The Wimbledon tennis tournament draw has mapped out a progressive course for top seed Novak Djokovc. The tennis player is aiming to equal the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles, while in the women’s draw, defending champion Elena Rybakina could meet Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals. The third Grand Slam tournament of the year will take place from Monday, July 3, to Sunday, July 16.
Everyone is dreaming of watching “Djoko” play against world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz again. After the Spaniard’s physical collapse in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros, the two champions are in for a battle. Winner of the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the season and seven times crowned champion in London, many root for the Serb to win the title.
At the bottom of the draw, he will still have a few customers, but the level of difficulty should gradually increase. His first “big” opponent (1.96m) could be Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, seeded No. 17, who reached the semi-finals two years ago after beating Roger Federer in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, a replay of last year’s final against Nick Kyrgios would be conceivable but probably unrealistic, given that the Australian has only played one match this season, losing to China’s Yibing Wu in Stuttgart in June.
Alcaraz has his work cut out
Kyrgios already has a tough first round ahead of him, for even though Belgian David Goffin has been granted a wild card, he remains a tricky player on grass. To challenge Djokovic again, Kyrgios will also have to beat Andrey Rublev, recent finalist in Halle, in the third round, before probably facing Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or Kazakh Alexander Bublik, title-holder in Halle, in the last 16. Djokovic’s top half of the draw also offers a few names to watch out for, such as Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner, quarterfinalists last year, or Casper Ruud.
At the top of the draw, despite his recent first victory on grass at Queen’s, Carlos Alcaraz will have his work cut out if he is to maintain the world number one ranking he has regained. Facing Frenchman Jérémy Chardy in the first round, he could meet Alex de Minaur, whom he beat in the Queen’s final, or Alexander Zverev in the last eight. In the next round, he could face the American Frances Tiafoe, who recently won the title in Stuttgart, or Holger Rune, before taking on Daniil Medvedev or the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals, although they are no great specialists either.
Tsitsipas has a first-round date with Austria’s Dominik Thiem, who has slipped back to 90th in the world rankings after being in the top 3 three years ago. In the next round, the Greek could also face the local star Andy Murray, should the latter overcome Ryan Peniston in a British duel.
Tight bottom half of the women’s table
On the women’s side, the draw seems less balanced, with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s half of the draw looking a little more clear-cut than the other. She does, however, have Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, semi-finalist on London grass in 2019, on her theoretical path to the final, and will play five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the first round. In the semi-finals, Swiatek could find herself up against France’s Caroline Garcia, world No. 5, but uncertainty is high after her exit in the last 16 at Eastbourne on Thursday, and given that she has never progressed beyond the last 16 at Wimbledon.
The bottom half of the draw looks a little denser. In addition to Rybakina and Sabalenka, last year’s finalist, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, will be in attendance, as will Czech Petra Kvitova, twice Wimbledon champion and recently crowned champion in Berlin, and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, in fine form on grass after her victory in Birmingham.
