LONDON?This year marks the 125th anniversary of the grass-court tournament at Queen?s Club. Its name has changed several times, but its reputation for predicting Wimbledon champions hasn?t. In the race to make the transition from clay to grass in limited time, this year?s event has?as per tradition?a strong field, bracketed by Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.
First Quarter: Back in 2008, Rafael Nadal rolled straight from Roland Garros through Queen?s and Wimbledon, winning all three titles. If he?s to repeat that feat, he will probably have to go through Ivan Ljubicic and then either Michael Llodra or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga?three players who are capable of doing anything or nothing at all. One would expect Nadal to have little difficulty, but the most interesting aspect of this quarter will be how two potential spoilers, Radek Stepanek and Julien Benneteau, perform. Quarterfinalist: Nadal
Second Quarter: It feels strange to designate this the weakest quarter, given that it contains the defending champion, Sam Querrey, and is bracketed by Stanislas Wawrinka and Gilles Simon. However, Querrey is in a prolonged slump and Juan Martin del Potro, the other big name in this section, has always struggled on grass. It would be an ideal opportunity for Ernests Gulbis, a talented performer on this surface in the past, to regain some claim to relevance. Quarterfinalist: Simon, who is probably the steadiest
Third Quarter: Andy Roddick has been a champion at the Queen?s Club four times in the past, and having had an inglorious season so far, he will be looking to earn some momentum going into Wimbledon. He is lucky in drawing Fernando Verdasco, not doing well of late, as his potential quarterfinal opponent, but with wildcard David Nalbandian and big servers Ivo Karlovic and Kevin Anderson lurking, there are potential minefields in his draw. First he will have to get past a potential meeting with Feliciano Lopez, but Roddick loves these courts. Quarterfinalist: Roddick
Fourth Quarter: Andy Murray may have a dodgy ankle and a broken tooth, but he has no time to nursing his wounds. It?s imperative that he swiftly gets his game in tune, and the biggest potential obstacle in my eyes is possible second-round opponent Xavier Malisse. In the quarterfinals, Murray is likely to meet Marin Cilic, who has all the ability in the world to do well on grass but whose recent form promises little. Quarterfinal: Murray
Semifinals: Nadal to trounce Simon; Roddick to overcome Murray for his semi-annual quasi-redemptive return to relevance
Final: Nadal d. Roddick
Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-features/~3/-sZkvxsRZ4E/
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