Federer, Nadal, Cilic: 5 Male Players to Watch at Wimbledon 2018

The 132nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships is set to begin on Monday, 2 July. The defending champion Roger Federer, who won his 19th Grand Slam title at the All England Club last year, will be looking to continue his great form on the grass courts.

Rafael Nadal is on a high after winning his 11th French Open title earlier this month. He’ll be hoping to break the fourth round jinx and go deeper into the second week of the tournament. The Spaniard has not crossed the fourth round in his last five appearances at Wimbledon.

Here’s a look at five players to watch out for in the men’s singles draw.

1. Roger Federer

Roger Federer is arguably the best grass court player ever, since he has won the most number of Wimbledon titles in the open era. He went past Pete Sampras’ record of seven titles last year.

The 36-year-old, who took a break from the clay court season for the second straight year, came raring back to the court, by winning the grass court tournament in Stuttgart.

The Swiss was looking to win his 99th career title at Halle, but he was stopped by the 21-year-old Borna Coric, who handed him a 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-2 defeat in the final.

2. Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal reclaimed the World Number One ranking from Roger Federer after the Swiss lost the final at Halle.

The 32-year-old hasn’t had the best time at the All England Club since 2011, with fourth round being his best result in 2014 and 2017.

The two-time Wimbledon champion has decided to play an exhibition event at the Hurlingham Club, London for a tune-up to Wimbledon. Nadal beat Australian Matthew Ebden 7-6 (3) 7-5 in his first match of the tournament.

3. Novak Djokovic

Former World Number One Novak Djokovic’s search for a Grand Slam in the last two years continues. The Serbian won four Grand Slams in a row from Wimbledon 2015 to French Open 2016, but thereafter he has played far from his best.

The 31-year-old made it to the quarter-final at SW19 last year. He played his tune-up tournament at the Fever-Tree Championships, where he lost to Marin Cilic in the final.

Djokovic may not have shown any sign of a major comeback to the top four rankings, but he certainly can turnaround his career at any moment.

Could Wimbledon 2018 be that turning point?

4. Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic was reduced to tears during the Wimbledon final against Roger Federer last year. The Croatian, who was playing his first Wimbledon final, was battling a blister on his right foot during the match. He eventually lost the match 3-6, 1-6, 4-6.

However, Cilic was a different player when he met the same opponent at the Australian Open final, earlier this year. He went down fighting in five sets – 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

The 29-year-old should be feeling good about his chances after winning the Fever-Tree Championships on Sunday.

5. Borna Coric

Borna Coric has been in the Grand Slam circuit since 2014, but the upcoming 21-year-old has just started to peak in his professional career.

Coric, who has won just two titles in his career and has recorded a Grand Slam best record of third round at the French and US Open, caught the world’s eye when he beat Roger Federer at Halle on Sunday.

A player, who has beaten an eight-time Wimbledon champion, should definitely be considered the dark horse of a tournament.