The prominent clay court season is in the books.  There were a few surprises and occasional breakthroughs, but it ultimately went as expected with Rafael Nadal thoroughly dominating that swing on the calendar.  Now the tennis world has turned its attention to the grass, and with this switch comes a whole new set of interesting questions and storylines on which to keep tabs.

One of the most obvious questions concerns whether or not Roger Federer can essentially pick up where he left off before going on his hiatus from the clay.  His start to 2018 may not have been quite as dominant as his start in 2017, but it was still very impressive.  He successfully defended his Australian Open crown, reached the final of Indian Wells and returned to the top of the rankings for a time before relinquishing it back to Nadal.  Last year, his decision to skip the clay season paid dividends as he went on to win Wimbledon.  The atmosphere is certainly ripe for him to pull it off again this year. 

Yes, he looked shaky in his opener in Stuttgart, but it is likely he will be able to shake off the rust quickly.  Two of his three biggest rivals have hardly hit their stride, and Nadal, who announced he had to pull out of Queens, has endured his share of struggles at Wimbledon in recent years.  The stage is favorably set for the Swiss, and the tennis world will anxiously wait and see if he can take advantage of it.

Speaking of Federer's rivals, many are wondering if Novak Djokovic will continue to build momentum and start to find his best form on a more consistent basis.  The Serb has suffered plenty of setbacks and frustrations since returning to the tour at the start of the season following a roughly six-month layoff.  There were definite signs of improvement for the former Number 1 in Rome, however, and although his run in Paris was shockingly and disappointingly cut short by Marco Cecchinato, his run to the quarterfinals there was still a sign of moving in the right direction.  He won a title on the lawns of Eastbourne last summer, and he is a three-time Wimbledon champion.  He knows how to get the job done on the grass, and what is perhaps even more promising is that he has extended his relationship with Marian Vajda, with whom he recently reconnected for the clay season.  That the Serb's rise in level of play and results seemingly coincided with bringing on Vajda is not likely to be a coincidence.  With all of those pieces still in place, there is every reason to hope that the grass swing could continue to see him rebuild his game, confidence, and reputation, which should make things intriguing in the months to come.

While Djokovic aims to tap into his best form, folks have to be wondering when they are going to see any type of form from Andy Murray.  It has been nearly a year since the Scot played competitive tennis, and following his hip surgery in January, he stated he was aiming to return to play during the grass court season.  He has experienced some delays, leaving doubts as to whether or not he will in fact make it out on the lawns. The sport is definitely missing something with Murray on the sidelines, so it would be great to see him return to tour.  Furthermore, hip surgery is one of the hardest from which to bounce back, so being able to return on a kinder surface like grass would be best instead of making his return on the unforgiving hard courts.  Fans are also no doubt eager to see how Murray looks to gauge what type of threat, if any, he might be in the months to come.  But it is hard to make those kinds of predictions if he cannot even set foot on the court, so no doubt everyone, especially Murray, is eager to see if he cannot make his return sooner rather than later.

These are just a few of the intriguing storylines to watch unfold as the short grass season progresses towards Wimbledon.  Not only should they be entertaining, but they could provide a glimpse of the potential excitement to come in the longer summer hard court swing.

(Photo Sources: Alex Grimm, Patrik Lundin/Getty Images Europe)