KRISTEN’S KOURT: WHERE THE (WIMBLEDON) GREEN GRASS GROWS

Written by: Staff on 24th June 2012

KRISTEN'S KOURT: WHERE THE (WIMBLEDON) GREEN GRASS GROWS |

By Kristen Tracy

Does everyone know what time it is????

Unless you’ve been completely shut out to the tennis world lately, then you (like all of us at 10sballs.com) are well aware – it’s time for Wimbledon! And so we begin two of my favorite weeks of the entire tennis season.

It probably won’t come as a surprise that my pick to win the Championships at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club this year is none other than defending champion Novak Djokovic. What might surprise you though is that I actually see Andy Murray making a deep run toward the title.

Wimbledon is to Andy Murray what the U.S. Open is to the likes of Mardy Fish, John Isner, and Andy Roddick – it’s the one slam held on his “home turf.” Unlike Fish, Isner, and Roddick though, it’s the one slam where he always seems to crash and burn. Personally I think it’s the pressure from all of Great Britain that causes him to falter so much. But who can really blame them? A British man hasn’t won the men’s singles title since 1936, when Fred Perry took the championship trophy. For years, the pressure lied with Tim Henman (we all know how well that turned out) and now the torch has been passed – or more appropriately shoved to Murray. Despite his seemingly awful track record this summer, I think the grass courts are excellently suited to Andy’s game. And though there is pressure on him to do well, the pressure on Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal is far greater, meaning Murray could ideally make a somewhat quiet move into at least the final 8.

Though I don’t expect him to win (even though it would be nice), look for another Andy to make a dangerous run. With his win just yesterday in Eastbourne, Andy Roddick has to have a fairly significant amount of confidence going into Wimbledon. He’s had a rough year, that’s for sure, and the fan in me would like nothing more than to see him do well here these next two weeks – and I think he’s got a good shot. His section of the draw is good and I see no reason why, if he plays like he did this last week, he can’t make it to the final 8 as well. Whether he’s seeded 1 or 30, Andy is always a dangerous player on grass. He may not be able to keep up as well with the fast-paced nature of the hard courts anymore, but his game is still very much suited for the grass court season.

With any luck, both Andy’s will make it to the second week. A Roddick/Murray quarterfinal perhaps? Hmmm, one can only dream…