Novak Djokovic will look to create further history as the Serbian chases his 24th career Major when The Championships begin at the All England Club, Wimbledon, on Monday.
Djokovic eyes No. 24
Djokovic won the first two Slams of the year - the Australian Open and the French Open - which took him past Rafael Nadal’s all-time men’s record of 22 Slams. With Roger Federer’s retirement last September and Nadal (hip injury) not playing a Major till 2024 which could well be his last year on the tour, Djokovic with his supreme fitness and immaculate technique looks set to leave the two of his biggest rivals far behind in the Grand Slam race.
The 36-year-old Serbian is going for his eighth Wimbledon title this year, which will equal Federer’s all-time men’s record at the All England Club, and like the last three editions, he will play without featuring in a single tune-up event on the surface. Nevertheless, Djokovic is a cut above the rest of the field this year as he alone has 86 wins at the grass Major, one more than the other 19 players combined in the ATP Top 20.
Alcaraz, the challenger
Carlos Alcaraz seems to be the only player in the men’s draw who has an outside chance of upsetting Djokovic. He has already experienced what it is like to face the Serbian in a best-of-five sets battle when the duo met in the Roland-Garros semifinals. In a match that was turning out to be a classic with closely contested first two sets, the Spaniard started cramping and could not sustain the same level for the rest of the encounter.
READ - Wimbledon 2023 men’s draw: Alcaraz vs Rune, Djokovic vs Rublev amongst projected last-eight clashes
Alcaraz twice relinquished his top spot in the ATP Rankings to the Serbian at the two Majors this year before reclaiming the position firstly at Italian Open and now, by winning his maiden grass court title at the Queen’s Club Championships last week. While the 20-year-old was playing only the third event on the surface in his fledgling career, he did show significant improvement in figuring out the on-court movement in the space of five matches. With his serving looking slightly more lethal along with a booming forehand, he could have his best run at The Championships.
Contrary to the French Open, Alcaraz and Djokovic are the top two seeds at Wimbledon and a blockbuster summit clash is on the cards.
The performances of two other youngsters, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner, will also be followed with much interest. Denmark’s Rune has quickly risen through the ranks in the last 12 months which includes two impressive wins over Djokovic. Italy’s Sinner proved to be the biggest obstacle for the Serbian at last year’s Wimbledon when he took a lead of two sets to love in the quarterfinals.
Frances Tiafoe, Alex de Minaur, Sebastian Korda and Alexander Bublik have also added their names to the mix with their runs at the events in Stuttgart, Queen’s and Halle.
READ - Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek named No. 1 seeds for Wimbledon 2023 Championships
However, the same cannot be said about the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. The former enters Wimbledon with a 1-3 win-loss record in the warm-up tournaments with the latest being a stunning 4-6, 6-3, 2-6 first-round loss to World No. 48 Yannick Hanfmann in Mallorca where he was the defending champion. Ruud has not played any grass court events since reaching his second straight French Open final.
Murray and Norrie carry local title hopes
Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie will once again be the centre of attention when it comes to local title hopes. Murray, who ended a 77-year-old drought for British men by winning the title in 2013, has resurrected his career after hip resurfacing surgery. Norrie is the British No. 1 and will look to match his run to the semifinals from the last year’s tournament.
Russians, Belarusians and ranking points are back
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev will be back at The Championships after missing the previous edition as the organisers had banned Russians and Belarusians from participating following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The ban resulted in ATP and WTA Tour stripping the event of ranking points and hence, everyone will play the upcoming edition with a clean slate.
Neither Medvedev nor Rublev has gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon but the latter, at least, will be expected to better that record after his runner-up finish in Halle. Their compatriot, Karen Khachanov, who has made deep runs at the Slam recently, will however miss the event due to a stress fracture.
Matteo Berrettini and Nick Kyrgios, who lost to Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, have also gone through major injury struggles and carry no form whatsoever into the tournament this year.
Djokovic has not lost a match on the Centre Court at Wimbledon in the last 10 years and the stage is set for yet another crowning moment for the Serbian.
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