By Britwatch Team
- PART 1: The Britwatch team take a look at this year’s Slams
- PART 2: Olympic glory beckons, but for who?
- PART 3: We gaze into our crystal tennis balls for our favourite Brits
Britwatch Tennis:
It’s that time of year when the Britwatch tennis writing team decide to flex their prediction muscles and name their favourites for the big honours in 2016! In our final predictions we look at how the Brits will fair in 2016.
Ros Satar
Andy Murray: Davis Cup and most recently his win as the BBC Sports Personality of the year has capped off a tremendous year for Murray. Changed priorities will no doubt affect his calendar, but maybe less will be more. After all, following Djokovic’s Davis Cup triumph for Serbia, he went on to enjoy his first year of tour domination.
We might not quite expect that but a couple of the big ones could be in his trophy cabinet by the end of the year, ending the year as the undisputed King of the Brits.
Aljaz Bedene: The best we can hope for is that the ITF stop messing about this young man and let his application to be able to represent his country become a reality. I suspect they won’t allow him to be considered for the Olympics but we could see him in latter year Davis Cup action as he continues to climb the rankings
Kyle Edmund: I remember him being brought in to press in 2014 at Eastbourne and being taken by how exceptionally grounded he was. After almost being the thing that David Goffin’s nightmares were made of, the raw emotion of a loss from two sets up showed he has the desire to improve, and his win over Andy Murray in the inaugural Tie Break Tens earned him a hefty whack of prize money, and advice from Uncle Andy to invest in his team wisely. I expect him to hit the Top 100 again and be a consistent force over the year.
Johanna Konta: The key for Konta will be consistency but she has the head to do it. Humble but engaging, she will forge ahead and could certainly tickle the Top 30. It is potentially a great time for the Brits in the WTA and we have a real chance to have two quality players in the Top 50 if not higher by the end of the year.
Heather Watson: Hopefully she can start her season in the same fine style – she is once more partnering Andy Murray in the Hopman Cup before she heads to Hobart to defend her title. Without a coach after splitting with coach Diego Veronelli, she needs to find some good consistent form to get back into the Top 50 and beyond.
Laura Robson: It looks like a wise decision for her not use her protected ranking to use in Australia to give her wrist a little more time to heal and it has been a frustrating time for the former British No. 1 but it would be great to see her even battle her way through the lower ranks if it meant she was back playing, and pain free.
Niall Clarke
Andy Murray: Murray will once again have a stellar and consistent year but will fail to bring home any grand slam tournaments. A few Masters wins and a couple of slam finals will be signal of his consistency, but he will likely be thwarted a lot by Djokovic.
Aljaz Bedene: Another top 50 season for Bedene with a few good runs but nothing that sets the world alight. He will enter the British Davis Cup side but they fail to retain the title.
Kyle Edmund: A top 100 season with some impressive results on clay, but he struggles to find the consistency to make a major breakthrough
Heather Watson: A top 40 season with a small title, but she fails once against to make a major breakthrough.
Johanna Konta: Another top 40 season for Konta as she settles into a consistent level. The heights will not be as great as 2015, but a solid season for Konta.
Naomi Cavaday
Andy Murray: 2016 will be his best year yet as he takes 2 Slams and finishes the year at number 2 once again.
Aljaz Bedene: A bit of a breakthrough year last year for him he will do well and continue to hover around the 50 mark.
Kyle Edmund: A great year in store for Kyle as he continues to move up finishing the year around 70.
Johanna Konta: Top 25. The way in which Jo dispatched top 20 and top 10 players was full of quality and class and there is no reason why she couldn’t push on.
Heather Watson: Another good season for Heather maintaining her ranking around 50.
Glenys Furness
Andy Murray: Got him down for 2 slams and Olympics Gold – will end year #2 (although I’d love #1 probably unrealistic this year with Murray junior due in Feb, which takes some of the season out).
Aljaz Bedene: will finally win his DC appeal, will move into top 20.
Kyle Edmund: Play ATP events rather than challengers, end year top 50 – will have direct entry into at least 2 slams
James Ward: Will qualify for all 4 slams, end year having got back into top 100 with new coach
Dan Evans: Will have a better 2nd half of the year and qualify again for US Open
Brydan Klein: Will overtake Evans in the rankings.
Johanna Konta: Will have a very consistent season and end the year in the top 40. I suspect a small title will be in her trophy cabinet by the end of the year.
Heather Watson: Will also end back in the top 40, retaining her title in Hobart, and possibly picking up another along the way. Will get a few rounds in at the US Open and Wimbledon.
Brits will be in action at the start of the year – check our page for more details
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