By Chris Oddo | Sunday June 26, 2016
Get your Grand Slam eyes on, people, it’s time for Wimbledon. The Championships. The fortnight. Whatever you want to call it, it’s here. There’ll be some big stars in action on Monday at Wimbledon. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’re excited to watch…
More: Federer Motivated to Reconnect with Aura at Tennis Mecca
Djokovic, Federer in action
Novak Djokovic has been resting and coming down from the emotional high of winning Roland Garros, while Roger Federer has been beefing up his grass game and getting inspired by making his return to tennis mecca. Both will show us what they’ve got on Monday, as Djokovic will open Centre Court in the champion’s slot against Great Britain’s James Ward, while Federer will close the day with a tilt against Argentina’s Guido Pella.
“Obviously I'm at the peak of my career at the moment,” Djokovic told a packed room of reporters during his Sunday presser. “It hopefully can still keep going. I see still lots of room for improvement, things that I can work on. That's something that encourages me. That's something that keeps me grounded in a way, gives me more reason to practice.”
Federer, also sanguine, has expectations that have been a bit tempered by his difficult season. But he’s still pumped to be at tennis mecca, make no mistake.
“I love this tournament more than anything,” Federer said on Saturday. “It's a huge opportunity for me to maybe turn around the season. Who knows. Yeah, then just play some nice tennis, enjoy myself here.”
Sounds like a plan, Roger….
Venus Williams to play 19th Wimbledon
As Venus Williams primes for another run at Wimbledon, we’re sitting here wondering if she has some tricks up her sleeve. Already the fourth most winningest female in Wimbledon history, the five-time champion could be in good enough form to make a run here. A peek at her draw tells us that if Venus plays up to her potential (think grass guru, power broker, lethal serve, first-strike maven, net cleaner-upper) she can make a run to the quarters (who knows from there). It’s early, we know. Let’s see how she fares against Donna Vekic in the first match on Court No.1 on Monday.
Madison Keys, one of three Americans seeded in the Top 10 on the women’s side (most since 2005 at a major if you’re scoring at home) will also be in action on Day 1. She meets Laura Siegemund on Court 2 (second match).
Muguruza faces a tough Day 1 challenge
There are a lot of things that could make a first-round encounter with Camila Giorgi on Centre Court tricky for this year’s French Open winner. First, the Italian is a pugnacious and formidable foe on grass, who owns an 8-5 lifetime record at Wimbledon and has not lost a first-round match here since 2011. Second, Muguruza has to deal with coming back down to earth after a momentous maiden major title at Roland Garros. Third, the earth will be slippery—as in Centre court, Day 1 slippery. Muguruza told reporters on Sunday that movement on grass has always been tricky for her:
“I think sometimes it's hard to run on grass,” she said. “On clay you can, like, slice. On hard court, you can grab more here. It's like sometimes I'm too tall, I don't know, feel weird sometimes.”
The Spaniard proved last year that she can move just fine on grass by reaching the Wimbledon final, but she’ll have to prove it all over on Monday, and if Giorgi is in menacing form, that could be difficult.
Other Notable encounters
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova, the seventh seeds in the doubles draw, will meet in singles for the first time in six years on Day 1. Can you say bummer draw? But not a bummer for fans who park it on Court 8. They’ll also get to see Karlovic-Coric and Sock-Gulbis is they don’t let their seats go… Grigor Dimitrov and Bjorn Fratangelo on Court 16? Sounds like fun to us… Sabine Lisicki, Wimbledon wonder, will face Shelby Rogers on Court 18, first up, followed by Janko Tipsarevic vs. Gilles Simon… Feeling French? Then how about Gael Monfils vs. Jeremy Chardy, fourth up on Court 12?
By the Numbers
2011 – Laura Robson defeated Angelique Kerber in Wimbledon’s first round five years ago.
2 – Novak Djokovic is bidding to become the second man in history to win five consecutive Grand Slam titles. Don Budge, who once won six titles consecutively, is the last man to achieve the feat, in 1938 and 1939.
7 – Only seven women have won Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back in Open Era history, and only twice has it happened since the turn of the century (Serena Williams, 2002, 2015). Garbine Muguruza will bid to become the eighth.
9 – British men in the main draw, the most since 2006.
49 – Number of thirtysomethings in this year’s Wimbledon draw, most in history.