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When Wimbledon begins on Monday, many tennis fans will be hoping for a rematch of the Novak Djokovic-Carlos Alcaraz semifinal at the French Open that seemed so promising for two sets until Alcaraz started cramping and quickly faded out of contention.
This time, they’d meet in the final. And they’d do it on a court where Djokovic, who is now the men’s all-time leader with 23 Grand Slam titles, hasn’t lost since 2017.
In fact, if Djokovic were to win Wimbledon once more, it would give him eight championships at the All England Club, matching Roger Federer’s record.
Djokovic, once again, is highly likely to get through to the final after the draw was revealed Friday. On paper, there shouldn’t be many challenges for him, especially after Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the tournament Sunday evening because of his wrist injury. He was the runner-up last year. So given Djokovic’s consistency and aptitude for the Wimbledon grass, it would be one of the biggest upsets in many years if he isn’t playing on the tournament’s final Sunday.
Whether Alcaraz joins him there is a bit more questionable. The 20-year old just doesn’t have a lot of experience on grass and it showed last year when he lost to Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. But Alcaraz began to look pretty comfortable on it last week in winning the title at Queen’s Club, allowing him to reclaim the No. 1 ranking and top seed in this tournament.
With Federer gone and Rafael Nadal rehabbing a long-term injury, the tennis world is hoping Alcaraz can make his stand as a worthy rival as Djokovic enters the last chapter of his career.
Here are four more things to know about the Wimbledon draw:
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Andy Murray can make a real run
Nothing would fire up the British crowds next week more than the 36-year old, two-time champion playing his way into the second week. Murray hasn’t been the same player since his major hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, but he’s still grinding for one more big chance at Wimbledon.
This might be it.
Assuming Murray beats wildcard Ryan Peniston in the first round, he’d likely face No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. Tsitsipas would be favored on any other surface but has a poor track record at Wimbledon and on grass generally with a 17-13 career record. It’s a prime opportunity for Murray to blow up that section of the draw, which includes Wimbledon rookie Ben Shelton as the seeded player he’d be slated to meet in the third round and fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in the fourth round. That is a potential recipe for something special.
Women’s field will have popcorn-worthy matchups in first week
Rarely does a first-round match between two wildcards generate much buzz. But that will indeed be the case for five-time champion Venus Williams making her 24th Wimbledon appearance against Elina Svitolina, the former top-five player who missed much of last season to have a baby. Svitolina has always been a popular player but especially so now given that she is the most famous Ukrainian tennis player in history.
American tennis fans will be drawn to a first-round match between Coco Gauff and Sofia Kenin, who won the Australian Open and made the French final in 2020 before her career got off track due to a series of injuries and personal issues. Kenin had to get through the qualifying tournament to make the main draw and is trying to work her way back into the form that made her one of the best players on tour a few years ago.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina, who has been struggling with a virus since the French Open, opens with American Shelby Rogers, who has pulled some big Grand Slam upsets in the past.
And if form holds, there could be some dynamite matches in the third round including two-time champion Petra Kvitova against 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova and Beatriz Haddad Maia against Jelena Ostapenko.
Land of opportunity for the American men
Taylor Fritz believes he should be competing for Grand Slam titles, but the 25-year old has just one quarterfinal on his résumé from last year’s Wimbledon. This should be his best chance to go even further.
Fritz, the No. 9 seed, drew into Casper Ruud’s quarter, which is where everyone wants to be given that Ruud hasn’t shown much interest in grass-court tennis and is ripe for the picking early in this tournament. Fritz and No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner will likely face off in the fourth round, with the winner possibly playing an unseeded player for the chance to make the semis.
Frances Tiafoe, up to a career-high No. 10 ranking, should be full of confidence after winning a grass-court title a couple weeks ago in Stuttgart. He should easily make the round of 16 and potentially face 20-year old Holger Rune, who has very little grass experience.
Grass may be Sebastian Korda’s best surface, and he is in that wide-open quarter with Tsitsipas so there’s a good chance for him to go deep as well.
Expect a surprise women’s champion
As dominant as No. 1 Iga Świątek is on clay, her lack of a track record on grass inherently makes Wimbledon more interesting. Świątek’s baseline level is so high that she can absolutely go deep and even win this tournament, but she’s never been past the fourth round and it’s just a completely different ballgame on this lower-bouncing surface where her heavy topspin isn’t as devastating to opponents and she has less time to line up her forehand and dictate points.
Rybakina has arguably been the second-best player on tour this year, but she’s played just two matches since the French and withdrew from a warm-up tournament this week with a virus that has apparently hit her hard.
Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champ, certainly has the game to win Wimbledon but it’s unclear where she’s at mentally after a really devastating meltdown in the French semis.
And then there’s Ons Jabeur, whose game is built for grass and lost to Rybakina in last year’s final but has had kind of a mediocre year by her standards while struggling with various injuries.
With all of that in the mix, it could be a wild, upset-filled tournament. Good but overlooked players like Donna Vekic, Daria Kasatkina or even American Madison Keys have games well-suited to grass and are names to watch if the draw falls apart.
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