Wimbledon 2018

[PKBasu]

A bit premature to start this thread, given that the tournament only starts on July 2nd (and the final is on July 15th).

But we will have an Indian male in the singles main draw for the first time in four years. Yuki, despite his weak first serve, has the game for grass -- a highly effective volley, great ground strokes and even a serve that seems a bit speedier on grass.

We are also guaranteed to have 3 Indian men (Ramkumar, Prajnesh and Sumit) playing in the qualifiers, and most likely an Indian woman too (Ankita Raina).

And of course, the doubles will have lots of Indian men, although Sania will be missing for the first time in 13 years.

[PKBasu]

Yuki is guaranteed to earn a cool £39,000 simply for turning up. Hopefully he will win a round or two as well.
But RamK, Prajnesh and Sumit also have that prize to aim for if they can qualify in.

[S_K_S]

Thinking left field but why not use Lee's expertise on grass and use him as a coach/hitting partner in the lead upto and including Wimbledon?

[PKBasu]

Seems perfectly reasonable, and he should consider partnering Yuki in doubles as well!

[PKBasu]

But I think the probability of a Yuki-Divij partnership at the French Open and Wimbledon is much higher. They have played successfully at the Challenger level before, and now finally are ranked high enough to play the Slams together. Why not do it?

[jayakris]

Totally agree, PKB. They should try. Anyway, Yuki is probably not expecting to go deep at FO in singles. Why not give it a go in doubles? In my opinion Yuki/Divij could be the best doubles pair from India, if they try it together. Not suggesting that Yuki should take doubles seriously now. Just that it is worth it at a one-off event. They may even go deep and make some money if they want.

[sameerph]

Yes, it is a great idea for Yuki and Divij to pair up for French open and Wimbledon. Divij does not have a regular partner and unless he can get a top 30 doubles player to pair, a pairing with Yuki would be better. Also Yuki will not get into doubles draw unless he gets a top 50 singles or doubles player to pair up with.

[PKBasu]

THIS is where we first discussed the idea of a Yuki-Divij doubles partnership for the French Open (and Wimbledon!).

Ramkumar is very likely to be seeded in the Wimbledon qualifiers, since his Antalya points will still be there until the week of the qualifiers. What a long way Indian tennis has come in the past year!

[suresh]

I am greedy. Now I want more players (and wins) in the main draw.

[sameerph]

Qualifying entry lists came out for men and women. RamK, Prajnesh and Sumit comfortable make the cut in mens. In women, initial cut off is 197. With Ankita's current ranking of 208, she should be about 10 or so out from qualies draw. Main draw wild cards are still to be given away which should take 3-4 girls out from the draw and hopefully there will be 6-7 more withdrawals from main/qualifying draw to enable Ankita to make it in.

[Saniapower]

She should stay there. There will be plenty of withdrawals & she will easily get in. She should not do any Prajnesh kind of thing.

[bujilover]

Qualifying entry lists came out for men and women. RamK, Prajnesh and Sumit comfortable make the cut in mens. In women, initial cut off is 197. With Ankita's current ranking of 208, she should be about 10 or so out from qualies draw. Main draw wild cards are still to be given away which should take 3-4 girls out from the draw and hopefully there will be 6-7 more withdrawals from main/qualifying draw to enable Ankita to make it in.

Chances are definitely high for Ankita to get a QD slot.
Brits that are ranked higher in Q-list in line for a MDWC are:
Naomi Broady (120), Katie Boulter(163), Gabriella Taylor (184), Harriet Dart (203).

Bethanie Mattek-Sands(202) might be expecting a MDWC this year after what happened last year. So Ankita will be 4-5 spots out but that might change once injured players opt out (Lucic Baroni has not played anywhere until AO).

[PKBasu]

Many injured players will not drop out before the qualifiers begin; instead, they will wait to drop out after the main draw is announced, so that they can collect half the prize money for playing the first round. So, Ankita's chances of making the qualifying draw are hanging by a thread.

[bujilover]

Madison Brengle gave a walkover to Priscilla Hon this week in R2 of Surbiton Challenger. Seems like she hurt her ankle and might be out of Wimbledon. Few (3-4) more such withdrawals and Ankita will be IN.

[bujilover]

Ankita is now #5 in the ALTs list. Madison Brengle is still listed in the MD entry list. It's always one of our players that has to experience this touch-and-go situation when it comes to Grand Slams.