When was the last time that Wimbledon rolled around with so little to choose between the top four seeds in the men’s game? A long while, that’s for sure. Rafael Nadal returns to defend his crown against the in-form trio of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – plus 124 others – and it promises to be an incredible fortnight, particularly if the quartet reaches the semi-finals.
While Wimbledon glory will be at the forefront of their minds, the ongoing “greatest ever” discussion provides a mouth-watering subplot. For several years, Federer has worn that tag with comfort, boosted by finally winning the French Open in 2009. But Nadal’s 17-8 head-to-head record against the Swiss maestro is increasingly hard to discount. The Spaniard arrives in London fresh from cementing his place as the undisputed King of Clay at Roland Garros. Is there a tougher task in sport than beating Nadal at the French Open? A 45-1 record defies belief at times. But this is now the grasscourt season and he must adapt quickly.
Andre Agassi believes Federer still just about holds the “greatest ever” accolade but, if he does, the clock is ticking. The trouble is that Nadal is no longer the only Grand Slam threat. Djokovic has elevated his game to such an extent that, in some quarters, he is considered the biggest overall challenger to Nadal, given he is still 24 and won 41 straight matches before losing to Federer in Paris.
It is hard to know what to make of Federer’s run to the 2011 French Open final. Has he turned a corner? Or did he catch Djokovic finally cooling off after the staggering hot streak? Federer had not appeared in a Grand Slam final since the 2010 Australian Open, after all.
And then there is Murray, trying desperately to break the British Grand Slam curse. Wimbledon is his best opportunity and some believe he could reach the final this year for the first time. But if he is to go all the way, he will likely need to outlast two of the game’s heavyweights.
Does he believe he can win it? He has said the right things in the media but, judging by last year’s loss to Nadal at SW19 and the semi-final in Paris last month, there must still be question marks over whether he actually believes he can beat the very best players in the biggest moments on the biggest stages.
With the men's game firing on all cylinders, there is no shortage of questions floating around - but we probably won’t get many of the answers until the final weekend of the tournament.
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