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Wimbledon Preview: The top seeds look likely to take the tournament

The seeds have been announced and the tournament begins within days but it seems that it may be a...



Wimbledon Preview: The top see...
Golf

Wimbledon Preview: The top seeds look likely to take the tournament

The seeds have been announced and the tournament begins within days but it seems that it may be a walk in the park for some competitors at Wimbledon.

Here's how the top seeds look ahead of the Championship:

Top seeds - Men's singles

1. Novak Djokovic (Ser)

2. Roger Federer (Swi)

3. Andy Murray (GB)

4. Stan Wawrinka (Swi)

5. Kei Nishikori (Jpn)

6. Tomas Berdych (Cze)

7. Milos Raonic (Can)

8. David Ferrer (Spa)

9. Marin Cilic (Cro)

10. Rafael Nadal (Spa)

Top seeds - Women's singles

1. Serena Williams (US)

2. Petra Kvitova (Cze)

3. Simona Halep (Rom)

4. Maria Sharapova (Rus)

5. Caroline Wozniacki (Den)

6. Lucie Safarova (Cze)

7. Ana Ivanovic (Ser)

8. Ekaterina Makarova (Rus)

9. Carla Suarez Navarro (Spa)

10. Angelique Kerber (Ger)

Who are the big contenders?

The Mens

Well, of course we have the obvious top seeds, Djokovic, Murray and Federer. 

Novak is most certainly the one to beat this year. Although he fell unexpectedly at the French Open to surprise winner Wawrinka, he still holds number one seed across the board and it may be down to one key issue. Yes, he has the talent, stamina and skill to win at a final but he also possesses the composure, an issue Andy Murray seems to have trouble with. He also plays defensively and is much more equipped to move around a clay court compared to grass; he tends to slide across the court to cover ground.

He never even breaks a sweat and he is the defending champion. Our money is most certainly on him (although don't put money on him, you won't win anything, he's favourite).

Out of the others, Andy Murray will battle hard to take what is probably the most important of wins on his tour. His form has most certainly changed since his move to coach, Amélie Mauresmo. However, we do have to remember that his win at Wimbledon on the last occasion was in some ways, lucky. Yes, he managed to beat Djokovic and he is stronger on grass than on clay (he runs to cover court, he manages to cover a LOT of that court) but both Nadal and Federer went out surprisingly early in 2013.

We're not really arguing here that Murray is not capable of beating these players, but he may take the wind out of his sails. Those matches are often epic battles that result in five sets and rallies that can go on for quite a lengthy period of time. On top of that, Murray lets the game get into his head; you can see him get physically frustrated. He builds his game to such a point and then it seems like he suddenly just throws it all away.

This is what may break down Federer. Making it as far as the finals last year, he went down to the far more capable Djokovic. It looks like retirement may loom. There was a time when both he and Nadal dominated every tournament but with injury and not being top of their game, it seems Djokovic and Murray represent the new era.

It's hard to imagine Wawrinka featuring high up the ranks here, despite the French Open win.

Nadal features at just tenth on the seed list, partially due to a back injury and getting ruled out for a season thanks to getting his appendix removed. Again, for Nadal, it will be difficult to claw it back. His knees provide endless trouble for him, he can't move around the court as fast as he did previously and suddenly he seems a lot more paranoid about his game.

Our winner: Djokovic

The Women

Well, it's going to be Williams. Unless something severely goes wrong here, it's difficult to see anyone else take on the champion of... well, pretty much everything.

Taking the tournament on an ace? Not a problem.

Williams loves Wimbledon, it's one of her favourite tournaments and she absolutely hates to lose here. Last year, she went out in the third round and Kvitova took the title. She hasn't won a Wimbledon tournament in three years but that won't stop her; her serve is the fastest on the women's tour, she serves faster than some of the man. Her strength, precision and natural talent certainly make her the one to beat. And she really wants this.

Out of the others, you can be really sure that Maria Sharapova won't let her away that easily but it seems her game is a little more volatile. Sharapova, although seeded fourth, hasn't won Wimbledon since, wait for it, 2004. In fact, she hasn't won one of the big competitions besides the French Open in the last few years, which she took in 2012 and 2014. She's another competitor who lets her game get in on top of her, balls have to be served from a certain area of the court, she's precise about everything that happens.

To be honest, the women's tour is more volatile in general. We know the top four players haven't really changed in the mens but this changes quite quickly with the women. Kvitova won last year but she was lucky Serena went out and Halep, Wozniacki and Ivanovic could all cause trouble but this is Williams' year. She won't let this one go.

Our winner: Serena Williams

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