[Emma Jean]

Andy Murray at Wimbledon 2013. Yes, you got that right. We are here and we are queer. Okay, maybe not queer but let’s make it memorable. So I am going to get it started right here. A bit early but we are excited at the upcoming potential. Why shouldn’t we be?

Now what do we know about this event and Andy Murray? Wiki would tell you, Wimbledon is simply the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game's original surface, which gave the game its original name of "lawn tennis". Simply put, it is the Mother of the most beautiful sport in the world called Tennis.

What about Andy Murray? And what is his credential on grass, and Wimbledon in particular? Let’s have a look. He has 4 titles on grass – 3 Queens (250 event) and 1 Olympics. He couldn’t participate in the 2007 Wimbledon due to wrist injury but in 2008, he made the qtr-final losing to Nadal in straight sets.  From 2009 to 2011, Andy has made 3 consecutive semi –finals, in which he lost to Roddick in 2009 in a 5 set thriller; in 2010, he lost to Nadal again in straight sets. In 2011, he saw another loss to Nadal but this time he was able to snatch a set from him. Yay! Okay, so maybe not yay but at least some progress. As fans, we have seen him progress the most just last year when he made the most progress making the final for the first time and then eventually losing to Federer in a very exciting match. We blame the roof for this debacle however.

So here we are once again. 2013 Wimbledon is just next week and the draws are set to come out on Friday, June 21. So what will it be this time? Who will stand in Andy’s way? Or is he going to be victorious? Who has the most potential to take him out? Judging by the history it should be Nadal but then again, Nadal’s last two years’ record on grass isn’t all that great. And then we have Federer, a man who stopped Andy the most in Major finals. And there’s Djokovic but Andy has yet to play him in Wimbledon. What will that be should they meet? And there are others – Tsonga, Cilic, Berdych etc. who are reasonably good on grass and all the potential early dangers. Let’s not forget the young guns like Raonic, Dimitrov, Harrison etc.

Let the discussion begin!

[Emma Jean]

I don't know if Andy will get it this year but I am sure he will eventually win it. He's such a great player on grass and has worked so hard, it will be a nice validation if he does go on to win it - be it this year or next etc. I am sure it will make Andy very happy.

I will be taking some days off but it will be all very on the go vacation. If a match feels very important, I will take that particular day off etc. Will probably miss most of 1st week though but I can always catch those matches later.

[audie]

For me, EJ - no fixed expectations.  One round at a time, and take it from there.  We all know what he's capable of, and I only hope he can produce that on the given day/days.

oh yes one game at a time ..you never know
what could happen not being negative at all about andy just the facts
,all i can say is c,mon andy  you can do it please.dont think the media should be pressure on him either

[rob92]

Win the whole thing Andy! 

[Emma Jean]

Three things happened after last year's Wimbledon; one, Andy won Olympic title beating Federer in the final in the same venue and had a great support. Two, he won the USO – that elusive Slam he'd been waiting for all this time. So he should be more confident this time around and should have crowd support without a doubt. Three, he’s beaten both Djokovic (in the 2012 USO final) and Federer (at the 2013 AO) semi-final.

What’s working against him is Nadal – the eventual culprit who has taken Andy out of Wimbledon too many times in the past. And they have yet to meet this year and Nadal is looking very strong after the clay season as usual.

However, Andy has the last win over him in Tokyo 2011 where he reduced him to 4 points only in the last and final set of that match. Granted, that was on hard court and Andy already had all the Majors behind him so he did not have the pressure of a Slam then and perhaps, Nadal was a bit jaded after his marathon fight against Djokovic throughout the year.

But as I’ve mentioned already at the beginning, things have changed considerably since then as far as Andy is concerned and Nadal has yet to play this new Andy. And let’s face it, Nadal is still not the defending champion here. You can’t say he won’t be nervous after last year’s debacle where he took a beating to a guy ranked 100. So the early rounds will be dangerous for him but I am sure he’ll keep that in mind too, can’t take anything for granted really. 

Taken all that, it’s still a tough call. The crowd support will be crucial. Against Nadal and Nole, he’ll get the support but against Federer, it’s still not as given. WTF was really a missed one and that came after Olympics and USO, so that part is still a bit mysterious. I do feel this time Andy won’t care or be intimidated by Federer and his support. He’s taken care of business already.  At this point, Wimbledon is a much bigger deal for him – perhaps the biggest.

[rob92]

All Andy has to do is do this again. 

[TheMadHatter]

I have a feeling he may well draw Rafa in the QFs. Which could well make things sticky, especially if he also gets Federer in the SF (although Ferrer in the SF would be an absolute drainer as well, should he make the final).

[ProdigyEng]

I have a feeling he may well draw Rafa in the QFs. Which could well make things sticky, especially if he also gets Federer in the SF (although Ferrer in the SF would be an absolute drainer as well, should he make the final).

Ferrer a drainer, on grass? LOL.