The absence of last year’s finalists Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has now opened the draw up for the new top seed Andy Murray who looks to make an impact on the English lawns this summer.
Britain’s number one has made huge strides on the clay and he will now want to move that form forward on to the freshly cut grass of Queens.
As number one seed there will be plenty of expectations and pressures on the Scot and faces a tricky first match against either Andreas Seppi or Robby Ginepri, who both have many years experience in the championship.
However the only real threat to a first title on the grass will be three time winner Andy Roddick who is in great form at the moment and may draw him in the final, while a possible semi final against the charismatic Frenchman Gael Monfils may also create difficulties.
The world number three will not be the only Brit in the draw as both Josh Goodall and James Ward have been handed wildcards due their prospering world rankings and recent performances. Although both facing extremely tough encounters with Josh Goodall up against US Open quarter finalist Gilles Muller while James Ward will go toe to toe with former Australian Open finalist and Wimbledon quarter finalist Marcos Bagdatis.
Without wildcards there failed to see any other Brits come through and qualify as the likes of Chris Eaton, Dan Evans and Alex Bogdanovic will now all be hoping for good performances in the qualifiers at Roehampton to have any chance of gaining a place at Wimbledon.
The lack of British contingence is bound to be a worry for the LTA which has failed to see an improvement in the men’s game since last year. The policy of not handing out wildcards to Brits bellow the world’s top 250 has been a positive move although it may take another year before we see the likes of James Ward and Dan Evans coming through and making the grade.
New Look
Commercially though the LTA have been making significant steps to acquire more money towards British tennis. The deal struck with Scottish financial service company AEGON as new umbrella sponsor is exactly what the LTA were looking for to help rebrand the pre Wimbledon tournaments while also investing £25 million into the British game.
The striking blue of the Queen’s club which had long been coated in red will take a bit of getting used to. However this is obviously a new era for the LTA and with Murray rapidly moving up the world game, a win for the Scot would truly send a message out to the British people that tennis is on the up.
By Geoff Berkeley
Pic: http://www.lta.org.uk
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