Can Andy Murray Win Wimbledon In 2013?

BBC Sports may have given Andy Murray the 'kiss of death' heading into Wimbledon this June. The two-week long championships at the All-England club start today and most of the BBC's pundits have picked a 'fresh' Murray to win his second career Grand Slam and first at Wimbledon.

If Murray does manage to become the 2013 Wimbledon champion, he will be the first British man to succeed since Fred Perry won the tournament in 1936.

The 26-year old has risen to the number two ranking in the world with some fine performances in the past year. He suffered a heart-breaking loss in the Wimbledon final last year against Federer, but then got the Grand Slam 'monkey' off of his back winning the US Open. He followed that success up with a positive start in the 2013 season battling through to the Australian Open, where he lost in four sets to Djokovic.

Murray missed the French Open due to injury. However, reports indicate that he is at full health and he played pretty well winning his main warm-up event at Queen's Club in the past couple of weeks. 

It might be a little far-fetched to suggest that Murray is 'fresh' compared with the competition. There are certainly fitness concerns surrounding Nadal given his recent injury struggles and the strain put on his knees by a tough 2013 French Open. 

There also some reasonably significant doubts about Federer and his game. The 31-year old is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and a seriously dangerous player on grass. However, the evidence continues to pile on that the powers of the biggest Grand Slam winner in the history of men's tennis are waning. The fact is that Federer hasn't really played badly at all in the 2013 season. He just hasn't been able to make a serious impact.

Murray also avoided the potentially tricky quarter-final draw that is Nadal. So perhaps it is understandable that the Brit is being so heavily favoured.

The problem of course is that none of this really considers Djokovic, the current world number one. It's worth noting that Djokovic took hold of the top ranked position of world's tennis. It wasn't given to him. He had one of the best seasons in the history of tennis in 2011. He wasn't too bad in 2012, in fact he was pretty good. This season Djokovic has arguably been back to his very best. He pushed the greatest clay court player of all time to five sets (and a long fifth set) in the semi-final of the French Open.

Djokovic is hungry, has a great grass court game and should be pretty fresh. He also has the sort of draw that should allow him to move through the rounds smoothly building himself up. Djokovic is the man to beat at these championships.

French Open Early Exits Show Heather Watson and Laura Robson Have More To Learn

After just one round of action the British interest in the 2013 French Open is already over. Andy Murray wasn't able to enter the tournament due to an injury and the interest in the women's side of the draw was ended on Wednesday when Heather Watson lost in three sets to Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele.

Earlier in the week both Laura Robson and Elena Baltacha lost in straight sets during first round losses. A bright group of young British tennis players have come up short on clay in the French Open.

Murray is carrying the baton in men's tennis for Britain. The future looks very bright on the women's side of things as well. However, the early French Open losses, particularly for Robson and Watson, show that the young rising stars of British tennis still have plenty to learn.

Watson's loss to a similarly ranked player was particularly disappointing. The 21-year old hadn't played since April after contracting and recovering from glandular fever.

She spent six weeks recuperating at her home in Guernsey and then returned to the practice court for the past few weeks preparing for Roland Garros. In Watson's defence, it was clear that she was struggling to find her game and lacked recent match practice. Rain delays meant that the match originally scheduled to be played on Tuesday was actually played on Wednesday. Watson struggled right off the bat dropping the first set 6-4 in a scrappy affair. In the second set she showed her overall superiority tying the game up at a comfortable 6-2 victory. Watson's play uncharacteristically dropped again in the third set. Her first serve struggled tremendously and she really struggled to get on top of her opponent getting worn down and eventually losing the third 6-4.

Watson will return to the UK for the grass court season hoping to make an impact, but knowing that she will need to find her match groove again if she is going to make an impact at Wimbledon.

Robson is perhaps as much a victim of her own superb performances this season as anything else. The world number 35 entered the first round of the French against Caroline Wozniacki (world number 10) widely being tipped as a good favourite to cause a major upset. In the end it would take Wozniacki just one hour and 11 minutes to wrap up a straight sets 6-3 6-2 victory. The 19-year old was facing an opponent who had lost five straight matches, but she didn't find any sort of rhythm and several of her bigger, attacking shots simply didn't come off.

Both of Britain's young talents had impressed in the first Grand Slam of the year reaching the third round of the Australian Open. Each has also claimed big scalp victories since then as well.

The good news is that the next Grand Slam isn't far away and it is the tournament where British players receive tremendous support. Murray is expected to compete in that tournament and the crowd will be looking at last year's finalist to break through and win a second Grand Slam. That should provide good cover, at least early on, for youngsters Watson and Robson who should learn important lessons from their French failures.

Loss To Djokovic Suggests Nadal's Clay Dominance Under Threat?

When Rafael Nadal stormed to victory at the Indian Wells tournament in his March comeback from an extended knee injury that had seen him miss close to a year's worth of action. His knees had survived the high profile hard court competition and he played the sort of tennis that made success during clay court season seem ominous.

Nadal has won seven of the past eight French Open titles. He didn't win in 2009 when injury prevented him from putting together a serious defence of his title.

However, a loss to Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters Final, a tournament where Nadal has dominated almost without challenge in recent history, suggests just maybe that the Spaniard is a little more vulnerable in 2013.

Nadal's unbeaten run in Monte Carlo was of historic proportions. The 26-year won 47 straight matches. He hadn't lost a game in the competition since 2004.

On Sunday, not only did Nadal lose, but he was looked like he had no answer to the dominant play of his Serbian opponent, world no.1 Djokovic. The 25-year old stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first eventually taking a 1-0 lead in the match with a 6-2 decision in only 45 minutes.

The second set was a tougher affair with Nadal breaking Djokovic early, but his opponent weathered the storm and once again appeared to be dictating the pace by the time the set reached a tie breaker. Djokovic would win that decider 7-1 to take a straight sets win.

Significantly there was no real suggestion of injury from Nadal. In fact, Djokovic entered the game with more fitness question marks having struggled with an ankle ailment earlier in the competition.

It's important not to read too much into one result, but this match does clearly carry some significance. Djokovic has been the top player in world tennis over the past couple of seasons, but ultimately hasn't been able to win a French Open title yet.

The other top players in men's tennis, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, would generally consider clay to be their weakest surface and it's hard to imagine either mounting a serious challenge to Nadal at this year's French, especially considering some of their spring injury troubles.

The Monte Carlo Masters Final was the first time that Djokovic looked capable of moving Nadal around a clay court and seriously stretching him out. The clay court champion looked like he was unable to control the game or pace of the game and frequently was forced into long periods of defensive tennis hanging in the rallies.

The French Open is the final string that Djokovic needs to add to his bow. It is possible that he won't have a better chance than this May with Nadal lacking in recent match practice. Djokovic is in mid-season form and his victory on Sunday should have only wet his appetite for more successes on clay this spring.

You can follow Sebastian Egerton-Read on twitter @SebEread

Rafael Nadal Rocks Tennis World At Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal was out of world tennis for seven months due to knee injuries. Despite the 25-year old's undeniable brilliance, despite his joint fourth most Grand Slam wins (11) and despite the fact that he has won the French Open (7) more times than any other player in tennis history, it just felt like he had been forgotten. Last week's big hard court Indian Wells tournament reminded the tennis world that Nadal is definitely not a man who should be forgotten.

It is  very easy to forget great tennis players in an era where fans are spoiled by greatness. Since Nadal was last on the court a lot has happened in the ever changing landscape of world tennis. Roger Federer won the 2012 Wimbledon championship, a victory that was the 31-year old's first Grand Slam win for more than two years and his first Wimbledon title since 2009. Andy Murray then secured his first ever Grand Slam title when he secured the US Open only a couple of months later. Unquestionably the best player on the circuit without a Grand Slam title up to that point; Murray finally solved his major title goose egg.

After the feel-good stories of Federer and Murray stole the show in the second half of the 2012 Grand Slam season, Novak Djokovic reminded everyone why he is the best player in the world dominating the Australian Open to start the 2013 season.

It seems that there are so many star tennis players in the world that even a player of Nadal's quality can make a comeback with relatively little attention.

Nadal himself deliberately played down expectations ahead of his first hard court tournament for almost a year. Hard surfaces are the toughest on a player's knees and even as the Spaniard was returning to action, there was a suspicion that these early tournaments are a part of his rehabilitation as far as the knees are concerned.

He didn't make a lot of noise in the opening rounds. In fact, he looked distinctly like he was trying to establish himself after spending time on the sidelines. He was taken to tie-breaks and even to a third set; it felt like Nadal would ultimately fall down when tested against the rest of the world's best players.

A quarter-final clash against his long-time arch-rival Roger Federer saw Nadal emerge as with an impressive 6-4 6-2 straight sets victory. However, it was easy to downplay with Federer clearly struggling with a potential back injury.

He avoided both Murray and Djokovic courtesy of the draw and issues something of a warning with a 6-4 7-5 victory over 27-year old Tomas Berdych. The world number six has built up a reputation of being one of the more dangerous hard court players and Nadal appeared to be at full strength dealing with a powerful opponent.

Juan Martin Del Potro booked his final place after a pair of victories over Murray and Djokovic showing off his tremendous power along the way. After losing the first set 6-4, Nadal launched an impressive counter-attack securing his first hard court title since 2010 winning the next two sets 6-3 6-4.

The Indian Wells title clearly signifies the return of Nadal as a real challenger on tennis' world stage. Doubters will point at the fact that he didn't have to match-up against any of the world's other top three players, besides a clearly hampered Federer. He has also decided not to take part in the next tournament in Miami next week.

However, the rest of the tennis world will undoubtedly be worried, especially considering that clay court season in Europe is just about to get under way. Nadal will have a softer surface to play on, which also happens to be his favourite surface.

The current world number four has the perfect opportunity to re-discover his top form and may even start as the favourite to extend his record of French Open titles to eight; he also has the chance to win a fourth consecutive French Open for the second time in his career.

If the 25-year old can stay fit and build up some momentum during the clay court season, then the rest of the world's top players may have something to be concerned about and Nadal may just be ready to compete for top spot in the world rankings again. The world's tennis players have been given a warning shot.

(sports) sport 2013: The editor’s five predictions for the sporting year of 2013

I claim to be no Nostradamus but here are my five predictions for the sporting year of 2013.

1          Man Utd to win the league

While some may say this is an easy prediction to make, Manchester United is not immune to losing leads. Man Utd lost the title on the last day of last season despite holding a substantial lead for some time. However this year, Manchester City appears really shaky and have been run close or beaten convincingly in matches they would breezed through last season. Some may see a late run by Chelsea but I believe it’s not wise to look past united as they when they dominate, they usually win, and when, tellingly, they start badly, they know how to stay in the game long enough to take their chances.

2      Mancini out, Guardiola in

I know the first part of this prediction is a no brainer but the second has some risk of being way off. Mancini will leave at the season as he has failed to improve Man City’s fortunes in the Champions League and the increasing number of lacklustre performances in the league. While most of us don’t have an inside track to the Man City dressing room, it is clear to say that Mancini’s management and press skill have dazzled no one as the Tevez debacle and on-going Balotelli circus have shown.

The appointment of Txiki Begiristain shows City’s intention to acquire the services to the trophy laden former Barcelona coach as  Begiristain recommended Guardiola to takeover from frank Rijkaard over Jose Mourinho back in 2008. Guardiola has not revealed his plan for the future with regards to which club he plan to join in 2013 but the man city does look an attractive position with financial backing and a large and talented squad.

3    Amir Khan to win light-welterweight title

This prediction is risky as the often cited but irrefutable fact of boxing is that reputations are built and destroyed by one punch. 2012 was a year to forget for Amir Khan as he lost his WBA and IBF belts to a controversial points loss to Lamont Peterson and suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of Danny Garcia. However, 2013 will be a kinder year to Khan as under the tutelage of the wise and impressive Virgil Hunter, khan is set to make his way to the top.

Under Virgil Hunter, Khan has worked on his defensive skills that cost him his belts and his pride in brutal fashion. However, the Molina fight at the back end of 2012 showed that training sessions with Hunter are paying off as he used his quick hand speed, reach and footwork to see off Molina as Khan dominated all rounds. While the competition is hotting up in his weight class, Amir Khan reach and speed is arguably the best in the division and adding a defensive component to his game is only going to help him win honours this year.    

4    Aston Villa Going Down

This is the easiest prediction I’ve made so far as Aston Villa look like a team doomed to play in the championship next season. They lack quality and experience in key areas (defence and midfield especially), get outclassed by teams they should beat (last match against Wigan a case in point).

One of the problem that see them go down is that the manager doesn’t seem to have any idea in how to halt the slide as Aston Villa take one beating after the next. Aston Villa Manger Paul Lambert has made some poor signings across the board with the only success being striker Christian Benteke.  Messrs Lowton, Holman and El Ahmadi have not covered themselves but neither has the manager whose policy of buying young energetic players has failed badly.

5      Andy Murray to win a grand slam

This prediction is based pretty simply on the fact that Andy Murray now knows that he can win a major title rather than just believe it as he did before. While his competition is still stiff with Federer, Djokovic and Nadal all gunning for major honours this year, Murray can take of the fact that he can beat all three mentioned as he has in the past. Whether he will win the grand slam that matters the most (Wimbledon) remains to be seen but be sure to watch Murray this year as he goes into the major competition knowing he can best the best.

Agree or disagree with these predictions or have some of your own?  Share your thoughts below and comment.