Sky Sports’ pundit Johanna Konta and former Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis discuss all the major talking points ahead of this year’s Grand Slam with 14 British singles players in action.
Two-time former champion Murray will take on fellow British player Ryan Peniston in the first round.
Murray successfully avoided a seed and will be heavily favoured to beat wild card Peniston, who is ranked 267, but then get much tougher, with the winner of that clash taking on either fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or former US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
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“That’s a very strong little section but to be honest with all Grand Slams now, there are no easy matches,” says Konta, will join Sky Sports’ mega line-up ahead of this year’s US Open, which starts on August 28.
“We all know Ryan can play well on the grass because he did very well at Queen’s last year. He’s a very capable player but Sir Andy Murray doesn’t need an introduction to grass.
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“I would still probably pick Andy to come through that just purely based on his experience and also the fact that he’s got a good number of wins on the grass this year.
“Between Thiem and Tsitsipas you would favour Tsitsipas just because of the amount of matches he’s played and general form. I’d love to see a Murray-Tsitsipas second-round match.”
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Murray was always in danger of a nightmare draw after failing in his bid to be seeded for the grass-court Grand Slam, but Konta believes he is still a dangerous presence.
“Being seeded on paper will keep you away from the higher-ranked players for the first few rounds but that’s just the fact how seedings work. However, it’s not the ultimate decider and being able to come through tougher tasks can then generally open up the rest of the draw as well.
“It can have positive and negative aspects and also playing the high-ranked player, remember that they are also finding their feet for the tournament so it’s not always a bad time to play the best players.”
With British No 1 and last year’s semi-finalist Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Liam Broady having all previously performed well at the All England Club, Konta remains positive that the Brits can deliver in the men’s singles.
“Generally, we’ve actually had a good amount of Brits being able to get through this first few rounds and we are getting into a nice habit, and I want to call it a habit, because it’s nice it’s being repeated where we are having those few players come through those first couple of rounds.
“It keeps it interesting for the British public and it keeps it exciting for us and hopefully it would be nice to get one or two through to the second round.”
Losing at Queen’s was a blessing
Image: Murray has been praised for stepping down to the lower-tier Challenger tour
Philippoussis, who lost the 2003 Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, has praised Murray for stepping back and playing lower-tier Challenger events in order to prepare for this year’s Slam.
Murray, 36, skipped the French Open in order to train on the grass and the way he played during back-to-back Challenger Tour titles shows he still knows his way around the surface.
He will go to his home Grand Slam finely tuned and match tight and despite an early exit at Queen’s, his pre-tournament form makes this year his best chance of making the second week at a major since 2017.
“There are some tough matches at those Challenger events and he won two,” said the Australian, who has been working alongside Maria Sakkari. “He played some great matches and although he wanted to do really well at Queen’s, realistically he ended up losing in the first round but I think it was a blessing for him.
“He’s had enough match play. He’s got his grass-court time in before playing next week. He’s looking really good. He’s motivated. He was out and walked by me and Maria about 6pm and he was serving by himself on one of the courts, which shows where his mind is. He’s always looking to find that extra one per cent.”
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Image: Novak Djokovic (right) defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the French Open last month
“Of course Alcaraz can trouble Djokovic He just won Queen’s last weekend,” said Philippoussis.
“Alcaraz is continuing to adjust to the grass and always working hard to improve while what Djokovic has done at the first two Grand Slams of the year, he’s looking to do the calendar Grand Slam and he’s got a shot at it without a doubt.
“Djokovic is just a step above – especially on the grass.”
British women fight back
Image: Katie Boulter won her maiden WTA title in Nottingham
The British women took a lot of flak for their absence from the main draw at the French Open but they have responded in style.
They produced a record-breaking performance at Nottingham, where Katie Boulter emerged triumphant ahead of fellow Brit Jodie Burrage in the final, with Heather Watson also making the semi-finals and Harriet Dart getting to the last eight, with Dart also having a good run in Birmingham.
Watson got to the fourth round last year and Boulter made it to the third, so there is recent history of relative success at Wimbledon and several of the British women will be looking forward to the possibility of a deep run.
“I don’t think it would be outlandish to see them doing well,” said 2017 Wimbledon semi-finalist, Konta.
“Overall our girls have got a good amount of grass-court tennis under their belts so I’m really excited about seeing them. They’ll be pumped to be playing and draws are never easy and Grand Slams are never easy.
“Anything can happen in those first few matches and I’m looking forward to the level that they can bring.”
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Great seeing Woz back in tennis
Image: Caroline Wozniacki is making a comeback after retiring in 2020
Former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, the 2018 Australian Open champion, announced that she is returning to competition three years after she retired.
Wozniacki, who turns 33 next month, has not played since the 2020 Australian Open, but Konta things it’s “brilliant” she’s back with the Dane handed a wild card into this year’s US Open.
“The fact that she has the motivation and desire to do that, having the infrastructure around her to make that happen is brilliant. Well done to her and well done to her family because it is a family commitment. It’s wonderful to see them go on the journey together and I think it will be brilliant to see her back.
“She was always great to watch and an amazing competitor and an amazing athlete and those are the two qualities that she will bring back to the tour.”
Sourse: skysports.com
