Wimbledon Preview

It is that time of year where you can't pick up a paper without reading a preview to Wimbledon. Journalists who follow the game all year round speculate that the four best players in the world are the most likely to win the event. Then they suggest the players ranked slightly lower could cause an upset, a bold prediction what with them being among the top 10 most talented tennis players in the world. Then somebody says you can never rule out Andy Roddick, ignoring 2006, 2008 and 2010 where he was ruled out fairly early on.

So with that in mind, lets instead look beyond the usual suspects and see who else is featuring at Wimbledon.

Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan)
Age: 23
Current ATP Rank: 60
Highest ATP Rank: 58

                             My expression when I realised he was number 60 in the world

Mikhail Kukushkin is only the Kazakhstan Number 2, despite being number 60 in the world, and of the three Kazakhstan players you pass in the world rankings until finding the British Number 2. In the distance, you can just about hear somebody at the LTA cry in despair at that fact. However, like all Kazakhstan tennis players, Kukushkin is actually Russian and chooses to play for Kazakhstan for reasons that remain perfectly clear and financially rewarding.

Kukushkin won the St Petersburg Open in 2010, his first ATP Tour victory. He beat Tipsarevic, Tursunov and Youzhny en route. That remains his finest career moment, with 2011 not providing similar success. Highlights this year are reaching the second round of the Miami Masters and the second round of the French Open. Last week, he lost to the world number 200 at Queens. That was only his second match on grass in his career so far. Having only reached the second round of a Grand Slam once, and having never won on grass, Kukushkin faces an uphill battle to win at SW19.

VERDICT: Won't win Wimbledon

Pere Riba (Spain)

Age: 23

Current ATP Rank: 65

Highest ATP Rank: 65

At a lowly 65th in the world, Pere Riba is the Spanish number 12. He is one of 16 Spanish players you pass in the world rankings before reaching the British Number 2. The British Number 12, Josh Goodall, is currently 436 in the world. In the distance, you can just about hear somebody at the LTA cry in despair at that fact. Wikipedia notes he is the youngest Spanish player in the top 100 and he supports Real Zaragoza. There is very little about him on the internet, so I can only assume being a Spanish player and only being ranked 65th is a source of such eternal shame that the Spanish pretend he doesn't exist.

Riba has reached 22 finals at challenger and future level, with every single one on clay.  If Riba had a reputation in Spain, which he almost certainly doesn't, it would be one of a filthy bottler as he has lost 13 of these finals, often from a set up. 2011 has been a good year however, with Riba reaching the second round in the Australian Open, the French Open and two Masters Events. Riba made his debut on grass last week at Halle, losing 7-6 7-6 to Ivan Dodig. He'll have to improve on that if he wants to be featuring two weeks on Sunday on Centre Court.

VERDICT: Won't win Wimbledon

Carlos Berlocq (Argentina)

Age: 28

Current ATP Rank: 69

Highest ATP Rank: 65

                                                              

Carlos Berlocq is surprisingly the Argentinian number 5, at 69 in the world. He is one of the 10 Argentine players you pass before reaching the British Number 2. Somewhere in the distance, the LTA is being disbanded. At 28, Berlocq (nicknamed Charlie) is peaking late, after slogging around at future and challenger level for a long period of time. In 2006, Berloq played his first ever ATP tour match and won 6-0 6-0. Yet just as people predicted a Federer-esque era of dominance for the Argentine, he proceeded to lose in the second round 6-0 6-0. Unsurprisingly, he is the only player to win his first ATP match to love, then lose his second to the same score. He has twice reached the second round of the the French Open.

2011 has not been a hugely successful year for Berlocq, who plays a lot of doubles too. However, appearances at the third round in Miami Masters, and the second round in Rome and the French Open have kept him in the top 70. Such was his confidence coming into Wimbledon, Berlocq chose to play a clay challenger last week in which he lost in the first round. The statistics show Berlocq has won an ATP match on grass, and only needs to repeat that feat seven times to be lifting his first Grand Slam title.

Verdict: Won't win Wimbledon.


Cedrik-Marcel Stebe (Germany)
Age:  20
Current ATP Rank: 208
Highest ATP Rank: 204

At the time of writing Cedrik-Marcel Stebe is two sets to love up in the final qualifying round against Ryan Harrison and must be heavy favourite to qualify for the main event. The German number 18 at 204 in the world, he is one of 23 Germans you pass in the rankings before reaching the British number 3. I am not entirely sure why we even bother.

2011 has been a promising year for CMS, and he has risen nearly 200 places in the rankings. He has had decent results on the challenger tour, reaching the final in the Kyoto Challenger in March. CMS had his most impressive performance last week in Halle, winning through three qualifying rounds to reach the first round proper. In the first round, he took a set off Philip Kohlschreiber but was eventually defeated. His showing in the Wimbledon qualifiers suggest a decent grass court pedigree and he should be one to watch, barring a massive, womens tennis esque collapse tomorrow against Harrison.

Verdict: Won't win Wimbledon


So there we have it. My Wimbledon predictions are that Mikhail Kukushkin, Pere Riba, Carlos Berlocq and Cedrick-Marcel Stebe will not be lifting the Wimbledon trophy two weeks on Sunday. You heard it here first.