I think the last few years I started to play my best tennis on grass,” Wawrinka said. “I know I can play my best game. Hopefully I can do something big this year.”
Wawrinka’s grass-court season got off to a slow start earlier this month with a straight-sets defeat to Fernando Verdasco at The Queen’s Club in London. But the first-round exit also gave the 31 year old plenty of time to work with Krajicek and full-time coach Magnus Norman on the practice courts.
Wawrinka, who’s been working with Krajicek since 10 June, said the relationship has been going well so far. “Richard has a lot of experience as a player. He won here. He used to be an amazing tennis player, really aggressive on the court, serve and volley a lot,” Wawrinka said. “We also had quite a lot of talk [about] the way you can play on grass, many little things, the tactic, what’s good to do on grass, how you need to be ready mentally and always tough.”
Wawrinka, the fourth seed, will open against 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, a member of the Next Generation who will be making his Wimbledon main draw debut. The American pushed Federer to three sets before losing on the grass in Stuttgart.
If Wawrinka advances, he could face Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who plays Frenchman Stephane Robert in the first round. “I think it’s really good for him and for tennis that he’s back on the tour,” Wawrinka said of del Potro, who reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart. “He’s going to be dangerous. He played a great tournament in Stuttgart on grass. If he’s fit, he’s a tough player to beat.”
| Wimbledon on the BBC |
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| Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
I hope Liam Broady is really pumped and excited for our first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, because these are the moments you play for.
I obviously hope that I win the match but I know Liam pretty well and this is a big opportunity for him to go out there, give it a go and show everybody what he’s got.
You want to be playing on the big courts against the best players, in front of a big crowd, and there’s no pressure on him, so I’m expecting him to play good tennis.
And Liam won’t be the only one who’s nervous – before any of the Slams I feel the tension, and as the tournament goes on it calms down a little bit each day.
This will be my 11th Wimbledon and I would say it feels different to when I first played. Then there was no expectation and winning the first match was a good, positive start. Now, if I don’t win the first match it’s a disaster!
But I do feel good right now, I’m happy with the way I’m playing and practising and, yes, I’m ready.
With 15 British players involved in the singles competitions at Wimbledon this year, and the recent success in doubles for my brother Jamie and Dom Inglot, it does feel like there’s a bit of a feelgood factor around British tennis at the moment.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect, but this tournament is a big chance for some of them to make their mark and you just hope they do themselves justice, because it’s tough working your way up through the rankings.
I played a lot of Futures tournaments, below the main tour, when I was 15, 16, 17 years old, and then you come to somewhere like Wimbledon, in front of a huge crowd with a great atmosphere, and the next week you go back to playing the Futures where there can be 10 or 15 people watching.
It’s a totally different feeling, a different atmosphere, and I think you need to take motivation from matches like these when you’re back in the smaller events and say “that’s where I want to be”.
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Playing at this level, being around the top players, practising with them before the event, you learn huge amounts from that. More than you will from playing any Futures event in my opinion.
So you want them to enjoy the week but also perform, otherwise it feels like a wasted opportunity.
Hopefully everyone will enjoy the experience but fight as hard as they can for every single point, and I think there will be a few surprise performances this year from the British players.
It’s three years since I last played at Wimbledon with Ivan Lendl on my coaching team, and I think we’ve both changed in that time.
I’m more grown up, more mature. I’m married and have a family now. Ivan’s done more coaching with junior players and I’m sure that affects the way he sees things a bit too.
There’s a huge difference between working with a player at the top of the game and then teenagers that you’re trying to develop at a much slower rate. I’m sure that’s altered the way that Ivan approaches his coaching.
We’ve certainly had an excellent week of practice since Queen’s Club, which was a great way for Ivan to return, and it honestly hasn’t felt strange having him back as part of the team again.
As the number two seed, we’ve known all week that I would play my opening match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, and that gives us consistency in terms of the schedule, as I know I’ll play every two days.
However, that only helps if I get the job done – if I have long matches like I had at the start of the French Open, then having a couple of days off over the middle weekend can help with recovery a little bit.
My goal is definitely to try to avoid having those matches, which will hopefully set up another special couple of weeks.
Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery.
New player representatives elected in London
The new ATP Player Council, as voted by players, was announced on Saturday evening at the general player meeting at Wimbledon.
The Council, elected for a two-year term, includes the world’s top two ranked singles players Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, as well as the likes of Gilles Simon, Kevin Anderson, Rajeev Ram and Sergiy Stakhovsky.
World No. 1 doubles player Jamie Murray is also elected, alongside his doubles partner Bruno Soares, meaning it will be the first time that two brothers are to serve on the Council at the same time.
Members elected by their peers to serve on the ATP Player Council through June 2018 are:
* 1-50 Singles: Kevin Anderson, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Gilles Simon
* 51-100 Singles: Yen-Hsun Lu, Rajeev Ram
* 1-100 Doubles: Jamie Murray, Bruno Soares
* At-Large: Marcelo Melo, Sergiy Stakhovsky
* Alumni: Colin Dowdeswell
* Coach: Claudio Pistolesi
The new ATP Player Council will have its first meeting in New York prior to the US Open, where the President and Vice President will be elected.
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “Congratulations to all those that have been elected to the new Council. It’s great news to have such a strong group of players involved as we look to take the ATP World Tour to new heights in years ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Council members, led by Eric Butorac as President, for all their hard work and dedication over the past two years.”
Djokovic said: “I am humbled to be elected by my colleagues to be on the Players Council. It is a big responsibility and I know how much all of us players care for our sport to thrive and grow. I see this as an opportunity and I hope to fulfil the expectations of my colleagues.”
Andy Murray said: “It’s the first time I’m getting involved in something like this and I’m looking forward to getting started with the rest of the guys on the Council. We’ve seen a lot of growth on the ATP World Tour in recent years and hopefully we can continue that.”
Bruno Soares said: “I’m very happy to be elected for a second time. These past two years were a great experience. We were able to learn a lot and see the sport from a different perspective. I hope I can keep contributing. The players have been very committed to helping to improve our sport, and I’m happy to be a part of that.”
Jamie Murray said: “I’m excited and looking forward to working hard and putting across our points of view and get some good things done for the Tour over the next two years. I’ve been around the Tour for a while now, and thought it was time to put my name forward. I think it’s important the top players get involved and it makes the voice of the Council stronger.”
Sergiy Stakhovsky said: “I really appreciate the support of the players and hopefully we can continue some of the things we’ve achieved with previous Councils. I think it’s important for us to have a very strong Council and it’s great that we have Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic coming on. I believe there’s greater things ahead of us, not only with this Council but in the future with the new generations coming up.”
The ATP Player Council meets several times a year and makes recommendations to ATP Management and the ATP Board of Directors through the three Player Board representatives, whom the Council elects.
Earlier this week, Justin Gimelstob was re-elected by the outgoing Player Council as Player Board representative from the Americas Group region. Gimelstob will serve another three-year term starting January 1, 2017. The ATP Board of Directors comprises three Player Representatives, three Tournament Representatives, and ATP Executive Chairman and President Kermode.
| Wimbledon on the BBC |
|---|
| Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July |
| Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details |
Top seed Novak Djokovic will begin the defence of his Wimbledon title when the tournament gets under way on Monday.
The world number one opens play on Centre Court at 13:00 BST against Britain’s James Ward.
Seven-time champion Roger Federer and French Open winner Garbine Muguruza also feature on day one.
Qualifier Marcus Willis, ranked 775, is one of eight Britons in action on Monday, with Andy Murray and Johanna Konta scheduled to start on Tuesday.
Monday’s play begins on the outside courts at 11:30, with BBC coverage getting under way online from 10:00 and on BBC Two and 5 live sports extra from 11:30.
Djokovic arrives at the All England Club as the new French Open champion, holder of all four Grand Slam titles and on course for the first calendar-year Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.
The 29-year-old is a strong favourite to become only the fourth man in the Open era to win a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles.
“The situation this year is quite different from previous years because I’m coming in with a Roland Garros title for the first time,” said Djokovic.
“That gives me, obviously, a lot of confidence prior to this event.”
Asked about facing a British player in his opening match, Djokovic said: “It’s going to be the first match on the untouched grass.
“That’s probably one of the most special matches that you get to experience as a professional tennis player.”
Federer, 35, is the number three seed and so expected to face Djokovic in the semi-finals, although the Swiss lacks his usual number of matches after struggling with with injuries all year.
Second seed Murray appears the most likely to threaten Djokovic, having finished runner-up to the Serb at the year’s first two Grand Slams in Australia and France.
Defending champion Serena Williams remains the woman to beat as she chases a seventh Wimbledon and 22nd major title, which would draw her level with Steffi Graf in the all-time list.
However, the 34-year-old American has not won a Grand Slam since last year’s Wimbledon, with Muguruza beating her in France and rising to two in the world rankings.
Britain has 15 players in the singles draws this year, with seven there by right through their rankings, seven given wildcards and one coming through qualifying.
That is Willis, the 25-year-old who had not played a tournament since January and had to win six matches in pre-qualifying and qualifying to reach the main draw.
Another victory over Lithuania’s world number 53 Ricardas Berankis could set up a dream second-round match against Federer.
“I’ve always believed in myself, believed I could play really good tennis, but I can’t really expect to qualify for Wimbledon,” said Willis.
“I just took it one match at a time and now in the main draw I’ll do the same there.”
Six British men are in action on Monday, with Kyle Edmund playing France’s Adrian Mannarino, Brydan Klein up against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, Alex Ward facing Belgian David Goffin, and Dan Evans taking on German Jan-Lennard Struff.
In the women’s draw, former junior champion Laura Robson plays fourth seed Angelique Kerber and Naomi Broady faces Ukraine’s Elena Vesnina.
| Brits in action – day one |
|---|
| Novak Djokovic (1) (Ser) v James Ward Centre Court |
| Laura Robson v Angelique Kerber (4) (Ger) Court One |
| Kyle Edmund v Adrian Mannarino (Fra) Court Two |
| David Goffin (11) (Bel) v Alexander Ward Court Three |
| Naomi Broady v Elina Svitolina (Ukr) (17) Court Three |
| Daniel Evans v Jan-Lennard Struff (Ger) Court 18 |
| Brydan Klein v Nicolas Mahut (Fra) Court 17 |
| Ricardas Berankis (Ltu) v Marcus Willis Court 17 |
There have been only eight championships – the last of them six years ago – without rain interruptions since 1922, and 2016 looks unlikely to add to the list.
The 130th championships will host up to 39,000 spectators on each of the 13 days, with more than 700 players in qualifying and the main draw competing for a record prize fund of £28.1m.
Both singles champions will take home £2m, while just making the first round guarantees a player £30,000.
Spectators will consume about 28,000kg of strawberries, 7,000 litres of cream and 29,000 bottles of champagne, some of it almost certainly under the Centre Court roof.
The weather forecast suggests rain will feature during the first week of the tournament, but the roof at least guarantees tennis throughout.
“Not a complete washout, but through the first few days I’m expecting some rain,” said BBC Weather’s John Hammond.
The BBC will have comprehensive coverage of Wimbledon across TV, radio, online and social media, with 153 hours scheduled across BBC One and BBC Two.
Former world number ones Lleyton Hewitt and Jim Courier, and former British number one Annabel Croft, have joined the BBC TV team, led by Sue Barker, while Radio 5 live will broadcast more than 100 hours of action.
Monday’s coverage begins on BBC Two and Radio 5 live sports extra at 11:30 BST, with Radio 5 live joining from 12:00.
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Andy Murray faces Liam Broady in the first round of Wimbledon and understands the match is a “great opportunity” for his fellow Briton to try and cause an upset and prove himself on the biggest stage.
Watch all the action from Wimbledon live on all BBC platforms from Monday, June 28.
British number one Johanna Konta is pleased with her form heading into Wimbledon after reaching the semi-finals of Eastbourne, knocking out Petra Kvitova along the way.
Watch all the action from Wimbledon live on all BBC platforms from Monday, 28 June.
Laura Robson says she is “super excited” about returning to Wimbledon and “thrilled” to be part of the tournament. The Briton faces Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the opening round.
Watch all the action from Wimbledon live on all BBC platforms from Monday, June 28.