Status: 30.06.2024 10:35 a.m.
The 137th edition of the All England Tennis Championships in Wimbledon begins on Monday. Twelve German professionals are taking part. But only Alexander Zverev is really expecting something on the London lawn.
Of course, all eyes are on the Hamburg native. Because realistically, he is the only one who can get far in this tournament, maybe even win it. “It has never been as open in the past 20 years as it is this time,” said Zverev at the press conference before the tournament.
And for the first time, he feels like he is competitive. The 27-year-old’s record so far does not actually read like that of a title contender, but more like that of an average player. Reaching the round of 16 twice, most recently in 2021, were his best results.
Further information
Grass is not usually the Hamburg native’s speciality. But the 27-year-old travelled to London this year with a lot of self-confidence. more
Zverev: “Didn’t like playing on grass”
The Olympic champion, who wants to successfully defend his gold medal in Paris in four weeks, has accepted “that it won’t be as nice a match on grass” as, for example, on the red clay of Paris. “Until now, I just didn’t like playing on grass. But now I have the confidence. And with a bit of luck, I have a chance of winning the title.” Zverev, like Novak Djokovic, who is taking part despite a meniscus operation three weeks ago, will not get into action until Tuesday.
Alcaraz and Sinner the attractions of the first day
The absolute top favorites in the men’s competition, however, will be playing on the first day. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz from Spain will traditionally play the first match on Center Court. His biggest rival and world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, will play against Yannick Hanfmann on Court No. 1.
This means that the Karlsruhe native can play on the big stage. However, this is probably a dubious pleasure. In the most recent encounter, in the first round of the 2023 US Open, Hanfmann had no chance and lost in three straight sets. Nothing different can be expected against the winner of the Halle/Westphalia preparation tournament in London.
Six Germans on the side places 8 and 16
German tennis fans in London can already lay out their towels on the side courts 8 and 16 on Monday. Because apart from Hanfmann, all six other DTB professionals will be playing on one of these two courts. And none of the six has no chance. Jan Lennard Struff will play against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan. Dominik Koepfer will play against the former top ten player Fabio Fognini from Italy. Maximilian Marterer against the Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and Daniel Altmaier against the Briton Arthur Fery are also eyeing the second round.
Two Hamburg women challenged in the women’s competition
Two women from Hamburg are also hoping for a win on the first day. Tamara Korpatsch, in the main draw of the world’s most famous tennis tournament for the second time in a row, is even slightly favored against Briton Yuriko Miyazaki. Eva Lys is more of an outsider against Frenchwoman Clara Burel. However, Lys has already gotten used to the London grass with three wins in qualifying.
An advantage that should not be underestimated. Despite everything: apart from Alexander Zverev, none of the twelve Germans has any serious prospects of winning the tournament. Not even Angelique Kerber, who, like Zverev, will be entering on Tuesday. Six years after her triumph at Church Road and 16 months after the birth of her daughter, the Kiel native is going into the 137th edition of the Wimbledon Championships as a clear outsider.
Further information
The draw for the first round of the grass court classic was kind: the four North German tennis players avoided the stars. more
The next Grand Slam tournament is scheduled for next week. But Kerber is arriving with two first-round defeats in the grass season. more
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Sports news | 01.07.2024 | 09:17 a.m.
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2024-06-30 08:43:17
#Wimbledon #Zverev #beacon #hope #Kerber #complete #outsider #NDR.de #Sport
