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Wimbledon: Kyrgios, Murray, Van Rijthoven… They can shake the seeds

We can expect a lot

Pays : Australia
Age : 27 ans
ATP Ranking: 45e
Best result at Wimbledon: Quarter-final in 2014
Wimbledon 2021 : 3e tour

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Watch the Eastbourne ATP tournament this week on Eurosport

Do you still need to present it? Driven and focused, Nick Kyrgios poses a threat to everyone on the circuit, including monsters Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The observation is all the more true on grass where the explosive tennis of the Australian expresses itself particularly well. Moreover, Nadal had learned it the hard way in 2014 during a round of 16 which had revealed Kyrgios, then 19 years old, to the general public. Their paths crossed again in 2019 for a second round hung and won in four rounds by a relieved Mallorcan. This season, the Aussie seems all the more dangerous as his preparation has been serious – two halves in Stuttgart and Halle -, even if a small abdominal scare in Mallorca could darken his prospects.

Tweener, amortized, underhand serve … Kyrgios feasted against Carreno Busta

Pays : Britain
Age : 35 ans
ATP Ranking: 51e
Best result at Wimbledon: Victory in 2013 and 2016
Wimbledon 2021 : 3e tour

In addition to being one of his greatest friends on the circuit, Andy Murray has one thing in common with Nick Kyrgios: for the past ten days, he has been suffering from abdominal pain. By ignoring Queen’s, he has put the odds on his side and should line up well at Wimbledon. If he is indeed at 100% of his means, the former world number 1 will be one to watch closely. In the final in Stuttgart where he only lost to Matteo Berrettini, he regained a very high speed of movement despite his metal hip and a high level of play – Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas can attest to this. If he had not been injured at the end of the match, he might be seeded. Thanks to his knowledge of the grass game, the support of the British and the return of Ivan Lendl to his side, he could well make a breakthrough.

“If Murray and Lendl collaborate again, it means that something else can happen”

They are dangerous because atypical

Pays : Kazakhstan
Age : 25 ans
ATP Ranking: 39e
Best result at Wimbledon: 3rd round in 2021
Wimbledon 2021 : 3e tour

His pedigree is less impressive than those of Kyrgios and Murray and the consistency of his inconstancy (or the predictability of his unpredictability as “Sir Andy” said of him) probably scares the very best of them less. Still, when Alexander Bublik catches fire, there’s often little else to do but weather the storm, especially on grass where his first ball and touch take their toll. Grigor Dimitrov was thus trapped in the second round at the All England Club last year, before Hubert Hurkacz stopped the whimsical native of Gatchina in Russia. In Grand Slam, Bublik has never really broken through (this 3rd round is his best result), but playing him in the 1st round is not reassuring.

Cilic comes after Bublik

Pays : UNITED STATES
Age : 25 ans
ATP Ranking: 60e
Best result at Wimbledon: None
Wimbledon 2021 : None

Its presence in this list may surprise at first glance. After all, Maxime Cressy will play a big draw this year for the first time in his career at Wimbledon, after failing in the final round of qualifying last year. But in recent months, the American of French origins has reached a real milestone, with his entry into the Top 100 and a round of 16 at the Australian Open. And his server-volleyball style, endangered on the circuit, made him dangerous on the slippery turf of the All England Club in the first week. In half at Eastbourne this week, he offered himself Reilly Opelka, Daniel Evans and Cameron Norrie, two members of the Top 20 and… three seeds at Wimbledon. It will therefore have to be monitored.

Maxime Cressy at Eastbourne in 2022

Credit: Eurosport

Pays : France
Age : 33 ans
ATP Ranking: 73e
Best result at Wimbledon: Round of 16 (2013, 2017 and 2018)
Wimbledon 2021 : 1er tour

His game has always been expressed wonderfully on grass. And it would not be surprising if Adrian Mannarino is the Frenchman who goes the furthest at Wimbledon, as has happened to him in the past. Three times, he tasted the second week, dismissed in particular by Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. He had also almost brought down the Swiss – admittedly diminished but still a quarter-finalist – at the start last year, before giving up due to a fall (6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-2, ab.). His grazing shots in the exchange, his mastery of short cross angles, his left-handed sliced ​​serve and the false rhythm he can impose on his opponents make Mannarino a poison on grass. At ‘S-Hertogenbosch this year, Alex de Minaur was able to verify this.

Medvedev battled Mannarino to make it through to the final: highlights of his win

They impressed in preparation

Pays : Netherlands
Age : 25 ans
ATP Ranking: 105e
Best result at Wimbledon: None
Wimbledon 2021 : None

Before June, his name probably meant nothing to many people. Tim van Rijthoven hadn’t won a single match on the circuit and was not in the Top 200. But at ‘S-Hertogenbosch he turned everything upside down. The Dutchman went for the title by triumphing in particular over Taylor Fritz (then 14th in the world), Félix Auger-Aliassime (9th) and Daniil Medvedev, swept away in the final (6-4, 6-1) before recovering the number 1 spot. world the next day. The Dutchman’s one-handed backhand slice and forehand power, as well as his serve, are lethal weapons on grass. Wimbledon therefore hastened to invite the sensation. And if Van Rijthoven stays on his momentum, beware of the unlucky who will inherit it in the 1st round. A fate at the Karatsev of the Australian Open 2021 is not to be ruled out.

The delusional stat that sheds light on the van Rijthoven phenomenon

Pays : Britain
Age : 26 ans
ATP Ranking: 147e
Best result at Wimbledon: None
Wimbledon 2021 : None

Like Tim van Rijthoven, Ryan Peniston is the other great story of recent weeks on grass. Also out of nowhere, invited to Queen’s and Eastbourne, he ignited the British public with two consecutive quarters. But beyond these raw results, he especially beat players like Casper Ruud, member of the Top 5, and Holger Rune who will also be part of the top seeds at Wimbledon. Left-handed like his idol Rafael Nadal, Peniston is a fighter who survived childhood cancer. His career and his character have made him one of the darlings of spectators in recent days and he also obtained a wild card at Wimbledon. To face him from the start with the pressure of a whole people could be tough, even if the distance of the five sets is unknown to him.

After his adventure at Queen’s, Peniston overthrows Rune in Eastbourne: the summary

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