Andy’s only fourth favourite this year!
Cilic has better shot of victory at Wimbledon, says Ivanisevic
ANDY MURRAY is behind Marin Cilic as ‘fourth favourite’ to retain his Wimbledon title, according to t he Croatian’s compatriot and ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic.
He believes Murray is struggling for confidence following a largely wretched year, which culminated in him suffering a shock first-round defeat by world No 90 Jordan Thompson at Queen’s on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Cilic has excelled in reaching the final of the Wimbledon warm-up event where he will face Feliciano Lopez today, much to the delight of the 2001 Wimbledon wildcard champion Ivanisevic.
He reckons his former charge can ‘surprise everybody’ and emerge as a leading contender next month, along with ‘strong favourite’ Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
‘He plays very well on grass, but nobody talks about him,’ said Ivanisevic, who guided Cilic to his only Grand Slam at the 2014 US Open, and three consecutive Wimbledon quarter-finals from 2014 to 2016.
‘ He’s got the game, it’s just an issue of mentally how he’s going to cope with the pressure.
‘If he continues to play aggressively, the only way he can play, he can be very dangerous there.
‘For the moment, he [Murray] is my fourth favourite. Murray’s lost confidence. He’s not hitting the ball well enough. I’m thinking about the form, the way they’re playing and how they can do. But who knows how it’s going to turn out?’
Iv anise vic insists Murray’ s Queen’s humbling ‘ doesn’t mean anything’ in relation to his prospects of winning a third Wimbledon, but admitted: ‘I was a little bit surprised, to be honest, that he’s not able to find his form yet.’
The struggling Scot has claimed only one title this year — at Dubai in March — and suffered disappointing losses to the likes of Fabio Fognini ( world No 29), Mischa Zverev ( No 5 0 ) , Borna Coric (No 59), Vasek Pospisil (No 129).
This contrasts sharply with his triumphant 2016, which ended in him becoming world No.1 for the first time after securing his second Olympic and Wimbledon titles.
‘Last year he was returning better, putting pressure on everybody and was more aggressive,’ said Ivanisevic, who was fired as coach by Tomas Berdych this month after a 10-month stint with the world No 14. ‘Andy was returning unbelievably. Now he’s a bit out.
‘Players believe they can hurt him. That’s the worst thing that can happen: he’ s not untouchable anymore.’
But Ivanisevic is convinced Murray’s slump is only temporary given his enduring class, which he showed in flashes when reaching the French Open semi-finals this month. ‘He has two weeks to prepare and he needs to hope for a better draw for the first couple of rounds so he can get some confidence. ‘I don’t think anyone should be worried. He’s a fighter. He’s going to find his mojo, his form, because of how much Wimbledon means to him. The way he played last year was absolutely beautiful to watch.’ The 45-year-old doubts, however, whether Murray can compete with the rejuvenated Nadal, who won his 10th French Open two weeks ago but has not made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon since 2011. ‘Rafa is very mentally strong. At the moment, he’s the best player in the world. It depends on the draw. I would pick Nadal if he passes the first week. ‘Could he be vulnerable in the first week? You never know. You look at what happened the last couple of years, he had tough opponents who beat him before in Dust in Brown [in the second round in 2015] and Nick Kyrgios [in the fourth round in 2014]. ‘But he’s hitting the ball amazingly and it’s going to be tough to beat him.’
Ivanisevic, a three-time Wimbledon runner-up before clinching his only Grand Slam title in London, also hopes Novak Djokovic can recapture his best form.
‘Let’s put Djokovic as fifth favourite,’ he said of the three-time Wimbledon winner, who has struggled since his French Open win last year.
‘He’s not playing anything like he was, so we have to see what kind of shape he’s going to be in.’
Ivanisevic finds support in the shape of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who agrees Murray will struggle to repeat his best form at Wimbledon. The Dutchman, who was speaking at the annual Boodles event for past tennis masters in Cheshire with Ivanisevic, said: ‘Federer is the big favourite to win the title for the eighth time. If he comes anywhere close to his form from the first two months of the year, it’s his for the taking.’
Yet Krajicek says Murray still deserves his No 1 ranking after John McEnroe’s claimed last week Murray is ‘a distant fourth’ behind Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. Krajicek said: ‘Those three guys have had a better career than any player ever. McEnroe is not wrong in saying that but in the last 12 months, Murray has been the No 1 player.
‘The last six months have been difficult for him. Part of that is due to him working so hard to be world No 1 that you relax a little bit. In the French Open he showed he’s on his way back.’