Trial by fire for Ernests at Wimbledon

Now acknowledged as a genuine prospect after his surprise run to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, Ernests was handed no favours by the Wimbledon draw which pits him against the 6′9″ John Isner in the opener, with an almost certain encounter against Rafael Nadal looming in the second round. Ernests’ first-round opponent, John Isner, only turned professional last year but boasts an impressive résumé built up on the American college tennis circuit, including a stint as the NCAA’s top-ranked player for most of 2007.

His height enables him to generate a fearsome serve – an especially handy weapon on grass – but also somewhat restricts his agility. Ernests is capable of matching Isner, serve for serve, but looks likely to obtain the upper hand in terms of movement and groundstrokes.

Things do not get any easier for the winner of that match, as a potential second-round duel against Rafael Nadal awaits. Nadal has drawn Andreas Beck, a German qualifier, in the first round. Beck is ranked #123 in the world and is not expected to pose a significant obstacle to the second-seeded Spaniard, who dusted off the Parisian clay after winning his fourth Roland Garros crown last week, only to promptly claim his first title on grass at the Artois Championships.

A likely third-round opponent for the eventual winner is Nicolas Kiefer, who reached the semi-finals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle before falling in straight sets to Roger Federer. He is seeded 27th and will open against Julien Benneteau of France.

Elsewhere in the draw, Roger Federer will begin his campaign for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title against Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia. His projected semi-final opponent is the world #3, Novak Djokovic, who drew the left-handed serve-and-volleyer, Michael Berrer, in the first round.

~ by Zahirah on June 22, 2008.