Wimbledon 2016 men's seed report

Jon Wertheim breaks down the men's seeds at the 2016 French Open and makes his picks for winners, losers and dark horses of the tournament.

Author:
Jon Wertheim
Publish date:
Jun 24, 2016

SI.com's Jon Wertheim breaks down the men's seeds at Wimbledon 2016. Read on for the dark horses, top first-round matchups and predictions, and find the women's seed report here.

1 Novak Djokovic

Right now, he’s Google and everyone else is Bing. If he defends, bring on the Grand Golden Slam hype. Watch out for that Raonic quarterfinal.

2 Andy Murray

Unquestionably, he is the world’s No. 2 player right now. No shame in that. And he has, of course, won Wimbledon before. And he’s the local favorite, a status he’s learned to use to his advantage. And his starring role in the summer sequel “Me and Ivan Part II” ought to fire him with some energy. That said, it’s unclear if all this will matter much when Djokovic is on the opposing side of the net.

3 Roger Federer

The seven-time champ is admirably candid about planning his year so he peaks at Wimbledon. Well, it’s here. Looked a little rusty in the tune-ups, loosing to two Gen Nexters, Thiem and Zverev. But bet against him at your peril. For those with a thing for symbolism, the last time Wimbledon preceded the summer Olympics, Federer won. Then again, he was 30 at the time, not 34. On the plus side, his draw leaves little room for complaint.

4 Stan Wawrinka

Coming off a solid French Open, but it's been an uneven year and he has never been at his best on grass. Could reach his third straight quarterfinal but hard to see much after that.

5 Kei Nishikori

After that blazingly successful 2014 U.S. Open, Nishikori has been awfully quiet in majors. He takes a backseat to no player in the movement department; but his modest pop militates success on grass.

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6 Milos Raonic

Realistically, Djokovic is your champion. But I would take Raonic as my next pick. Not because McEnroe is now in the camp. But because of the improved movement, the level-headed disposition and the serve that should require a permit to possess.

7 Richard Gasquet

The close-but-not-quite kid was a semifinalist last year but then barely offered resistance against Djokovic. This will sound too harsh by an order of magnitude but Gasquet is a lovely guy and beautiful player who might simply not have the constitution to win majors.

8 Dominic Thiem

The newest member of the Top 8 is fresh off a semifinal (demifinal) run in Paris. The poor kid has played a lot of tennis in 2016, but he keeps on winning…

9 Marin Cilic

The 2014 U.S. Open fades and fades. Has regressed to what he was before his lone Slam: a hard-hitting 10-15 guy whose game isn't quite at a level where he can beat the top five. Recalling Marat Safin, his lumbering movement tends to inhibit success on grass. Another quarterfinal run would mean a strong tournament.

10 Tomas Berdych

Lot of volatility in this market. A former Wimbledon finalist who can bang with the best of them. But has to prove he can win 21 sets in two weeks.

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11 David Goffin

On the cusp of the Top 10, Goffin is like an upmarket Gilles Simon who wins with Occam’s Razor tennis. Lacks the power for big Wimbledon success but a player to watch.

12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Even at full health—which is seldom the case—there’s an unmistakable sense that, sadly, he’s deep into the back nine of his career.

13 David Ferrer

Sadly, at 34, he’s slowing down a bit, as evidenced by his expulsion from the Top 10. But we say it again: now’s a good time to credit him for his career. Tennis’ ultimate talent maximizer?

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14 Roberto Bautista Agut

A vexing opponent who’s better on grass than you might expect.

15 Nick Kyrgios

A few lapses notwithstanding, over the last 90 days, his tennis has overshadowed his antics. Game translates well to grass. He likes the big stage. His draw is hardly unreasonable. Week two a definite possibility.