Canadian Chances at Wimbledon 2022
THAT time of year is here again. The tennis world transforms into historical theater on the grounds of Wimbledon.
Many people call it the best time of the tennis year.
Historically, Canadians have done pretty decently at The Championships. In recent memory we look to Genie Bouchard and Milos Raonic making the finals in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
Denis Shapovalov made the Semi-Finals last year.
What can we expect from Canada’s best at Wimbledon this year?
Bianca Andreescu’s “New Love” For Grass
As we all know, Bianca Andreescu is a couple of months into her comeback to professional tennis. Coming off a clay swing where she seemed to gain more form with each event, I wasn’t exactly sure how she felt on the grass.
“I’m starting to love [grass]” Bianca told me in Berlin and she cited her coach Sven Groeneveld as reason for her new found appreciation for the surface.
In Berlin she served for the match against former Wimbledon Finalist Karolina Pliskova before losing in a 3rd set tie-break. Showing dominant baseline form in that match, she took great form into Bad Homburg WTA250 where she made the final, also having chances to win.
Coming into Wimbledon, Andreescu has good reason to believe she can beat most players as she’s only lost to players in the Top 15 since her comeback in 2022 and beating 3 in the meantime.
Felix Auger-Aliassime Wimbledon 2022 Draw
Felix’s new firepower is something I cannot wait to see on the Wimbledon grass. Over the last 12 months since he made the QFs here at Wimbledon, FAA has pumped up his serve + one to world best levels.
Making the SFs at US Open and the QFs in Australia (losing to Medvedev both times) proved that he’s an elite force on quicker surfaces.
At the French Open, Felix came to the net 54 times against eventual champion Rafa Nadal in his 4th Round loss. That was a tactic that brought him 2 games from victory, and one that should prove very effective if they meet in the QF of Wimbledon.
Felix has a tough draw with the potential to play Cressy R1, Sock R2, Evans R3, and either Cilic or Fritz R4, Felix has got a tough route even to face Rafa in the quarters.
Felix CAN do it, but it will be interesting to see how he navigates his path.
The North of the Net team discuss Canadian chances at Wimbledon 2022.
Can Shapovalov Stop Slump at Wimbledon?
Last year’s Semi-Finalist Denis Shapovalov is coming into Wimbledon on a 6 match losing streak after beating Rafa Nadal back in Rome.
Denis told me that he felt the pressure from the points being taken away from Wimbledon by the ATP in response to the banning of Russians/Belarusians from Wimbledon.
Shapovalov was excited for the grass after a first round exit at Roland Garros. But that excitement didn’t help as he lost to Oscar Otte in Stuttgart, Tommy Paul in Queens, and Benjamin Bonzi in Mallorca.
In the 5 set format at Wimbledon, he will hope to rely on his weapons and experience to get through the first round and then pick up momentum.
Watch our chat in Stuttgart at the Boss Open in early June:
Marino Playing 1st Wimbledon Main Draw Since 2011
Rebecca Marino is into the Wimbledon main draw for the 1st time since 2011. She is proud of the fact that her #104 world ranking was enough to get her a direct entry.
She plays Kawa from Poland in R1 and that match is currently suspended due to rain. If she manages to get through Kawa, she will play #3 seed Ons Jabeur in R2.
Follow Stephen @theslicestephen on Twitter for updates from the ATP/WTA Tour.