The draws are finally out and Federer will be looking to defend his crown for a ninth Wimbledon title. Let’s take a look at the players that are the strongest contenders in this year’s tournament.

Roger Federer

Of all the contenders on this list Roger appears to be set up with the easiest draw. An interesting match-up for him does come in the fourth round when he could face Borna Coric who just defeated him in the Halle final last week. In a rematch of last year’s final, Roger’s biggest potential test before the final could come against a surging Marin Cilic in the semi-finals. Regardless, Roger is the outright favorite to win his 21st major.

Rafael Nadal

The two-time Wimbledon champ has not advanced further than the fourth round at the All-England club since 2011 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the finals. The grass court may not have been kind to Rafa in recent years but at one point in his career Nadal made it to five Wimbledon finals in six years. The draw starts out nice for the first three rounds but gets downright brutal in the later ones.

Starting with the quarter-finals he may face Del Potro, Djokovic/Kyrgios/Zverev in the semis, and Federer in the final. The World No. 1 has got his work cut out for him.

Marin Cilic

Last year’s runner-up will be looking for redemption after last year’s loss to Roger Federer. He is coming off of a quality win at Queen’s Club over Djokovic in the final. His draw is not bad at all and wouldn’t face a strong opponent until Raonic in the fourth round, then Dimitrov in the quarter-finals.

All eyes will be on a potential matchup with Roger in the semis. As well as Marin has been playing that match could be an epic one.

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian is still searching to get back to his pre-injury form. He made a huge step in the right direction in reaching the Queen’s Club final where he lost to Cilic in a tight three set match. His half of the draw is going to be a tough one for him though. His road to the final could have him facing rising Brit star Kyle Edmund, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal and then Federer.

Nick Kyrgios

The Australian hasn’t made it past the fourth round of Wimbledon since reaching the quarters in 2014 but is looking like it may be his time. With his powerful serve and great ground game he has all the potential to go deep in the tournament. It is his mental game that has consistently held him back. If he can get past that then he can go far.

The Others

Andy Murray is still a question mark without having much playing time since coming back from hip surgery. He has won the title here twice so anything is possible for the Brit.

Del Potro has had a good year but grass has not been his best surface. He has only made it past the fourth round once in eight tries. The Argentinian is never an opponent to overlook, though.

Alexander Zverev has also had a great year but not much career success at the Grand Slam level. He did finally make it to his first quarter-final at Roland Garros this year and could use that as a stepping stone for further success in London.

Predictions:

Quarter-finals: Federer d. Querrey, Cilic d. Dimitrov, Nadal d. Del Potro, Kyrgios d. Djokovic.

Semi-finals: Federer over Cilic, Nadal d. Kyrgios.

Final: Federer d. Nadal

Featured Image Credit: Thewinin

Photo Credits(in order): Daily Express, BISHO Photos, Daily Express, Daily Express, Daily Express

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