If Rafael Nadal plans on lifting a first Wimbledon trophy since 2010, he’ll have to do it the hard way.
The Spanish world No.2, seeded No.3 at the All England Club this coming Fortnight, has multiple potential landmines in his path and it will take him a mighty effort to revive his glory days at the All England Club.
Between 2006 and 2011, Nadal reached five Wimbledon finals from five appearances (he skipped 2009 through injury), winning the title in 2008 and 2010.
He wouldn’t make it past the fourth round in his next five trips to south west London but enjoyed a memorable return to the semi-finals last year, playing his part in one of the best matches of 2018 with a two-day, five-set defeat to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Fresh off of a record-extending 12th Roland-Garros crown, Nadal did not play an official grass court event ahead of Wimbledon, but had a couple of exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Club, losing to Marin Cilic and Lucas Pouille.
The Spanish 18-time Grand Slam champion opens his Wimbledon campaign against Japanese qualifier Yuichi Sugita, whom he has never played before.
Looming in the second round is a possible blockbuster against Australian former quarter-finalist Nick Kyrgios, whose breakthrough came against Nadal at the All England Club in 2014 when he shocked the Mallorcan in the fourth round. Kyrgios was 19 and ranked just 144 in the world at the time.
The Canberran has a 3-3 head-to-head record against Nadal, which includes a Kyrgios win en route to the Acapulco title earlier this year. The 24-year-old is probably the most dangerous unseeded player in the draw, with his devastating serve posing a serious threat to any opponent.
If Nadal reaches the third round, the likes of two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 2011 quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic, or No.29 seed Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov lie in wait.
Tsonga is returning to form following an injury layoff and almost beat Roger Federer in Halle a week ago. Tomic is dangerous on grass while Shapovalov is a NextGen lefty who secured a stunning win against Nadal in their first meeting in Canada in 2017.
An intriguing clash with 2017 runner-up Cilic could take place in the fourth round for Nadal, who looked impressed by the Croatian’s game in their exhibition on Wednesday.
Should he survive his first four rounds, Nadal could play No.5 seed Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, which would be a rematch of their 2018 and 2019 French Open finals. Thiem is 4-9 in career meetings with Nadal but he has never defeated the Spaniard at a Grand Slam.
The Austrian’s best results have come on clay but he has made significant improvements on other surfaces and is getting more and more comfortable in his showdowns with Nadal.
Sharing the same half of the draw with eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer, Nadal could play the Swiss in the semi-finals, just like they did at Roland-Garros a few weeks ago.
The duo have not squared off on grass since their epic five-set thriller in the 2008 Wimbledon final, which is considered one of the greatest matches of all time.
If Nadal makes it to his first Wimbledon final since 2011, No.1 seed defending champion Djokovic could be the man waiting for him there.
With a route like that, a title triumph for Nadal at Wimbledon this year could prove to be his greatest achievement to date.
