Wimbledon: The draw
Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/ AFP/ Getty Images
The draw for Wimbledon was completed this morning. You can find an html version here and a pdf one here. Can you guess where the top four ended up? Yep: Federer in Djokovic’s half and Murray’s in Rafa’s. What the heck are the odds of that happening again? If the top seeds all make it through to the quarters, we’d have Djokovic/Berdych, Federer/Tipsaravic, Ferrer/Murray and Nadal/Tsonga.
Rafa will start his 2012 Wimbledon quest by playing Thomaz Bellucci. Seeds in his quarter include Kohlschreiber, Dolgopolov, F Lopez, Fish, Tomic, Wawrinka and Tsonga. Seeds in the top quarter of his half are: Murray, Anderson, Raonic, Cilic, Del Potro, Nishikori, Roddick, and Ferrer. Seeds in the top half are: Djokovic, Stepanek, Granollers, Monaco, Almagro, Gasquet, F Mayer, Berdych, Federer, Benneteau, Verdasco, Simon, Isner, Seppi, Youzhny, and Tipsarevic.
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No surprise there then, could have been a worse draw.
Hi All, this is my first post here although I’ve been a regularly visitor to this site for the past few years. I love this site and the work done by Miri (if I may) and love reading the comments by all you fellow Rafafans. My husband thinks that I’m completely bonkers being so tennis obsessed( I have watched pretty much all Rafa singles matches in the past couple of years) and its a great relief to find like minded people here. Its better to be crazy together than crazy alone!
I think the draw is a tough one. Rafa should be able to dispatch Belluci fairly easily. I don’t like that idea of him facing Dodig possibly in the next round. Has he ever played Dodig since that strange loss to him in Cincinnati last year? I’m picking Tommy Haas to take out Kohlschreiber and meet Rafa in round 3. I think Rafa will beat Haas more easily that if he were to face Kohli. Haas is playing great but don’t think he can play great over best of 5 v/s Rafa. Round 4 could be really exciting, especially if Brian Baker makes it through. I love Feli and Dolgo, but Feli’s had a crap year. Dolgo looked good in the exhibition match versus Delpo yesterday, but as always he is too erratic. I would love Lleyton to take out Tsonga in the first round, but its highly unlikely:(. Tsonga did injure his pinkie in Queens but don’t know how much that will bother him.
Can’t wait for the tournament to begin and hope to watch Rafa biting that trophy in two weeks time! It won’t come easy but he can do it!
Also, if any of you are planning to camp overnight at SW19 in order to get tickets, let me know, I’m thinking of doing it with my sister.
Apologies for this super long post and also if some things are off topic!
Welcome to you Aryani!
Hey, question for you; how tough is it to get tickets to a Wimbledon match? In the coming years i’d love to come to England during the summer and see a match. I know you probably wouldn’t know exact figures, but what would be a good estimate for how much one could expect to pay? Can they be scalped (scalped may be an American term, not sure if its an English term, but where you buy them off someone trying to get rid of them on-line or on the grounds of SW 19)
Would love to know. Maybe i should just shoot for the US Open! :)
Joel I have tried to get tickets for Wimbledon (I am in NY) for the past couple of years through their lottery system but luck has not been on my side. Getting tickets the easy American way is not that easy for Wimbledon. Though I have heard people say that if you line up the morning of you can get the tickets and also believe that a few tickets go on sale every evening for games the next day. I would not venture to the UK from the US to watch Wimbledon without having tickets in hand. So i have hesitated to go with these two options at hand.
I did visit the Wimbledon museaum once when the tourney was not on and vented to the tour guide about my luck with the lottery. She said one in four get lucky and since I failed for 3 years luck was around the corner :)
The USO is fairly straight forward you can get tickets on ticketmaster or stubhub. You just have to log on the minute they go on sale.
If others here have inputs on getting Wimby tickets I would greatly appreciate.
JK, I went to Wimbly last year & saw Rafa play his 1st match on Centre Court as defending champion. It was amazing. I did a write-up for this site so you should find it in the archives. If you’re prepared to start queuing early morning ie 7am & then camp that night you are more than likely to be in the first 1500 who get to choose which court they can get tickets for. 1500 tickets are reserved for queuing/campers every day for Centre/Court1 & Court2. If you’re No 500 or less you get to choose any of these best courts. We arrived 1st Sunday at 7am and were No’s 110 & 111 in the queue so easily got to see Rafa the next day. The whole queuing/camping thing is very well organised & a good laugh as everybody there is a devoted fan of some player or other, although some are more crazy than others. I know it’s a long way from the US but if you combine it with a holiday & you see Rafa play it’s well worth it. By the way we paid £40 each for our tickets & saw 3 matches on centre court.
I went to Wimbledon last year on Finals day. Had tickets to No. 1 court and made my friend sit on No.2 court to watch the Final on screen with Spanish fans behind us. It was both electric and sad not to see Rafa win. This year we have No.1 court tickets for the semi-finals day and God willing Rafa will be around so might catch a glimpse. We were very lucky getting the tickets in the Draw but had to apply last August for them. Wimbledon is a very special tournament and I’m glad we made it.
Wow, that’s not bad at all! I was expecting it to be considerably more expensive!
Hopefully in the next couple of years, as father time will catch up to Rafa.
Thx for the feedback!
Joel and JK, if I were you, I won’t hesitate coming all the way from the US to Wimby even if I don’t have tickets at hand. As long as you’re prepared to camp out overnite, or maybe 2 nites, you’d definitely get Centre court tickets. As Karen have pointed out, first 500 on the queue would be able to choose between Centre, Court 1, Court 2. A total of 1500 tickets for the 3 show courts. Of course, the earlier you are, the better your chances are of getting Centre court tickets.
If you want to shoot for the middle Saturday which I think is the busiest day, queuing up starting Friday 10am to around 12noon is still safe to get Centre court tickets. For the middle Monday, it’s safer to start queuing up on Saturday evening because some of those who watched on Saturday would queue up right after the Sat matches are over (around 9pm).
You won’t be disappointed because the camping experience in itself is fun! =)
The ticket price you pay is at face value (check the Wimby website) so it’s really good value. Plus they’re prime seats!
Just make sure you read all about the rules on their website regarding camping/queuing and buying tickets (no credit cards, just cash!!). Enjoy! =)
Thanks JK!
I bet the visit to the Wimby museum was pretty cool! I’d love to visit the UK, even if i can’t make it to Wimbledon.
Do you happen to know when tickets for the USO typically go on sale?
It wouldn’t be a possibility this summer, but perhaps next. When do they typically go on sale, it right after the ending of the previous years tournament? (in other words, would tickets for 2012 gone on sale just after the conclusion of the 2011 tournament?)
Thanks to everyone for the feedback!
Joel – They typically go on sale in June. So for 2012 the tickets went on sale on ticketmaster couple of weeks ago.
If you have an AMEX card then you are eligible for presale. You can always try stubhub if you can pay a little more.
Thank you everyone for sharing your Wimbledon experiences. I will look into it for coming years :)
Asite called ticket master is selling them at the moment, you can go into a ballot but it doesn’t guarantee you centre or no.1 court tickets!
Looks like he has perhaps the 2nd toughest quarter, Murray’s being the toughest. At the same time, i’d far prefer he only having to play either Federer or Djokovic, as opposed to having to play both of them, which both of those guys have to now take on, playing each other, then possibly Rafa for all the marbles. I like it, hope he can play his way into the tournament early, get into a rhythm, and STAY HEALTHY.
Vamos!
Well it is what it is. One match at a time, day by day. I’m glad he drew Murray, he is still suffering with a back problem so may not make it that far,sadly. Rafa has avoided the big servers in his quarter which is a plus so can’t wait til Monday. I’ have tickets for Wimbledon,court 1 next week but I am sure Rafa will not be playing that day sadly, but I may get to see him on the practice courts. It is my first visit to Wimbledon , it’s my favourite slam and I’m sure it will be a great day out.
I can’t wait til Monday.
Enjoy!!
Hope you enjoy your day at Wimby and that you get to see Rafa in the flesh – even on the practice court he is awesome.
Have seen Rafa once at the ATP tour finals in 2010 against andy Murray ,great match . Have been to the finals in London usually semi finals day every year do far but giving it a miss this year,. Am I gonna regret that? I will if Rafa gets through. Wimbledon will be a change , always wanted to go for the experience.
Oh enjoy Sharon, I went last year, loved it!
Hum..Tomy Has or Kohlschreiber in possible 3 roud…Hope Rafa has his game on by that time…
Just noticed that Kohlschreiber retired today in Eastbourne while down a set against Seppi so maybe he’s not 100%. I’m not worried about him in a best of 5 sets.
Any idea when Rafa’s first match will be?
99% Tuesday
thanks, hope so
Tuesday, I think, because Nole will play Monday (he is the last champion and he will open the show).
The draw it’s not easy but it’s not that tough. Match by match, day by day. Vamos Rafa.
I hope that our Rafa brings his good form from RG to Wimby with him. Looking forward to seeing him play great tennis and enjoying the grass courts.
One match at a time – vamos & God bless our Rafa.
I hate all draws; they all have pitfalls and leave me too much time to overthink them. Good thing I’m not a pro tennis player!
We all take comfort in the fact that Rafa is very good at focusing on the here and now, on compartmentalizing. Still, I’m glad he doesn’t have to go through Fedole. Just wish Tsonga were on the other side. Pressure is building for everyone, though, and best of 5 I think is always an advantage to Rafa.
I’ll be curious to see how Haas, Delpo, and Murray do with their injuries/fitness. Murray can take it all the way to finals, but I doubt he will; Roger is still a big question mark for me, too. In the last 24 months, the psych issues for all the players has seemed to get greater with every slam.
I hope Novak has been stewing in his juices these last two weeks. I want him nicely nervous and tetchy. Tsonga, too. Oh, who am I kidding, I want them all jumpy as cats in cactus — except for Rafa. Vamos!
Cats in cactus! Lol!! Totally agree.
Hope Rafa has been practicing the shots he needs to improve to have a shot to go to the finals, namely the serve and the return.Grass court tennis favors the aggressive player and good servers. Look at the dominant champions of the last few decades-Federer, Sampras, Becker.Borg was an anomaly and that fact gives me some hope for Rafa to go far, but it won’t be easy.He’ll make us suffer and wonder how he’s going to deal with some of his rivals.His lost to Kohlschreiber, someone who has never beating him before, proves that Rafa can be defeated by almost anybody.
Les, with all respect, Rafa knows better than any of us how he needs to train and practice and what he needs to improve. This man has had many years at the top, has made incredible runs at every GS, including Wimbledon, is feeling and looking good by his own estimation, and has the fortitude that probably all of us lack.
Yes, on any given day anyone can lose to anyone, but warm-up matches in Halle or Queens are not to be taken too seriously.
This worrying about whether Rafa and Toni have properly prepared is perhaps natural among us, who are not privy to our man’s circle, who aren’t pros, and who are emotionally vested in his success, but it’s not realistic. Spare your nerves and at least wait until he’s on the court in a challenging match to start agonizing.
I agree that Rafa will have used Halle as grass practice, nothing else.
Wimbledon is a completely different class of tournament for him & once there in The Zone I’m 100% sure he’ll do absolutely everything in his power to play well enough to win it for a third time.
After all he is Rafa.
Thanks for the reply. I do worry because Rafa, although a top player, is not a dominating player that gives you that confidence that he’ll come through no matter the circumstances-Roland Garros 2011 excepted where he came back from the brink i a fuve-setter match.Rafa’s game is not offensive enough and doesn’t have the punch in those keystrokes I mentioned above-the serve and the return. He’s happy standing back to receive with the intention to get the ball back. Compare Djokovic % wins on the return after the first strike.But Rafa has surprised us so many times that I have to accept that is his pattern. I hope Fed can take care of Djokovic and see if Rafa can meet him ib the finals. Federer was overwhelming today: triple 6-1 sets.
We’ll have to agree to disagree then on Rafa’s style; plenty of folks have found him dominating, I think, including this year.
As for Fed today — that was shooting fish in a barrel.
Good luck Rafa! You can do It!
Miri, fyi, the Bottom mobile theme on button does not respond, if one try to finger switch it. I don’t know if one can change the format to the original computer format. Thanks
It seems that no one picked Nadal to win Wimbledon. Fed seems to be the favourite, Nole next. See http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/20120622/wimbledon-2012-roundtable/index.html
Well, everyone over at tennis.com picked Rafa to win, so let’s hope for that:
http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/features.aspx?articleid=18294&zoneid=9
Thanks Maria – I will now watch Wimbledon with greater enthusiasm. I hope that Rafa will win the RG-Wimbledon double again for the 3rd time (tying Borg, though Borg may have won 3 consecutive times).
exactly, rafa is the favourite for this. I see 50-50 chances for fed and nole in finals.. But its rafa all the way.
I doubt if joker keeps his mental state intact coz he must be really tired mentally after having won so much last yr.
Well, some changes now in picks over at SI:
http://tennis.si.com/2011/07/02/experts-predictions-mens-final-2/
oops, that was last year! Sorry.
Good, then. No jinxing from them. ;-)
I like that Rafa’s not under as much pressure to win and beat Novak, which places him in a good position to do so! He can be relaxed, enjoy playing tennis, cook pasta for his team and family in the usual house near the grounds (we know how Rafa likes routine), and maybe thrill us all by lifting that trophy again. Not to get ahead of the first match, Rafa, we know it’s one match (one point) at a time:) Vamos!!! We are happy in every moment for you and we will see what is going on!
Hi
How can I know on which court Rafa will be playing ? Either the 1st rounds or 1/4 or even 1/2 ?? Thank u all
Abdul, Rafa will almost certainly play all his matches on Centre Court or number 1 court. Check the order of play schedule on Wimbledon website which is released late in the day for the next day’s matches. His first match should be Tuesday 26th.
I will be camping out Mondqy night-did it in 2010, started about 1530, will be there sooner this time. Hoping for good weather and healthy Rafa !!! Hope to visit with some of you !
yes i hope the weather improves. It has been dreadful in the UK for several weeks now,rain,rain and more rain.
Although Wimbledon centre court has a roof you cant beat playing/watching tennis in the glorious sunshine.
Wimbledon picks at ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/sports/tennis/picks
Interesting. Only two chose Djokovic, 4 for Roger, 4 for Rafa. And yet Novak is generally regarded as the favorite, even by the bookies, who are giving Roger a much smaller chance of success than the Top Two. I also note that no one picked Haas as a sleeper.
They haven’t updated the success rates for the staff picks, but the top score is basically 0.500. Just reinforces my observation that, in sports, even those who have had solid pro careers can’t see the future any better than a coin flip.
Am I missing something…Why are they referring to Roland Garros and the picks being made by the crew in Paris?
They didn’t bother to update the intro from last month.
But the picks are updated for this Wimbledon. See the dropdown box at the top? You can review their last few pics for previous Slams.
Don’t know about y’all, but i trust the picks of the former pros who have played far more than sportswriters, though no disrespect to them. Add Patrick McEnroe to those picking Nadal, which makes five of them. Noticed Chrissie Evert is picking Fed to win, and that Rafa has the toughest path, according to her. She’s always hated on Rafa, though, so no surprise.
Interestingly Nole is the Vegas favorite despite the draw? You’d think Rafa would gain some ground there since he only has to play either Roger or Nole, while the other two more than likely have to play either other, of course, and hopefully Rafa in the final.
Joel, Chrissie picked Nadal for the French Open and said a lot of nice things about him when she didn’t have to. I mean, picking Nadal was almost a no-brainer, but still …
I agree that former top pros should be more trustworthy than mere sportswriters in forecasting championships, but my observations of such folks in NFL football, baseball, and tennis find that, the farther the old players are from playing, the less successful they are at picking outright winners. (The fail rate increases rather quickly, too, especially for pro football.)
Yeah, in Vegas the odds are still Djokovic 5/4, Nadal 9/4, Fed 9/2, Murray 10/1. In England, Stan James has Novak 7/4, Rafa 5/2, Roger 11/2, Andy 12/1. The bookies don’t seem to care about the draw. They are apparently heavily weighing performance in Slams over last 24 months, without much value for recent performance.
Today was another interview with Roger trumpeting his hunger and ability. I think he’s talking to prop himself up, he hasn’t demonstrated to me that he can go 5 sets toe-to-toe with either Novak or Rafa anymore. Maybe the grass will rejuvenate him, though. No one else has better than a 20-1 chance, acc. to the bookies.
BTW, the odds are overwhelmingly favoring a Djokovic-Nadal final.
Thanks, Melissa, I guess i get frustrated that she (Chrissie) is an unabashed Fed fan, and never picks Rafa on grass or hardcourt. Plus, as a pre-pubescent boy back in the early 80s, i had a crush on Chrissie! :)
I think it would be interesting to see the difference in the success of those old pros who make picks based on those who won majors, and those who did not. I see they are trumpeting the picks of Cliff Drysdale, who has had the most success as of late. Did he ever win any majors, i’m not sure?
I agree w/ you on Federer, and his pumping himself up. I really wonder now if he truly has the belief to get all the way thru. He is pretty routinely getting beaten by Nole, and he hasn’t been Rafa in a slam since Wimby 2007.
Just a few more hours, vamos!
I dimly remember Drysdale playing, but I had to look him up. He won a US Open singles title (against Laver) and a USO doubles title. (Johnnie Mac, for comparison, has 4 USO and 3 Wimbledon singles titles.) Drysdale has the best forecasting record among that crew, and yet he’s been right only 50% of the time. That’s a coin flip.
Well, we’ll see how it goes soon enough.
Vamos, Rafa!
One match at a time guys. I think the biggest threat to all the players will be the terrible summer here in the UK ….. Vamos Rafa!
I’m really happy about this draw for Rafa. You don’t want it too easy, he needs to be stretched to lift his game as much as possible in steps as the tourney progresses – but not too much that he peaks too early (or gets eliminated ha ha).
I think the loss to Kohlschreiber in Halle was purely about first tourney after clay/grass change over – he has had time to practice and to adjust his game by now. He’ll have to pay attention and be dialled in to beat some of these opponents, but he can do that!
I’m nervous about how many people are picking him to win the whole thing – that always makes me feel strange, although of course i hope they are right. Should be some great tennis!!
One more q guys !! Can I go late just for nadals game ? And skip the game before it on the same court ?