We pick five players to follow ahead of Wimbledon - aside from eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.
Monday 18 June 2018 14:29, UK
From British hope Kyle Edmund to Nick Kyrgios and Grand Slam winner Marin Cilic we select five players to watch during the grass-court season, with Wimbledon three weeks away.
After Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 11th French Open title at Roland Garros to cap a near-perfect clay court season, attention turns to the fastest of the major tennis court surfaces.
Sky Sports will have coverage of the pre-Wimbledon tournament - Gerry Weber Open - at Halle next week, where Roger Federer will bid for a 10th title, with Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem also set to feature.
Here, we profile five men with the potential to enjoy success on the way to the All England Club and prevent the Swiss great from another Wimbledon crown.
The Australian will play his first singles match, since appearing in Houston two months ago, at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart later this week after suffering an injury affected season with an elbow injury.
Kyrgios, world No 24, was affected by injury woes during last year's grass-court campaign. He aggravated a hip injury with a fall during his first-round match against Donald Young at Queen's Club before he retired injured from his Wimbledon opener two weeks later, hindered by the issue.
Everyone remembers his victory as a teenager against the then top-seeded Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2014 but has since failed to progress past the last-16 at the All England Club.
The 24-year-old, who is scheduled to feature at the Fever-Tree Championships next week whose aggressive game style with his powerful serve should make him a feared opponent during the six-week grass-court campaign.
Cilic is not a surprise pick, having reached the Wimbledon showpiece last year and won the title at Queen's Club in 2012.
The big-hitting Croatian comes into the grass-court swing on the back of quarter-final defeat at the French Open - the fourth time he has made the last-eight or better of a major tournament from five appearances.
The 29-year-old is without a title this season but the world No 5 continues to possess the game capable of working through a field, but Cilic is likely to want to avoid a repeat meeting with Federer, who has beaten him both times they have played in a major final.
Having lost a thrilling Queen's final last year to Feliciano Lopez before his run to the Wimbledon final he is under pressure to defend his ranking points from last year's successful campaign.
With continued uncertainty of Andy Murray's exact involvement on the grass courts in the coming weeks, there might be increased expectations on the shoulders of the British No 1.
Edmund suffered a five-set third round defeat against Italian clay-court specialist Fabio Fognini to end a positive clay-court season, which included victories against Novak Djokovic and David Goffin.
The 23-year-old continues to make impressive strides in the men's game and thanks to his world No 18 ranking - one down from last month's career-high - should be confident of improving on last year's second round defeat.
His big serving coupled with his aggressive baseline hitting make him a good candidate to make a strong impression and that is without considering the greater experience and physical condition he has acquired, since beginning his fruitful partnership with coach Fredrik Rosengren last year.
Despite Raonic's grass-court pedigree, a former Wimbledon and Queen's finalist, there are plenty of uncertainties regarding the big-serving Canadian's fitness.
The 2016 Wimbledon runner-up pulled out of the French Open with a knee injury, having only featured in Monte Carlo and Madrid during the clay-court swing.
The signs of a quick recovery are there with the 27-year-old scheduled to return to court at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart this week, as he goes in search of a first grass-court title.
Like our previous picks, Raonic will also fine-tune his Wimbledon preparations at a star-studded Queen's Club and could be full of confidence by the time the third major of the season comes around next month.
Anderson suffered a hugely frustrating end to the clay courts period in Europe, as he squandered two opportunities to secure victory on serve to lose in five sets against Diego Schwartzman at Roland Garros.
His implosion was surprising for someone with his experience on the tour but the giant South African is capable of putting the disappointment to one side and producing good performances on a surface which suits his game perfectly.
Last year's US Open runner-up won his first title since 2015 in New York earlier this season, and having now broken into the world's top-10, has improved his chances of deep runs at the majors.
Surprisingly, the 32-year-old has never progressed past the last-16 at Wimbledon but that could well change if the world No 8 stays away from injury concerns.
Who is best placed to stop Federer dominating once again during the grass-court campaign?
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We will return for more tennis coverage from the ATP Tour when we head to Germany for the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, live on Sky Sports Arena from 11am on Monday, 18 June.
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