It’s the oldest Grand Slam event in the world and a unique sporting spectacle enjoyed by millions of tennis fans, but this year’s Wimbledon promises to be more dramatic than ever.
The decision of the tournament organizers to close the event to Russian players, means that there will be no Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon. While his compatriot Andrey Rublev will also miss out due to the injury he sustained in Paris, which requires surgery and rehabilitation.
In retaliation, the ATP decided to remove ranking points from the Grand Slam, which means that even winning this year’s tournament will not provide a rankings boost. Nevertheless, Wimbledon’s allure is enough to ensure a truly competitive competition, and in the men’s tournament, there is one player who has other motivations for chasing Grand Slam glory.
Tennis fans, pundits, and sports betting customers weighing up the best sportsbook promos cannot ignore the fact that Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming favorite here. After a disappointing season of upheaval, he will be strongly motivated to get his hands on the Wimbledon trophy. The Serb has fallen two Grand Slams behind his great rival Rafael Nadal in the battle for all-time greatest champion status. Nadal has 22 to his name, while Djokovic and Roger Federer – who is out of action due to injury – have 20 each.
Djokovic’s Motivation
Novak Djokovic has won the last three Wimbledon titles, giving him six successes overall, two fewer than all-time leader Roger Federer. Winning the 2022 Wimbledon would enable him to close the gap and would also help him to salvage his season, which has been disappointing to say the least.
It all began when he was kicked out of Australia for not being vaccinated, so he was unable to defend his Australian Open title. He also had to miss the Sunshine Double in America for the same reason.
After missing nearly two months of tennis activity, Djokovic began preparation for the clay-court season in Belgrade, then losing in the final against Rublev. He reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, then won the Rome Open. But, he was dumped out of the French Open by Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Can the Spanish Contenders Stop Djokovic?
Carlos Alcaraz and Nadal are the likeliest players to stop the Serb, at least according to bookmakers.
Alcaraz has been fantastic this year, but as a teenager, he still lacks experience of the big stage. In fact, he’s only played Wimbledon once, reaching the Second Round last year. Still, there is no denying his talent and potential, and it is worth noting that he already has eight wins over Top Ten players, including Nadal and Djokovic, so this could be his time to shine.
Nadal, of course, will always be a threat. With the Australian and French Opens already in his trophy cabinet, he still has the opportunity to win all four Grand Slam events in a single calendar year, a feat that has not been achieved since 1969. But, there’s no doubt that Wimbledon is historically his least successful of the four Grand Slams. His talent means that he has still managed to win it twice, but the grass-court surface does not suit the King of Clay, who has won the French Open an astonishing 14 times.
Other Wimbledon Contenders
Besides the two main Spanish threats, there are a couple of other contenders. Marin Cilic was runner-up at Wimbledon in 2017, losing to Federer in the final, but five years on, he is at the peak of his powers. He reached the semi-final in Paris, which is a good sign, given that clay is not his favorite surface. In fact, with 77 grass wins to his name, he is regarded as one of the best grass-court players in the business.
Then of course, there’s the home favorite, Andy Murray. There is no doubt that the two-time Wimbledon winner will have all the UK support. The Wimbledon crowd will be behind Murray – the first UK player to have won the Men’s Singles title since Fred Perry in 1936, and that can make a difference. Another advantage for the British player is that he enjoys playing on grass, as seen by his 82.7 percent win rate on this surface. He is also the second-most successful player in grass-court competitions in the twenty-first century, with 110 victories. Can he shake off his recent struggles and rise to the challenge at his favorite venue? It would be a fantastic story and is just one of the many compelling aspects of this year’s Wimbledon.
