A year after the victories of Serbian Novak Djokovic and Ukrainian Elena Rybakina, the All England Club is reopening the doors of its garden for two weeks, starting Monday.
Less than a month after the end of Roland-Garros, all eyes are now on the lawn of Wimbledon where the ATP and WTA circuits are packing their bags, from Monday July 3 to Sunday July 16. A year after a particular 2022 edition, from which Belarusians and Russians were excluded, Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina are putting their titles back into play.
On the men’s side, in the absence of Rafael Nadal, injured and forfeited for the rest of the season, the Serb is the big favorite to obtain an 8th crown on the London lawn, and thus equal Roger Federer’s record. Among the women, the picture seems more open because if Iga Swiatek intends to continue on her momentum from the Porte d’Auteuil, she has never passed the round of 16 in London. As there are no points to defend, the world rankings could also be upset.
Belarusians and Russians reinstated, the status of world No. 1 at stake
They are back even if they have to play under a neutral banner. Without Aryna Sabalenka, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and all Russian and Belarusian players, excluded in 2022 by the organizers wishing to show their opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, the ATP and the WTA had decided not to distribute points during the previous edition. Result: no capital to defend this year and only positive to draw from the fortnight. With 2,000 points promised to the winners, 1,200 to the finalists or even 720 for the losers of the last four, the opportunities to make a leap in the standings will be more numerous for the favorites quickly dropped by the wayside last year.
The fight for the number 1 spot promises to be tight for both men and women. Only 70 units separate Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP ranking. More comfortable on the grass than world number 1 Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, who is 874 points behind the Pole, can seize the world throne for the first time in her career at the end of the tournament. .
“Djoko” for the pass of 24, Alcaraz finally released
Quadruple defending champion, Novak Djokovic appears to be the undisputed favorite among men, even without having played a minute on grass this season. “You don’t need to see ‘Djoko’ play to know he’s the number 1 favourite.”, confirms Arnaud Clément, consultant for franceinfo: sport. Record holder of the number of Grand Slams on the men’s circuit, the Serb can now equal the absolute record of Australian Margaret Smith Court (24 titles). But not only.
Resting since his 23rd major title on the land of Roland-Garros on June 11, the “Djoker” is also aiming for the bar of eight victories in London, a record held by Roger Federer for men. If he achieves it, he would at the same time get closer to his dream of a calendar Grand Slam, which he had come very close to in 2021.
On his way, the Serb will however see several obstacles arise. Among them, Carlos Alcaraz seems the toughest after his first career success on grass at Queen’s. The Spaniard hopes for revenge against the Serb, after his semi-final lost on the Philippe-Chatrier court due to cramps. “If he plays Djokovic again, will he be able to do better and respond to Djoko’s problems on grass, asks Arnaud Clément. He there are not many who are capable of it, or even no one at the moment.”
While the unfortunate finalists of the last two editions, the Italian Matteo Berrettini and the Australian Nick Kyrgios, seem physically diminished, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune or even Alexander Zverev, to their advantage during the season on grass, can also claim a first Grand Slam title. But for now, “given the state of form of Novak Djokovic, it is difficult to project yourself onto someone else”argues Arnaud Clément.
Iga Swiatek in danger
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek seems to be leaving with a head start on the competition given her level displayed in early June in Paris. But on a surface that suits her much less than the earth (she has never been further than an 8th final at Wimbledon in three participations), the Pole could be put in difficulty. “She has this challenge of going to win a major tournament on grass, at Wimbledon, after proving to herself that she was capable of winning elsewhere than on clay at the US Open”explain Arnaud Di Pasquale, former 39th in the world. The Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, crowned in Melbourne, remains in ambush to steal the first place in the world.
Prematurely released in Berlin, the current queen of “Wim”, Elena Rybakina hopes to be green again in London in the same way as the Czech Petra Kvitova, crowned in Germany, and who will be keen to make people forget her elimination in the first round at Roland- Garros. Maria Sakkari or even Coco Gauff will also try to do well. “In Grand Slam, the very best arrive with more certainty on its tournaments, but it remains a very open tableanalysis Arnaud Di Pasquale. There are really very interesting oppositions of styles.” Note, finally, the invitation reserved for the American Venus Williams, five-time winner of the tournament, from the height of her 43 years.
Colored shorts finally allowed
For the first time, players will be able to wear colored shorties. Singularity specific to Wimbledon, the obligation to play in white had been criticized by several tenniswomen because of the discomfort caused during periods of menstruation. Message received from the side of the All England Club since its management relaxed its dress codes last November.
“We hope these adjustments will help players focus solely on their performance by eliminating a potential source of anxiety,” had declared Sally Bolton, the Patroness of Wimbledon. An important step forward when the regulations had however been tightened in 2014, forcing participants to wear white underwear.
Varvara Gracheva, a new one among the 18 Habs in reconquest
The tricolor clan will be keen to make people forget their zero points from the third round of Roland-Garros. There will be 15 players in the men’s final draw (after the admission of Harold Mayot and Laurent Lokoli, who emerged unscathed from qualifying), and four players in the women’s tournament. Who to bet on? Despite a start to the season far from meeting her ambitions, with a premature exit to the French Open and only two disputed finals (and lost in Lyon and Monterrey), Caroline Garcia, stopped in the round of 16 last year, remains the best French luck.
Naturalized French since June 5, Varvara Gracheva, second Frenchwoman in the WTA ranking (43rd in the world), will play her first Wimbledon under the blue-white-red banner. For his part, Alizé Cornet offered the scalp of Maria Sakkari in Nottingham, but the Greek quickly took revenge the following week in the German capital.
In the men’s draw, while there were no representatives in the 3rd round in 2021 and only two in 2022 (Ugo Humbert and Richard Gasquet), there will be no three-color seeds at the start. Thanks to excellent preparation tournaments, Adrian Mannarino (quarter-finalist at ‘S-Hertogenbosch, after beating Daniil Medvedev, and at Queen’s, in the final in Mallorca) is now the 35th player in the world. He will be the best placed Frenchman in the ranking which will be released on Monday, ahead of Ugo Humbert (39th at ATP). The latter has won only one match in the two grass tournaments where he has lined up.
Finally the young hope Arthur Fils (58th in the world) will play his first Grand Slam in London thanks to a wild card.