He All England Lawn Tennis Club will open its doors this Monday to receive the 137th edition of Wimbledon and he could witness history in the next two weeks, as he has witnessed so many times in his almost 156 years of life. Because the three top favorites of the English Grand Slam are chasing three different records. Novak Djokovic He is on the verge of an extraordinary achievement: conquering his 25th “great” and becoming the top winner in the main category of world tennis. Jannik Sinner He could become just the third man in the Open Era to win his first two Majors in the same season. AND Carlos Alcarazthe sixth to win at Roland Garros and the British Open in the same year.
Under normal conditions Djokovic would be the great candidate to lift the trophy. However, the Serbian, 37 years old and second seed, underwent surgery on his right knee 26 days ago due to the tear in the medial meniscus that he suffered during the duel he won against Francisco Cerúndolo in Paris. And although his recovery defied medical timetables and last week he trained without problems on the London grass, there is no way to know with certainty how he will respond to the demands of a five-set duel until he takes the court. . He, too, is confident.
“I had a very good week of training, with very intense sessions with Sinner, Tiafoe, Medvedev, Ruusuvuori and Rune. The knee has responded very well so far, which is a good sign. And I still have a couple of days before the debut. “I trust in the health of my knee and my general physical condition is very good,” analyzed who will only take first place on Tuesday against the Czech. Vit Nettlecoming from the classification.
Asked why he rushed his return, considering especially that the Paris Olympic Games (where he will go for the elusive gold) will begin in less than a month, he once again showed his voracious hunger for glory.
“I have an incredible desire to play, to compete. Especially because it’s Wimbledon, which has always been a dream of mine. The mere idea of missing this pageant didn’t feel right. I have the idea of not missing a Grand Slam as long as I can play, as long as I am active and at this level,” he stated.
The doubts around Absent They do not respond only to that injury, which forced him to abandon Roland Garros before their quarterfinal match. His weak season also fuels uncertainty. The Serbian has not yet played in any final in 2024, an unprecedented scenario for him facing the third “big one” on the calendar. The last time he played a decisive match was in November, when he defeated Sinner to win the ATP Finals 2023 in Turin.
Touched or not, and at the level he is at, Nole has his sights set on the goal: the title he has already won seven times (one less than the record of Roger Federer) and that would allow him to break the tie with Margaret Court and become the absolute king of the Grand Slams. But he knows very well that he will have to work to achieve it, especially because between him and that historic milestone there are two great obstacles: Sinner and Alcaraz, the “threats” of the new generation who will go through the same half of the draw and will debut on the first day of competition.
The 22-year-old Italian will play his first Grand Slam as number 1 (he inherited it from the Serbian after the French Major) and is in a superlative moment, especially because he has just become champion in Hallewhere he had his first celebration on a grass date.
“What I did in Halle was important. Being confident can help you, especially on this surface. And I feel physically much better than at the beginning of Roland Garros, where I arrived with doubts. Last year I reached the semis here, so I know I can play good tennis. Although every year is different,” said the Italian, who will play around 2:30 p.m. with the German. Yannick Hanfmann (110° del ranking).
Champion this year in Australia, is going for his second “big” and if he achieves it, he will join the select group of players who won their first two Majors in the same season. In the Open Erathey just did it Jimmy Connors (Australia, Roland Garros and the US Open in 1974) and Guillermo Vilas (Paris and New York in 1977). Not even the huge Big 3 achieved something similar. Federer won the first in London in 2003 and the second in Melbourne in 2004. Rafael Nadal He inaugurated his record at this level in Paris 2005 and lifted his second trophy in that same competition the following year. And Djokovic had to wait three years between the first and second, which he achieved in Australia in 2008 and 2011.
Nor did Alcaraz, Sinner’s great rival in his generation, achieve that achievement. The Spanish won Flushing Meadows in 2021 and Wimbledon last year and is focused on defending the crown in the All England and add his third victory in the category.
Carlitos, third seed, will open the action on the Center Court (from 9:30) against the Estonian Mark Lajal, also emerged from the qualy. He has just won the French Open for the first time. And he seems to have left behind very quickly the blow he suffered in Queen’swhere they fell in the round of 16 against Jack Draper, did not retain the crown and lost the world number two in the hands of Djokovic. Going through that tournament, however, left him with something very positive.
“I realized at Queen’s that I could reach 100 percent of my maximum level on grass. “I realized the type of tennis I have to play on this surface to have good results,” she commented.
The 21-year-old from Murcia could become the first player to win Wimbledon in consecutive years since the “tetra” of Pete Sampras between 1997 and 2000, not counting Federer and Djokovic. Not even Nadal, champion in London in 2008 and 2010, achieved it. And also just the sixth man in history – and the youngest – to win the double in both European Majors in the same season. Who already got it? The legends of Big 3: Federer in 2009, Nadal in 2008 and 2010 and Djokovic in 2021; Swedish Björn Borg, in 1978, 1979 and 1980; and the Australian Rod Laverin 1962 (as an amateur) and 1969, years in which he won the four Grand Slams.
It is worth noting that in the women’s team, Iga Swiatek will look for a similar milestone. The 23-year-old Pole, number one in the world, would be the eighth woman to lift the trophies in Paris and London in the same year, after Margaret Court (1970), Evonne Goolagong (1971), Billie Jean King (1972), Chris Evert (1974), Martina Navratilova (1982 y 1984), Steffi Graf (1988, 1993, 1995 y 1996) y Serena Williams (2002 y 2015).
“I want to write my name on the short list of winners of Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know it will be very complicated and a great challenge. Winning Grand Slams is difficult. And it’s a big change from brick dirt to grass, totally different surfaces. But I’m ready,” Alcaraz warned.
Three great candidates, a title at stake and the chance to make history on the grass of the oldest and most traditional venue in tennis. An unmissable date.
Three Argentines on the field
The opening day of Wimbledon will feature the debuts of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Although Albiceleste fans will also be attentive to the presentations of Nadia Podoroska, Sebastian Baez y Mariano Navonewho will play this Monday at the All England.
Podoroska, 65th in the ranking, will collide in the first turn on court 4 (from 7 in Argentina) with the Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, 28th seeded. The Rosario will compete for the third time in the main draw of the “big” British, in which she was never able to get past the second round.
Báez, 18th seed, will face the American Brandon Nakashima, 65th in the ranking, in the second game on court 17 (around 9 o’clock). The man from Buenos Aires arrived in London without victories in the previous tour of this surface in which he played in Queen’s y Eastbourne. He has already played this tournament in 2022 (second round) and 2023 (first).
The last to take the court will be Navone, who will have his senior debut in the British Grand Slam. The one from 9 de Julio, one of the great revelations of the circuit this season and 31st seed, will go against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego54th in the world, in the last duel of the day on court 5, which will start at approximately 2:00 p.m.
The other Argentines who will play the tournament will be Francisco Cerúndolo (26°), Tomas Etcheverry (30°), Federico Coria, Facundo Díaz Acosta y Francisco Comesaña, in the men’s tournament; and Lourdes Carlé y Julia Rierain the feminine.
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