As the year rolls on and we move towards the British Open on the greens of Wimbledon, thought inevitably turns to the home talent. Britain has a long history of successful tennis players and whenever one legend is ready to step down, another is there to take his place. Let’s take a look at some of the top British players of 2019. Will they ever be able to lift the Wimbledon trophy? Only time will tell.
Andy Murray
No list would be complete without mentioning Andy Murray. His current hip injury has led him to slip considerably down the rankings but he still remains the best British player since Fred Perry. Having already lifted the Wimbledon trophy twice, we can expect the 2019 competition to be the last of his career. He is certainly aiming for that to be the case. Murray has held his own for years against Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic, three of the greatest tennis players of all time, and he will go down as one of the best British tennis players ever no matter how his final Wimbledon turns out.
Kyle Edmund
The current British No. 1 is yet to win a Grand Slam although we have seen him reach the semi-final of the Australian Open in 2018. We have also seen him reach the third round of Wimbledon before. He is a player who is going from strength to strength and he has managed to beat some of the top players like Djokovic before. We predict that it won’t be long before we see this powerhouse of a player truly come into his own.
Cameron Norrie
This Brit has been a consistent player throughout his professional career. He is currently ranked at No. 55 in the world and has played in each of the Grand Slams. Despite playing better on clay, we are certain that he will find his feet on the grass of Wimbledon soon. When playing doubles, he and Edmund form an excellent team and they may have a great shot at winning if they decide to enter the British Grand Slam together.
Dan Evans
Evans has performed exceptionally well in the Davis Cup tournaments over the years but he is dogged by a wild reputation from his youth. He has performed relatively well in Grand Slams with one previous appearance at Wimbledon. If he makes it back again this year, it will be interesting to see how he performs.
James Ward
Ward has a consistent career with the highest he has ever reached at Wimbledon being the third round in 2015. He is another player who has competed in the Davis Cup and through that has come up and won against some amazing players including the American John Isner.
Jay Clarke
A former No.1 British junior player, Clarke has reached the quarterfinals of all the Grand Slam Opens except Wimbledon. Despite only being 20 years old, he has already trained alongside Murray and looks to be a good contender to step into his shoes afterwards. He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2018 Wimbledon tournament and reached the semi-finals in the mixed doubles. He is definitely one to watch.
Liam Broady
Broady is an excellent player who has been playing for years. He has played for the Davis Cup, like many on this list, and has fared well in the Grand Slam tournaments throughout the years. While he has been knocked out in the round stages of Wimbledon before, he has reached the Quarterfinals in the other Grand Slams. This could be an indication of his potential and we are keen to see where his career heads next.
Brydan Klein
Klein has been playing professionally since 2015 but has struggled against some of the other talent tennis has produced in his lifetime. He has only ever played at Grand Slam tournaments as a Wild Card entry and has never progressed beyond the Quarterfinals. Due to this, we think it is unlikely that we will see him reach a Wimbledon final.
Lloyd Glasspool
This 25-year-old Brit has done well in his career so far but needs to up his game if he wants to compete at a Grand Slam level. He has won a few titles with the ITF and reached the final of one ATP Challenger tournament in the doubles category. We have seen him in the Wimbledon Singles before, reaching a Quarterfinal in 2018, but it is unlikely that we will see him lift the trophy unless he begins to compete more alongside the players above him in the rankings.
Anton Matusevich
At just 17 years of age, Matusevich is yet to enter the professional adult circuit but he has otherwise performed well. In 2018, he won the US Open’s Junior Doubles and this might be an indication of greater things to come. His career will be one to watch with interest, especially if he manages to make a Grand Slam debut in the next few years.
So, are any of these players ready to accept the baton (or racquet?) from Andy Murray? Only time will tell. Edmund and Clarke look to currently be the best of our home-grown rising talent and so we shall watch their careers with interest to see how they perform. It always seems like the Brits perform better abroad than they do at home so we shall see if this is the case for them. If you want to place a bet on matches with any of the players listed here, head to Stakers. They’ve got a category for tennis betting, so you can take a look at the upcoming games and put your money on the best odds.
The British tennis scene is in need for a new Golden Boy now that Murray is headed towards retirement. While the likes of Sascha Zverev begin to chase the heels of the Big Three on an international level, we should continue to nurture our British talent in the hopes that they will also manage to compete at this level. Who knows, it maybe won’t be that long before we see the Wimbledon Cup lifted by a Brit once again.
WHO’S NEXT?
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