Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the top two seeds at Wimbledon and could meet in what would be another historic Grand Slam final on July 10 at the All-England Club.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the top two seeds at Wimbledon and could meet in what would be another historic Grand Slam final on July 10 at the All-England Club. But there is a long way to go for both men before that. Djokovic, 35, is the defending champion, No. 1 seed and the favorite. The 20-time major champion is seeking his first major title since capturing Wimbledon last year. He came up one match short of winning the calendar Grand Slam in the U.S. Open final against Daniil Medvedev. The Russian is now ranked N. 1 in the world but is unable to compete at Wimbledon because the tournament banned Russian and Belarusian players in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Djokovic was then unable to compete at the Australian Open after being deported ahead of the tournament because he was unvaccinated against Covid-19 and then, after also being unable to play at Indian Wells and Miami for the same reasons, he lost to Nadal in four sets in the French Open quarterfinals. Djokovic opens against No. 75 Soonwoo Kwon and could face big-serving American Reilly Opelka in the fourth round. Djokovic’s draw looks pretty good but things could get interesting with a potential quarterfinal matchup with rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb could then face French Open runner-up Casper Ruud in the semifinals before taking on Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
“He’s been trying to get it back,” ESPN analyst John McEnroe said of Djokovic on a conference call.
