Wimbledon 2023: Djokovic looks to equal Federer, Swiatek hopes to crack grass code and other talking points

Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, the top ranked players in the world, are the top seeds at Wimbledon. Yet it would be a long shot to call them title favourites. As the third major of the year gets underway on Monday (3 July), Novak Djokovic is the man to beat in the men’s singles event. The women’s singles field, however, looks tricky to call. A look at the talking points ahead of the 136th Championships at the All England Club in London Djokovic after more records Novak Djokovic is once again a prime contender for a Grand Slam. And it is tough to argue against it. He’s won Wimbledon four years in a row and seven times in total. If he lifts the trophy a fortnight later, he will match Roger Federer on record eight Wimbledon titles. Further, he will become the player with most Grand Slam titles in the Open Era - surpassing Serena Williams. His peers acknowledged they are flummoxed by what the Serb can do and has achieved. “I think if I saw it right, Novak is almost 50%. I think I saw he played 70 majors, and 35 times he was in the final. I don’t know how is it possible. He doesn’t have bad days?” queried Daniil Medvedev. “Actually, he does, like everybody but even on these bad days, he manages to beat the opponent. I don’t know how he’s doing it. That’s why he’s for me the greatest in the history of tennis.” Wimbledon 2023: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and other men's title favourites Alcaraz said: “He does things really, really easy. He moves really well. He hits the ball well, really clearly” “He has clean shot. It’s a mix of everything. I would say he doesn’t do anything wrong. It’s really tough to find some weakness in his game.” Djokovic has been virtually unbeatable at the iconic venue – he has not lost on Centre Court in 10 years since falling to Andy Murray in the 2013 final. His 84 wins at Wimbledon are more than the rest of the top 20 combined while nobody else in the current top 10 has ever made a semi-final. Adding to the occasion, another Wimbledon title will leave him needing to win the US Open to become the first man since 1969 to complete a calendar Grand Slam. “I don’t want to say that I am the greatest, because I feel it’s disrespectful towards all the great champions in different eras of our sport,” Djokovic had said after winning the French Open. “So I leave those kind of discussions of who is the greatest to someone else.” Can Alcaraz (or anyone) stop him?

World No.1 @carlosalcaraz is the first Gentlemen's Singles top seed at The Championships not named Djokovic, Federer, Murray or Nadal since 2003 😳#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/SfcBXgENfV

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2023

In men’s singles, the challenge lies in stopping Djokovic before even going for it all. Barring the Serb, only Andy Murray has won a title at SW19. As far as clinching a major is concern, there are six Grand Slam champions in the draw - Stan Wawrinka, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Dominic Thiem being the others. Records don’t make things promising for the rest: only three active players have won Wimbledon and one of them is not even playing (Rafael Nadal). So who can who stop him? Besides Djokovic, Nadal and unseeded Murray, four active players have reached the Wimbledon final: Matteo Berrettini, Marin Cilic (injured), Nick Kyrgios (injured) and Milos Raonic. The challenge, at the top, comes from World No 1 Alcaraz. The 2022 US Open winner is looking to become the third Spaniard to win a title at Wimbledon. The 20-year-old clinched the title at the Queen’s Club to highlight his growth on the surface. His best showing at Wimbledon, from two appearances, has been the fourth round. “Novak is the main favourite to win Wimbledon. That’s obvious,” Alcaraz didn’t shy away from admitting. Alcaraz got a taste of facing Djokovic in a Grand Slam at the French Open. His challenge lasted mostly two sets before he started cramping and fizzled out. He accepted later that the “stress and tension” of having Djokovic on the other side of the net had sparked his physical decline. Swiatek looks to find her footing on grass [caption id=“attachment_12818352” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Iga Swiatek is the top seed at Wimbledon in the women’s singles event. AP[/caption] Iga Swiatek will attempt to add Wimbledon to her CV after three French Open titles and a US Open. Grass has left her baffled in the three visits thus far. First round, fourth round and third round have been her performances over the last years. Her defeat to Alize Cornet last year ended a 37-match winning run. “I tried many things to feel better on a grass court, but it didn’t really work out,” said Swiatek after that loss to Cornet. This year, she’s started well. With semi-final foray in Bad Homburg, she went the deepest on the surface. That run was halted by fever and possibly food poisoning. The Pole has however continued on and will compete at the All England Club with first round against Zhu Lin. Who are the other contenders in the women’s draw?

Ladies' No.2 and No.3 seeds fine-tuning on Centre Court ✨@SabalenkaA 🤝 Elena Rybakina

#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/BoRpXjG3QX

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2023

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Should the 22-year-old Pole falter at Wimbledon again then there’s the defending champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open champion and World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka ready to pounce. Sabalenka, like other players from Russia and Belarus, was banned last year. She had made the semi-finals in 2021. Affecting Rybakina’s chances significantly is the virus which forced her to withdraw from the French Open. She is yet to fully recover and has a tricky first round against Shelby Rogers. Petra Kvitova, the 2011 and 2014 champion, is also hovering having won a sixth career grass-court title in Berlin. Russia, Belarus politics on the agenda After banning players from Russia and Belarus and having ability to award ranking points taken away, Wimbledon welcomes them this time around even as war in Ukraine continues. As a token of gesture, though, the tournament will pay Ukrainian players’ accommodation charges. Politics had been the theme at the French Open with Sabalenka largely at the forefront of it. She skipped two post-match press conferences citing her mental health and well-being adding she didn’t feel safe. This time she set the agenda early. “Before we continue I would like to say I’m not going to talk about politics,” the 25-year-old had said during the traditional pre-Wimbledon media briefing. “I’m here to talk about tennis only. Please respect that. “If you have any kind of political questions, you can ask the WTA or the tournament. They can send you the transcript of my answers from the previous tournaments.” Another aspect in the politics is the customary handshake after a match. The innocuous gesture sees Ukrainian players not shaking hands with players from Russia and Belarus. In Paris, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk told French fans they should be “embarrassed” for booing her after she refused to shake hands with Sabalenka. Elina Svitolina also refused after losing to Sabalenka in the quarter-finals. “I won’t sell my country out for likes,” said Svitolina who has been awarded a wildcard at Wimbledon. To play at Wimbledon this year, all Russian and Belarusians must sign a declaration of neutrality, have no links to state funding and must not demonstrate any support for the war. Relaxation in all-whites Wimbledon will move away from a long-held tradition of all-whites. Women can now wear dark-coloured underwear to reduce anxieties while on their periods. “Following consultation with players, women and girls competing at The Championships will have the option of wearing coloured undershorts if they choose,” said chief executive Sally Bolton. “It’s our hope that this rule adjustment will help players focus purely on their performance by relieving a potential source of anxiety.” Coloured underwear is not new to Wimbledon though. In 2007, Tatiana Golovin sported red shorts underneath her white dress, a decision which prompted a journalist to ask after: “Can I ask you about your knickers?” Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.