The grand old Grand Slam

Tennis aficionados are eagerly looking forward to the 127th edition of "The Championships" at Wimbledon, commencing on June 24. Although one of the four Grand Slam events, it is more equal than others. It is the oldest among them, has the fastest courts, adheres strictly to its traditions, including the white dress code, and is patronised by royalty. The grass surface facilitates a more aggressive play than on others: searing serves, surging power of the ground shots, the volatile volleys and half volleys and, above all, the final arbiter of many points - the overhead smash. There are only two weeks between the slow courts of the French Open and Wimbledon with a couple of important grass court tournaments at Halle, Germany, and Queen's Club, London, in between. As a result, many players find it difficult to adjust their styles of play and have a rest before the gruelling physical test at Wimbledon. In the entire history of tennis, only six players have won back-to-back titles at the two Slams. Among the contemporary players, Rafael Nadal (2008 and 2010) and Roger Federer (2009) have done so. There is a proposal to increase the interval between the two Grand Slams from two to three weeks from 2015.

One disturbing feature of the championships since the turn of the millennium is the slowing down of the courts. Commentators and players have suspected a change in the grass seed used and an increase in the weight of the ball. The authorities have denied them. Unlike in the serve-and-volley era, which ended with the departure of Pete Sampras, one now sees long rallies from the baseline as at Roland Garros. There are periodic displays on TV of the number of shots in a rally, something not seen earlier.

Federer, the defending champion, is tied with Sampras, having won seven times here. He has also equalled the five consecutive victories of Bjorn Borg. Only two players have defeated him so far - Tomas Berdych (2010) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2011), both in the quarter-finals at a time when he was going through a bad patch. The only competitors who may challenge him this year are Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The fourth man, always hovering around the fringes of victory, is David Ferrer.

Both Nadal and Djokovich have had no exposure to grass after the French Open as they did not participate in the grass tournaments at Halle and London. Nadal himself has admitted this as a handicap. Once, he had said that his weakness at Wimbledon was his tendency to slide on grass like on clay courts because of lack of practice, leading to errors. Last year, he suffered a shock defeat at the hands of the 100th ranked Lukas Rosol in the second round (6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4).

Wimbledon seeding is based on the record on grass and does not necessarily follow the ATP rankings. There is a possibility that Djokovich may face Nadal in the semi-finals. It was at that stage in the French Open that Nadal got the better of the former in a closely-fought match. Murray was a runner-up and won the Olympics and the US Open in 2012. He beat Marin Cilic at the Queen's Club on June 16. If he runs into Ferrer, who is at the top of his form, he may not be a finalist. I feel that a resurgent Federer may win his 18th Grand Slam title. He won the latest Gerry Weber tournament at Halle for the sixth time. On the previous five occasions when he was successful at Halle, he won the following Wimbledon four times. On the women's side Serena Williams, the defending champion, may be expected to continue to rule.