There will be no festive strings of colored crepe paper, nor stick-on name tags or multicolored spotlights. Wimbledon doesn't do such high-school things. But it's still hoping to have a big reunion this year: the return of the Big Four.
It looks like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will all be playing in the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time since last year's Wimbledon. The only caveat is Murray's health. He's being ultra cautious in his comeback from a hip injury, but we're just a week out from first ball at Wimbledon and so far, so good.
It may seem like old times again. But that's deceiving.
As familiar as the Big Four brand has become, these men have appeared as a block in only two of the past nine Grand Slam events. They dominated when they were a more tightly knit pack, but that is not the case anymore despite the heroics of the two senior partners, Nadal and Federer (ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively). The likelihood of the quartet composing the semifinals at Wimbledon -- once a strong possibility, if not a given -- seems dim.
On Sunday, Djokovic and Federer were both beaten in their final grass-court tuneup tournaments. Murray's last tournament win was in Dubai, in February 2017. Nadal, who bagged his 11th French Open title a few weeks ago, pulled out of last week's event at Queens Club. He'll play in London without any grass-court tournament prep.
Federer is Wimbledon's gold standard, with the other Big Four members struggling to shine like silver. The eight-time Swiss champion is defending this year. His prep work has been impressive but not overwhelming. After a smooth week in Stuttgart, he was obliged to mount two furious fightbacks -- including one from two match points down -- in Halle.
Borna Coric, a versatile 21-year old Croatian ranked No. 34, stole a page from Federer's book in the Halle final. Federer was 16-1 in tiebreakers at the event, but Coric somehow brushed aside two set points in the first-set tiebreaker to win it. He went on to claim the title in three sets, demonstrating that he may be overcoming the lack of power that has held him back.
"I'm serving the best in my whole life," Coric said during his on-court interview. "I had not even dreamed of this."
Federer, whose 20-match winning streak ended, was unfazed by the loss. His recent workload consisted of nine matches in 12 days, quite enough for a 36-year-old father of four. He said he was looking ahead to rest and "some easy preparation" for Wimbledon.
Nadal's preparation hasn't been onerous; it's been nonexistent. He left the French Open, where he bagged his 11th title, unwilling even to commit to playing the grass segment. Now 32, Nadal has become increasingly wary of playing too much, thus inviting injury. But he relented, and he began to train for Wimbledon after a week's rest at home on Mallorca.
"It was a very intense clay-court season, and my body needed a little bit of rest," Nadal told reporters during a media day on Mallorca. "But [now] I have high confidence."
Had Djokovic converted a second-set match point or closed out a tiebreaker that he led 4-1, he might be rolling into Wimbledon with equally high expectations. But Marin Cilic, the Croatian crusher, blasted his way out of both crises -- the first with a booming service winner, the second by playing bolder tennis than Djokovic in the late stage of the tiebreaker.
Every player experiences that kind of fail now and then, especially on grass, most especially against a player like Cilic, who has preemptive power. The problem for Djokovic is that while he's definitely been playing better -- in fact, close to his best at times -- matches still keep slipping through his fingers in puzzling fashion.
That's not an insurmountable problem, and Djokovic may be building to a tipping point. He struggled early this year, but after a 6-6 start he won 12 of 14 matches before meeting Cilic. Djokovic had whipped Cilic 14 consecutive times before the powerful Croatian won their last meeting, on a fast indoor hard court. But this second consecutive loss wasn't at all puzzling. Cilic, ranked No. 6, was the beaten finalist in two of the past four majors. After the match, Djokovic put Cilic right up there with Federer and Nadal as contenders at Wimbledon. He didn't give himself short shrift, either.
"I thought I have built up the momentum quite well throughout the week," Djokovic said. "I played great."
Djokovic's immediate challenge is that despite a jump in rankings, he'll still be seeded well outside the top eight at Wimbledon. That means a potentially perilous draw. But he isn't the only marquee name with that problem. This week in Eastbourne, Murray and Stan Wawrinka (the first alternate to the Big Four) took wild cards only to find themselves paired in the first round.
It's difficult to imagine that Murray, 31 years old and down to No. 156 last week due to inactivity, will have the stamina and fitness to go deep at Wimbledon. But he acquitted himself well in his first comeback match, at Queens, to an on-fire, ace-happy Nick Kyrgios. It was a grueling three-set struggle. The good news for Murray was that his hip seemed fine afterward.
At this juncture, being able to play a few consecutive matches at Wimbledon would be a major win for Murray. He's a two-time champ and British national hero -- just the kind of person who would be a huge hit at a Wimbledon reunion.