Novak Djokovic will bid to win a men’s record-extending 24th Grand Slam crown when Wimbledon gets underway next week but while the Serbian has won the last four titles at the All England Club he will be seeded second behind Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic drew level with Rafa Nadal on 22 majors by winning the Australian Open and moved ahead of the injured Spaniard when he claimed the French Open.
Victory in London would see Djokovic match Roger Federer’s men’s record of eight Wimbledon crowns but he faces a challenge from Alcaraz, who reclaimed the world number one ranking from the Serbian by winning the Queen’s Club title on Sunday.
The Spaniard had ceded top spot to Djokovic following the French Open, where he lost to the 36-year-old in the semi-finals after suffering from severe cramp.
The duo will look to take their rivalry to another level after largely being kept apart earlier in the year due to injuries and with Djokovic unable to play in the US hardcourt swing due to his COVID vaccination stance.
Russian Daniil Medvedev will be the third seed and compatriot Andrey Rublev seventh, as both players return to Wimbledon after organisers lifted a ban on players from Russia and Belarus..
Twice champion Andy Murray, who has resurrected his career after hip resurfacing surgery, had his hopes of being seeded dashed following his early exit at Queen’s.
Iga Swiatek will be the top women’s seed but the Pole’s unease on grass means defending champion Elena Rybakina will be the one to beat at the Grand Slam while big-hitting Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka will also fancy her chances.
Swiatek inherited the world number one ranking when Ash Barty retired in April 2022 and while she has proved a worthy successor to the Australian, the majority of her success has come on hardcourts and clay.
The 22-year-old has won three French Open titles, a U.S. Open crown and reached the Australian Open semi-finals but has failed to progress beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon.
World number two Sabalenka, a 2021 semi-finalist, returns to the All England Club after organisers lifted the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, seeded third, won at Indian Wells and reached the Australian Open and Miami finals, but missed out on ranking points from her Wimbledon win last year after the Grand Slam was penalised for its ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Swiatek, Rybakina and Sabalenka, dubbed the new Big Three, will have to fight off a challenge from Tunisian trailblazer Ons Jabeur, who will bid to become the first African woman and Arab player to win a Grand Slam singles title after reaching last year’s Wimbledon and US Open finals.
Another contender is twice champion Petra Kvitova, who stunned Rybakina to win the Miami Open and warmed up for the grasscourt Slam by claiming her second title of the season at the German Open.
Katie Boulter will carry home hopes in the absence of former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who is recovering from surgery.
Seedings for the men’s singles tournament at Wimbledon:
1 – Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
2 – Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
3 – Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
4 – Casper Ruud (Norway)
5 – Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
6 – Holger Rune (Denmark)
7 – Andrey Rublev (Russia)
8 – Jannik Sinner (Italy)
9 – Taylor Fritz (U.S.)
10 – Frances Tiafoe (U.S.)
11 – Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
12 – Cameron Norrie (Britain)
13 – Borna Coric (Croatia)
14 – Lorenzo Musetti (Italy)
15 – Alex de Minaur (Australia)
16 – Tommy Paul (U.S.)
17 – Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
18 – Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina)
19 – Alexander Zverev (Germany)
20 – Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany)
21 – Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
22 – Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)
23 – Sebastian Korda (U.S.)
24 – Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan)
25 – Yoshihito Nishioka (Japan)
26 – Nicolas Jarry (Chile)
27 – Denis Shapovalov (Canada)
28 – Daniel Evans (Britain)
29 – Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands)
30 – Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina)
31 – Nick Kyrgios (Australia)
32 – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain)
Seedings for the women’s singles tournament at Wimbledon:
1 – Iga Swiatek (Poland)
2 – Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
3 – Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
4 – Jessica Pegula (U.S.)
5 – Caroline Garcia (France)
6 – Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
7 – Coco Gauff (U.S.)
8 – Maria Sakkari (Greece)
9 – Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
10 – Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
11 – Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
12 – Veronika Kudermetova (Russia)
13 – Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
14 – Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
15 – Liudmila Samsonova (Russia)
16 – Karolina Muchova (Czech Republic)
17 – Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
18 – Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
19 – Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
20 – Donna Vekic (Croatia)
21 – Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia)
22 – Anastasia Potapova (Russia)
23 – Magda Linette (Poland)
24 – Zheng Qinwen (China)
25 – Madison Keys (U.S.)
26 – Anhelina Kalinina (Ukraine)
27 – Bernarda Pera (U.S.)
28 – Elise Mertens (Belgium)
29 – Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania)
30 – Petra Martic (Croatia)
31 – Mayar Sherif (Egypt)
32 – Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic)
Entertainment5 months ago
Entertainment5 months ago
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