Tennis finally returns to its most sacred tournament. The hallowed grass courts of the All-England Club have played host to many great story lines over the tournament’s 144-year history. However, this year’s Wimbledon feels of heightened importance. If Novak Djokovic wins the men’s singles title, the three greatest players of this generation will have the same number of Grand Slam titles. The Serb in imperious form, heading into The Championships on the back of an incredible achievement at Roland Garros, where he became the only male player this century to have won every grand slam at least twice.
Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open
Djokovic’s achievement is all the more remarkable when you look deeper. First, he had to battle through an incredibly tough draw. In each of his last four matches, Djokovic dropped at least one set. Another important point to remember was the scheduling of his matches. The Serb played both his quarterfinal and semifinal at night, and both matches were physical encounters that lasted beyond the Paris curfew, with his semifinal with Nadal being of such high quality, the French government made a special exception to allow the fans inside Court Phillipe Chatrier to stay until the conclusion of the match.
A final point is that up until Roland Garros, it would be fair to say that the early part of the clay court season was a disappointment considering Djokovic’s high standards. Defeats to Dan Evans in Monte Carlo and Aslan Karatsev in Belgrade raised question marks over his form. Could he really win the French Open playing at that level? Even when he reached the final in Rome, Djokovic missed a break point chance in the deciding set and lost to Nadal, thus confirming the Spaniard’s status as the favorite for Roland Garros. However, Djokovic won Belgrade the week before the French Open. He began striking the ball significantly better that week, giving him the confidence and momentum required to challenge in Paris.
Djokovic at Wimbledon 2021
Djokovic begins his Wimbledon quest on Monday. In keeping with the unique tradition of The Championships, the defending Mens Champion always opens play on Centre Court. He faces home favorite Jack Draper, a player who the Serb openly admitted in his pre-tournament press conference at not knowing too much about.
Draper has got grass court form of his own heading into Wimbledon. The Brit reached his first ATP quarterfinal at Queen’s Club, including impressive straight sets wins over Jannik Sinner and Alexander Bublik. Draper possesses a big serve and baseline game, so Djokovic’s return will immediately be tested on Monday. It is important to not underestimate the challenge Djokovic will face not just from Draper himself, but the mental challenge of the Wimbledon crowd.
Whether people like to admit it or not, Djokovic has been disrespected by fans all over the world who support his opponent. Wimbledon has been no exception, despite its polite reputation. Against Kyle Edmund in the third round in 2018, Djokovic was visibly annoyed with the crowd. Another occurrence was in the 2019 final, where the crowd’s desperation for Federer to win went slightly too far.
Almost all of the crowd will be supporting the home favorite and underdog, so it will be interesting to see how Djokovic deals with this mental test early in the tournament. It will be a stark contrast to his run to the final of the doubles in Mallorca last week with Carlos Gomez-Herrera, where the Serb looked mentally relaxed. Such preparation should prove to be perfect for Djokovic. Playing doubles allowed him to work on key strengths of his game, such as the return of serve and the backhand, as well the slightly weaker elements of his game such as the overhead and volleys, without too much physical or mental exertion.
History on the line
If Djokovic gets through his first round match, the draw doesn’t get any easier. A potential rematch of the 2018 men’s final with Kevin Anderson awaits. The South African took two sets off Djokovic in the fourth round in 2015. Although currently short of confidence and form, Anderson always poses a threat. Should Djokovic make the quarterfinals, he could face Andrey Rublev. Rublev is a dangerous rising star, whom Djokovic has never played before.
Novak Djokovic is definitely the favorite for this year’s Wimbledon Men’s Singles title. However, it is by no means a given, and he will face many tests over the next two weeks. Whatever happens, ot is just great to finally have tennis back at SW19 again. It promises to be an exciting and thrilling Wimbledon.
Main Photo from Getty.
