Novak Djokovic just won his record 23rd career Grand Slam at Roland Garros, and he’ll be eyeing more history when Wimbledon starts next week.
The Serb is a huge favourite to win this tournament, according to the Wimbledon 2023 odds, and he’ll get to remind everyone why he’s arguably the greatest player on grass courts in history.
Standing in his way is Carlos Alcaraz, who also comes into this tournament in fine form. The young Spaniard just won in his Queen’s Club Championships debut to regain his top spot in the ATP rankings.
Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek, the winner in women’s singles at Roland Garros, is up for a tall task here at Wimbledon since she hasn’t gone too far in this tournament in recent years. Elena Rybakina, seeded third in the WTA rankings, figures to be her biggest roadblock as the defending champion.
For more SBOTOP Wimbledon 2023 updates, continue reading below.
Djokovic continue to make history
Djokovic will be gunning for his eighth career Wimbledon title, which would put him level with Roger Federer, and it would be hard to bet against him in this competition.
In case you didn’t know, Djokovic has won his last 28 straight matches at Wimbledon and his last 39 on Centre Court. His last loss dates back to 2017, when he retired due to an elbow injury that actually sidelined him for the rest of the campaign that year.
He also hasn’t lost on Centre Court in almost 10 years, with the last defeat coming against Andy Murray in the 2013 final. And he also went 7-0 against Top 10 players in the same time period.
Djokovic has won four Wimbledons in a row, and he’ll try to become the third man in the Open Era to win it in five consecutive years after Bjorn Borg (1976-1980) and Roger Federer (2004-2008).
Djokovic hasn’t had much time to get himself used to the grass courts this year. But he still has the biggest target on his back heading into Wimbledon because he’s no stranger to working his way into form throughout the course of the event, which he did at Roland Garros, despite not being exactly a huge fan of playing on clay courts.
Alcaraz back on top
Prior to last weekend, Alcaraz lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Roland Garros, where he gamely fought to carry on after cramping up in the third set.
After the heartbreaking defeat, Alcaraz put questions about his fitness level to rest when he won his first grass-court title at the Queen’s Club Championships.
Alcaraz still has a lot to prove on grass courts, but he emerged as the second favourite behind Djokovic after moving back up on top of the ATP rankings.
The young Spaniard rose to the top of the ATP rankings because of his aggressive attitude and power, and that will be his key to success at Wimbledon, especially his serve.
He ranks eighth on the ATP Tour for percentage of service games won this year at 85.19-per cent, and he’s also great at return games won at 36.74-per cent. Those will come in handy if he meets Djokovic in the later rounds since the Serb’s last two losses at Wimbledon have been both against big servers in Tomas Berdych and Sam Querrey.
With Alcaraz getting more comfortable on grass courts, he believes he can win Wimbledon this year while putting on a show in front of fans in the UK.
“Wimbledon is a tournament that I really wanted to win someday. I have a lot of confidence to make that dream possible this year,” said Alcaraz.
Swiatek trying to be comfortable being uncomfortable
Despite being on top of the WTA rankings for the 65th consecutive week, Iga Swiatek has a point to prove at Wimbledon.
She just won her fourth Grand Slam at Roland Garros, but her record on grass courts leaves a lot to be desired for her to be considered the prohibitive favourite to win.
Swiatek has yet to win a WTA tournament on grass, and she hasn’t made it past the Round of 16 in London. Overall, she has a 7-5 career record on the surface.
Right now, Swiatek is competing in the Bad Homburg Open in order to get more comfortable on the surface. She is through to the Round of 16, and she’ll take on Jil Teichmann next.
Going deep into Wimbledon will certainly do her favours, with Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina both creeping up in the WTA rankings.
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