Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam to be cancelled in the pandemic-interrupted 2020, will return as usual with the pristine grass courts and wh...
Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam to be cancelled in the pandemic-interrupted 2020, will return as usual with the pristine grass courts and white outfits. But it will still be very different this year. In the last two years, the contenders and competition has been drastically altered.
Top seed and men’s defending champion Novak Djokovic enters as the overwhelming favourite on the cusp of reaching a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam. Women’s defending champion Simona Halep is missing due to injury while top seed Ashleigh Barty is coming off an injury withdrawal at French Open.
The runners-up in 2019 – Roger Federer and Serena Williams – are still out there among top seeds, but neither 39-year-old is being seen as a genuine challenger despite their grass-court pedigree. Meanwhile, none of the rising stars can be picked as a certain contender given their lack of consistent grass-court exploits.
This state of affairs essentially sums up what to look forward to in the men’s and women’s draw at the year’s third Grand Slam. A red-hot favourite among the men and no clear contender among the women.
Can Djokovic be stopped?
Djokovic is targeting a sixth Wimbledon title which will bring him tantalisingly closer to becoming only the third man in history to complete...
