https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/atoz/grass_courts.html

The greatest tennis tournament in the world will start this upcoming Monday. 128 men and women from around the world come to London, England for a two week tournament at the All England Club and a shot at ultimate glory. This year comes with some exciting story lines on who will be crowned the winner of the 135th edition of The Championship.

The defending champion of the Men’s Singles title is Novak Djokovic, after defeating the Italian, Matteo Berrettini, in last year’s final. Djokovic is looking for his 4th consecutive title (omitting the canceled 2020 tournament). As well as, this 21st major overall which would take him past Roger Federer for the 2nd most major titles in Men’s Singles tennis, trailing only Rafael Nadal. Speaking of Nadal, he enters the tournament seeking his 23rd major title, which would increase his lead to 3 titles over both Federer and Djokovic. He is coming off of his French Open title (13th of his career at Roland Garros), battling the same foot injury that saw him miss the entire grass court season thus far. Nadal has said that new treatment on his foot has left him feeling little to no pain, and that he is excited to try and grab his 3rd career Wimbledon title.

This year’s tournament is without some of the top ranked players in the world. Wimbledon’s decision to ban all Russian and Belarusian players for this year’s tournament has been well published, and critiqued. This ban affected the number 1 ranked player in the world Daniil Medvedev, as well as, other notable Russian players like; Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Aslan Karatsev. The number 2 ranked player in the world, Alexander Zverev, will also be missing Wimbledon due to an ankle injury he suffered in the semi-finals of the French Open in May. It will be the first time in the Open Era that both the number 1 and 2 ranked players in the world will miss out on this illustrious tournament. As if that wasn’t enough, the world number 11 and 17 (Matteo Berrittini and Marin Cilic respectively) will both miss Wimbledon due to positive COVID tests. Berrettini, the defending finalist, had already won two grass court titles this year (Stuttgart and Queen’s) after returning from injury. Cilic had seen a recent rise in form that saw him reach the semi-finals of the French Open, and was hoping to make another deep run at these Championships, a tournament he was a finalist at in 2017.

Among the men remaining in the singles tournament, the favorites early on according to Vegas Insider include; Djokovic, Nadal, Alcaraz, Tsitsipas, Kyrgios, and former champion Andy Murray. The latter of which, Andy Murray, is looking for a 3rd title (2013, 2016) to add to his 46 career titles. Murray, who hasn’t reached the second week of a major since 2017, is a personal surprise to see as the 6th odds on favorite to win the tournament at +2800. While I enjoy watching Murray play, and will be rooting for him to make a deep run, I don’t believe his level is at a place that will see him win 7 consecutive matches.

My personal pick to win this tournament is Novak Djokovic. Although Nadal seems to have the easiest draw of the favorites in part to the late withdrawals of Berrettini and Cilic. Djokovic enters Wimbledon with an unusual amount of questions regarding his play. Due to his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine, he has only played 21 matches this year, and none since his quarter-final exit at the French Open. He also enters the week with 5 losses to his name on the year, and 1 title (Rome). Even with his shaky form and lack of matches, I still believe that he will claim his 7th Wimbledon title. Many of the “Next-Gen” players seem to struggle on grass. Tsitsipas saw a first round exit last year, and Casper Rudd was quoted as saying he thinks grass is for playing golf, not tennis. The biggest threat standing between Djokovic and yet another Wimbledon final is Hubert Hurkacz, a player who made the semi-finals in 2021 after dismantling Roger Federer 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-0. However, I don’t think the Polish player will have what it takes to dethrone Djokovic.

While I think it will take a player on his best day to even have a chance to steal the title from Djokovic, I am excited to see how the tournament takes shape. The Championships are always packed with surprise winners and great matches. As I claimed, this is my favorite tournament of the year and I always look forward to seeing the green grass on my TV. I will end this inaugural post with my picks for this year’s semi-finalist, as well as, who I think will make the finals.

Semi-Finalist:

  • Djokovic vs Hurkacz
  • Nadal vs Kyrgios

Final:

  • Djokovic vs Nadal

Winner:

  • Novak Djokovic

Sources: