By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday June 27, 2029
Looking inside the stories that are poised to move the needed during this Wimbledon fortnight.
Photo Source: Getty
Wimbledon’s main draw takes place Friday morning, and soon we’ll all be knee deep in the pageantry of the 136th staging of Wimbledon.
Before we get there, let’s have a look at some of the major grass court storylines that are developing ahead of the tournament.
Djokovic Bids for 24
It feels like it was yesterday that we watched Novak Djokovic crowned in Paris as the first man to ever claim a 23rd major title. But time flies in tennis, and what happened three weeks ago is now old news. There are bigger mountains to climb for the trailblazing Serbian, who is looking to win a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title at SW19. Djokovic can also tie Margaret Court on the all-time Grand Slam singles titles list with 24, as well as tying Roger Federer on the men’s singles titles list at Wimbledon with eight.
Ridiculously heady stuff...
Djokovic, who has won his last 28 Wimbledon matches, has been recharging his batteries since his triumph at Roland-Garros (he skipped all warmup events, as he typically does), and he’ll enter as the preeminent favorite and the resident grass guru. On a surface that rewards experience more than any other, the 36-year-old is in prime position to make more history on Wimbledon’s hallowed Centre Court.
An Opportunity for Iga?
Fresh off her fourth major title at Roland-Garros, Iga Swiatek will look to assert herself on the grass at SW19, where she is a former junior champion but has yet to reach beyond the round of 16 in three previous main draw appearances.
A quick glance around at the rest of the field paints a hopeful picture for Swiatek. Elena Rybakina, last year’s champion, has gone 1-1 on the grass this summer and recently pulled out of Eastbourne, citing complications from the illness that forced her to withdraw from Roland-Garros. That’s not good.
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka, the 2021 runner-up at Wimbledon, has split two matches on grass this summer.
What it means: the two biggest threats to Swiatek are coming in with less than stellar form and it could work in the Pole’s favor. Swiatek, who owns a 8-5 lifetime record on grass at tour-level and who has never been beyond the round of 16 at any event on the surface, has elected to play at Bad Homburg this week, where she is set to face Ana Blinkova in the quarterfinal. It’s wise for Swiatek to get some rhythm on the surface and if she can keep improving her form round by round, she could be in line to add a Wimbledon title to her resume.
With her biggest rivals not showing dominant form, the chances of that happening go up.
It doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of sharks circling the World No.1. We saw exactly that last year when she fell to giant killer Alizé Cornet in the third round.
But 2023 just sets up a lot better for Swiatek than 2022. Also working in Swiatek’s favor? She’s not riding a 37-match winning streak and all the pressure (and fatigue) that goes with it, like she was last year. She’ll come in with lower expectations, looking to improve round by round, and that has historically been a perfect environment for the Pole to thrive.
Alcaraz a Worthy Challenger (and top seed)
Let’s face it: Djokovic is the man to beat at SW19 and nobody in the men’s draw has anything close to the grass-court pedigree of the 23-time major champion. But that doesn’t mean he’s a lock – that’s why we play the matches, after all.
With that in mind we’ll all be curious to see if Carlos Alcaraz can parlay the fine form he displayed at Queen’s Club, where he won his maiden grass court title last week, into a special run at Wimbledon.
It may not be the Spaniard’s time to shine on the grass, given that he is so young and relatively new to the grass court game. But the progress he has shown over the last two seasons points to a very bright future on this surface. Alcaraz and his complete game are surely going to be a fixture deep in the Wimbledon men’s singles draw for many years to come.
Is he ready to hit the high notes on the ryegrass?
Alcaraz is capable of making giant, somewhat unexpected strides, and if he can make his way to the final and earn a rematch of his Roland-Garros semifinal with Djokovic, it will make for a dream final on Centre Court.
Czechs out the Czechs on the Women’s Side
Petra Kvitova, crazily, has not been past Wimbledon's round of 16 since she claimed her second title at SW19 in 2014. How can that be? One of the most gifted grass-court players of her generation, she holds a 71-22 lifetime record on the surface, and she is fresh off winning the Berlin title without dropping a single set.
Perhaps nerves and the weight of expectations have sabotaged her last seven appearances on the hallowed grass of the AELTC. Perhaps she simply hasn’t peaked at the right time in London of late. But if Kvitova can ride the hot hand during the fortnight, who would dare say she couldn’t win this title?
While we’re on the subject of Czech women, let us not forget Karolina Muchova, two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist who is fresh off of her maiden Grand Slam final in Paris, and Barbora Krejcikova, who played the final last week at Birmingham. Both could be up for a deep run...
Andy Murray, Dangerous Floater?
After reeling off 10 straight challenger wins – and two consecutive titles – on grass, Andy Murray was toppled by Alex de Minaur in his first match at Queen’s Club, 6-3, 6-1. That’s not a great result, but hopefully it gave the two-time Wimbledon champion time to rest and reboot for the Championships.
Murray hasn’t been to the second week of a Grand Slam since he reached the last eight at Wimbledon in 2017. Does he have a deep run in him? If it is going to happen, it will surely happen at Wimbledon, on his best surface by far. Murray owns a 117-27 lifetime record on grass, the 81.3 winning percentage coming in far better than the 75.2 percentage he has earned on grass.
Who’s Hot?
We have to look to the players who have demonstrated form on the grass in the last two weeks. Frances Tiafoe won his first grass title at Stuttgart, and is riding high after making his Top 10 debut. Jelena Ostapenko powered past Barbora Krejcikova for the Birmingham crown and is looking dangerous. Alexander Bublik won the prestigious Halle title, which represents a big-tournament breakthrough for him – will it fuel his confidence?
Experience Is HUGE
Because of the nuance of the surface, and the super fast turnaround from clay to grass, playing well on grass takes a high degree of savoir faire. That’s why we always keep our eyes on tried-and-true veterans who know the ins and outs of the surface.
Venus Williams, five-time champion, is one of them. She may be past her prime, but the 42-year-old wild card is still capable of doing damage. Nick Kyrgios and Matteo Berrettini would typically be players to watch on the men’s side, but it isn’t clear how healthy either is at the moment, unfortunately.
Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia certainly have the potential to make a deep run, as do Sebastian Korda, Denis Shapovalov, Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz on the men’s side. There are many more names like that (Camila Giorgi, Alison Riske Amritraj, etc...) – we’ll give you some more when the draws come out on Friday.