In 2023, after Novak Djokovic dominated London's hallowed grass four times in a row, the Wimbledon men's tournament finally had a different winner. It was the young Carlos Alcaraz who ensured the Serb was defeated at the prestigious Grand Slam for the first time since 2017. A new Wimbledon tournament is scheduled for the coming weeks, starting July 1st. Can Alcaraz pull it off again, will he have to give the title to Djokovic, or will someone else be poised to take home the title this year? Sjeng Sports offers a comprehensive preview, so you'll be well-prepared before the tournament begins!
Djokovic likely to participate after all
Djokovic long held the doubts about whether he would participate in this year's Wimbledon. The seven-time champion injured himself during Roland Garros and announced at the last minute that he would only decide whether he considered himself fit enough to compete. However, the latest reports are positive, and so he is expected to be available when he faces his Czech opponent Vit Kopriva. Rafael Nadal is definitely not participating. The Spaniard, a two-time winner of the London tournament, was not keen on switching from clay (Roland Garros) to grass (Wimbledon) and then back to clay, the court used for the Olympic Games.
Nadal's compatriot and defending champion in London, Alcaraz , can certainly prepare for his fourth Wimbledon appearance. He is one of Djokovic's main challengers, along with world number one Jannik Sinner . The Italian reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last year and proved to be in excellent form again this year with a tournament victory on the grass in Halle during his Wimbledon preparations. Other players who achieved final victories at the grass preparation tournaments were Alex de Minaur (Libéma Open), Tommy Paul (London), Jack Draper (Stuttgart), Alejandro Tabilo (Mallorca), and Taylor Fritz (Eastbourne). Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev are other players to watch in the coming weeks.
Three finals in a row for Ons Jabeur?
There's no obvious favorite to win the women's title. Iga Światek is, of course, the focus. The Polish player dominates on virtually every surface, but hasn't really been convincing on grass so far. Her best result in London so far was the quarterfinals in 2023. With names like Elena Rybakina , who already won Wimbledon in 2022, and Aryna Sabalenka , several other women are also poised to win the 2024 Wimbledon title. The same goes for Ons Jabeur . The Tunisian reached the Wimbledon final in both 2022 and 2023, but lost twice in a row to Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova , respectively. Will Jabeur manage to win the title this year? She'll certainly start her tournament with a match against Japan's Moyuka Uchijama.
Three compatriots in the main tournament
This year's Wimbledon main draw features three Dutch players. Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp will begin their men's tournament against Pabo Carreno-Busta and Liam Broady, respectively, while Arantxa Rus will face Yue Yuan in the women's tournament. Jesper de Jong and Tim van Rijthoven hoped to qualify for the main draw through qualifying, but neither Dutch player managed to advance. Suzan Lamens and Arianne Hartono attempted to qualify through qualifying in the women's event, but were also unsuccessful. For Van de Zandschulp, reaching the fourth round (2022) is his best result on the hallowed grass in London, while Griekspoor reached the second round that same year. Rus reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2012.
Wimbledon starts on July 1
Starting Monday, July 1st, the international tennis elite will be in London en masse to try and show their best game at Wimbledon 2024. The finals are scheduled for Saturday, July 13th (women's tournament) and Sunday, July 14th (men's tournament). Will Djokovic add another Grand Slam title to his list of achievements, or will the new generation be able to beat him? And will there be another female champion at Wimbledon this year? We'll see!
Latest Wimbledon winners:
2018: Novak Djokovic (m) and Angelique Kerber (f)
2019: Novak Djokovic (m) and Simona Halep (f)
2021: Novak Djokovic (m) and Ashleigh Barty (f)
2022: Novak Djokovic (m) and Elena Rybakina (f)
2023: Carlos Alcaraz (m) and Marketa Vondrousova (f)
Wimbledon men's and women's prize money:
Winner: €3,191,000
Runner-up: €1,654,000
Semi-final: €845,000
Quarterfinals: €443,000
Fourth round: €267,000
Third round: €169,000
Second round: €109,000
First round: €70,000
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