The year has been very bad for him so far, as Djokovic is still without a tournament win. The long-time world number one will enter the tournament on Tuesday against Czech Vit Kopriva. The seven-time Wimbledon winner could not only win his 25th Grand Slam tournament, but also catch up with Wimbledon record winner Roger Federer with his eight titles.
However, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz could prevent him from winning. Melbourne winner Sinner and defending champion and Paris champion Alcaraz are rated higher than the Serb. From Djokovic’s point of view, it is at least good that the Serb, seeded number two, will be spared Sinner and Alcaraz on his hoped-for path to the final. The numbers one and three were drawn in the same half of the grid.
IMAGO/Offside Sports Photography/Charlotte Wilson Last year, Carlos Alcaraz was able to fully enjoy his first title at Wimbledon
No major hurdles to overcome
Sinner starts the tournament against Yannick Hanfmann, the German should not cause him much trouble in the opening match. This is even more true for the Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal, who will face Alcaraz. The 21-year-old Spaniard could face Austria’s number one, Sebastian Ofner, in the second round. The 28-year-old Styrian will face the Australian Aleksandar Vukic on Monday.
Of the top three, only Sinner has done well for the tournament on Church Road, with his first grass court title in Halle. The new world number one is playing in the main draw for the fourth time; last year he lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals, which was his best result at Wimbledon so far. Alcaraz has not been in grass court form yet. At the Queen’s Club in London, he was eliminated in the second round, which also meant that Djokovic took second place in the rankings from him again before Wimbledon.
Swiatek is still waiting for the grass court title
In the women’s competition, world number one Iga Swiatek, who has just won her fourth French Open title, has decided to finally strike in the “Tennis Mecca”. The Pole has won 22 titles so far, but none on grass. She wants to get further than the quarter-finals for the first time in Wimbledon. However, she has not been given an easy first-round opponent in former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin (USA).
IMAGO/Paul Zimmer Iga Swiatek still has an open score with the tournament
Also in Swiatek’s quarter of the table is defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (CZE/No. 6). Others who want to have a say in the title are number two seeded American Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka (BLR/3) and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (KAZ/4).
Gauff is going into the tournament with particular ambition. Where she stormed into the round of 16 five years ago as a 15-year-old, last year’s US Open winner has never reached the quarterfinals. In 2023, she was eliminated in the first round by Swiatek’s first-round opponent Kenin. This year, Gauff reached the semifinals in Melbourne and Paris.
2024-06-30 15:29:01
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