Alessandro Benedetti’s Wimbledon Predictions

I may be a football fanatic but that doesn’t mean that I don’t get a little caught up with the impending hype and excitement that surrounds Wimbledon. As with all sports, I am interested, and make it my business to watch most of the matches and find it interesting watching the form and predicting who might win.

Of course the hot topic is whether Andy Murray will take the title as he is on sizzling form this season. The best way to analyse this question is to look at the contenders.

Djokovic has, as usual, not played a grass court warm-up tournament this season, which is perhaps an odd tactic, but one which he has used successfully in the past ahead of his Wimbledon titles in 2011 and 2014. And given that he has been head-and-shoulders above the rest of the world for most of the season, he will head to Wimbledon as the hot favourite. As always he approaches the tournament with a cool, calm attitude and was seen relaxing on the beach in Spain last week.

Many consider Federer to be past his peak but we must not forget that he is still the world number two, well ahead of Murray on points, and he barely broke a sweat in winning the ATP Halle grass tournament this week. If Federer has one more major in him, there is little doubt that it will come at Wimbledon where his combination of grace and deft shots always seem particularly well-suited.

It's hard to dismiss Rafa Nadal completely as he has been such a powerhouse in the past. But he hasn't made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon since he was runner-up four years ago, and given that he is experiencing one of the worst seasons of his professional career he can perhaps be dismissed from the running.

So watch this space! More of Alessandro Benedetti's sport musings soon!