Wimbledon 2013: Experts' picks for the men's draw

Nicolas Almagro of Spain returns the ball againts Rafael Nadal of Spain during his final match of day seven of the 2013 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell

2. Early exit

Haresh Ramchandani: Stanislas Wawrinka is enjoying one of the best runs of his career in 2013. But the Swiss #2 has drawn former champion Lleyton Hewitt in the first round. Hewitt is not contending for Major titles, or for that matter even the minor titles, anymore. But I’m picking him to upset Wawrinka in the first round here.

Anand Datla: Stanislas Wawrinka has landed a fist fight against the Aussie street fighter Lleyton Hewitt. Considering the Australian’s recent good form on grass, this is a tricky opener for the 11th seed. Hewitt might be ageing, but Wawrinka will not exactly be riding on a fresh pair of legs. The Swiss number two is enjoying a full week in Eastbourne, having reached the finals.

Roh: 12th seed Nicolas Almagro, who has never been fond of grass, could easily be a casualty in the early rounds of the tournament.

Varun Jog: Grass has never been Juan Martin del Potro’s favourite surface, and the Argentine is struggling a fair bit this year. He was bounced out in the third round of the Australian Open and he’s just coming back from injury, having missed the French Open. He made an unconvincing return at Queen’s last week and could well find himself packing his bags early in preparation for his favourite surface – hard courts.

Ram Narayanan: Two names come to my mind here – Nicolas Almagro and Janko Tipsarevic. But if you ask me to pick one of them, then I will have to go with the Spanish guy, since grass is his least preferred surface and he has never been able to make his way beyond the third round at Wimbledon.

Sudeshna Banerjee: 11th seeded Stanislas Wawrinka‘s first round match couldn’t possibly have got any tougher. Facing Lleyton Hewitt, who is the 2002 Wimbledon champion and has the second most grass wins among active players, is an arduous task. Hewitt showed last week he still has the goods on the green turf by reaching the semi-finals on the pristine lawns at Queen’s Club. For the Swiss, who reached his first grasscourt final this week at Rosmalen, that surely portends a dangerous signal.

Musab Abid: My pick here is tied to my pick in the dark horse category. At whose expense do I expect Grigor Dimitrov to make it far this tournament? Juan Martin del Potro has traditionally needed a lot of time to get back in his groove after an injury, and his play didn’t look very encouraging during the Wimbledon tuneup event at Queen’s. He’s slated to meet Dimitrov in the 3rd round, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Bulgarian pulled off the upset.