The Wimbledon championships gets underway in London Monday, July 3rd. Among the big names, Rafael Nadal is not going to feature in the tournament. However, the remaining big shots are going to take part and they should be able to make it an absorbing tournament.
However, Matteo Berrettini and Nick Kyrgios, who finished runners-up in the last two editions of the tournament, should be able to play in it after long injury lay-offs. Still, their form should be suspect, and they might struggle to repeat their previous heroics.
Moreover, top players like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are not very comfortable on the surface and have been experiencing indifferent form on it.
Now, let us take a look at three favorites to win the title:
#3. Jannik Sinner (Italy):
Most of the new generation of players are not very comfortable playing on grass and it might help the 21-year-of Sinner to go deep in the tournament. Sinner has a powerful serve and can hit blistering groundstrokes off either wing.
However, the young Italian will have to improve his net game and big-match temperament in order to seriously challenge for the title. He has the ground game and the legs to go all the way, though. Moreover, the relative lack of competition on grass will play to his advantage.
#2. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain):
Alcaraz is the current world No.1, but has failed to win either of the first two slams of the year. However, he has all the making of a true champion and has won five titles this year already. Grass is probably his least favored surface though.
Still, he managed to win his first title on the surface at Queen’s Club last week, which automatically makes him one of the favorites to win the Wimbledon title. His serve requires improvement, but the other aspects of his game are absolutely top-notch. His powerful forehand, quality drop shots and formidable net game should be enough to scare most of his opponents.
In addition to that, he is a big-match player, too, and gave Novak Djokovic a tough fight before suffering a cramp in the French Open semifinal this year. It remains to be seen how the talented Spaniard fares in the prestigious tennis tournament of all.
#1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia):
There is no peak in tennis left for the 36-year-old Serb to scale, but he will definitely like to win his eighth Wimbledon title this year to surpass Pete Sampras’ tally and be on level with Roger Federer. He has won the last four Wimbledon titles and starts as the firm favorite to extend his winning run at the All-England Club.
Djokovic’s improved serve, unparalleled defense, and solid net game remain his assets on the surface. Moreover, he is a big-match player like none other and his legendary mental toughness usually sees him through in most of the big matches. He has already won two Slams this year and thereby broken Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 Majors.
At this moment, The Serb himself is his biggest competitor and keeps setting the bar higher for himself only. Probably only Alcaraz stands between him and a mind-boggling eighth Wimbledon title.
Main Photo Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
