Goran Ivanisevic picks Rafael Nadal as favourite to win 2017 Wimbledon
Interesting picks by Goran.
Interesting picks by Goran.
Croatian tennis great Goran Ivanisevic reckons Rafael Nadal will enter this year's Wimbledon as the favourite, closely followed by Roger Federer,*Marin Cilic and Andy Murray. Ivanisevic*has ranked three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic as the fifth favourite ahead of The Championships which get underway July 3.
Nadal has been in red-hot form in 2017. After pushing Federer to a five-set classic in the Australian Open final, Nadal breezed through Roland Garros without dropping set, becoming the first player in history to win the same Grand Slam on ten occasions. While odds makers have touted Federer and Murray as the two favourites, several former players, including*Ivanisevic, are picking Nadal to prevail in Wimbledon.
Rafa just needs to get through first week, feels*Ivanisevic
According to*Ivanisevic, Nadal would be nearly unstoppable if he can get through the first week of the tournament.*"Rafa is very mentally strong. At the moment, he’s the best player in the world. It depends on the draw. I would pick Nadal if he passes the first week. Could he be vulnerable in the first week? You never know," said*Ivanisevic, via*Metro.*
In recent years, Nadal has had a forgettable run at the hallowed turf of the All-England Tennis Club. He suffered second, first, fourth and second round exits through 2012 to 2015. Last year, Nadal was forced to pull out of The Championships due to a persistent wrist injury. "You look at what happened the last couple of years, he had tough opponents who beat him before in Dustin Brown and Nick Kyrgios But he’s hitting the ball amazingly and it's going to be tough to beat him," added*Ivanisevic.
Ivanisevic doesn't expect Andy Murray or*Novak Djokovic to win
Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion, has ranked Murray and Djokovic at fourth and fifth respectively in his list of favourites. "Murray plays very well on grass, but nobody talks about him. He’s got the game, it’s just an issue of mentally how he’s going to cope with the pressure. If he continues to play aggressively, the only way he can play, he can be very dangerous there."*
"For the moment, he (Murray)*is my fourth favourite. Murray’s lost confidence. He’s not hitting the ball well enough. I’m thinking about the form, the way they’re playing and how they can do. But who knows how it’s going to turn out?’
Ivanisevic, who beat Pat Rafter in the infamous 2001 Wimbledon final,*doesn't have much faith in Djokovic, either.*Earlier this year, Djokovic parted with his entire coaching team.*In the middle of his worst season since 2010, the 12-time Grand Slam champion relinquished the World No. 1 ranking to Murray last November before enduring a shocking second-round defeat*at the 2017 Australian Open to Denis Istomin.*
"Let’s put (Novak)*Djokovic as fifth favourite. He’s not playing anything like he was, so we have to see what kind of shape he’s going to be in,"*Ivanisevic said of the struggling Djokovic.*
Meanwhile, Nadal took time off from the sport after capturing a record 10th French Open championship. He visited Ibiza for a holiday before returning home to*Mallorca. A few days ago, Nadal posted an Instagram picture of him cruising around on a Gocycle G3, an electric bicycle. Nadal has also been training against local Spanish players on the grass courts in*Mallorca, giving coach Carlos Moya enough reason to be optimistic.