 "Wimbledon 2024: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray enter chaotic draw despite surgeries")
Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were both placed in the men’s singles bracket for Wimbledon on Friday despite coming off recent operations .
That’s no guarantee though that either 37-year-olds past champions at the All England Club will actually take court at the event that begins Monday.
But Djokovic, at least, has appeared in practice sessions this week, less than a month after having surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee . The Serb has won seven of his men’s-record 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon.
Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, made clear on Thursday that he would wait until the last moment to decide whether or not to play and was likelier to do so in doubles — where he and his older brother, Jamie, were awarded a wildcard — than in singles. He had a cyst removed from his spinal cord last weekend.
Unseeded Murray drew Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic in the first round which will be scheduled for Tuesday, giving the Scot an extra day to try to be ready.
Incidentally, it was in a match against Machac at the Miami Open in March that Murray tore ligaments in his left ankle, one of a series of injuries he’s dealt with in the last couple of years. Murray says he plans to retire after, he hopes, participating in Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, which begin next month.
Djokovic is also pencilled in to begin on Tuesday, going up against qualifier Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic.
The men’s quarterfinals could be No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner vs. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 8 Casper Ruud on the top half of the bracket, with No. 2 Djokovic vs. No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, and No. 4 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 6 Andrey Rublev on the bottom half.
That sets up a possible semi-final between Sinner and Alcaraz. They have already developed quite a rivalry; Alcaraz beat Sinner in the french Open semifinals this month en route to lifting the title.
In the women’s draw, top-seeded Iga Swiatek, who has never been past the quarterfinals at the All England Club, was given a path that could be filled with past major champions.
Her opening opponent will be 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, who eliminated Coco Gauff in the first round at Wimbledon a year ago. The Pole could face 2018 Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber in the third round, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth, and defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals.
The other potential women’s quarterfinals are 2022 winner Elena Rybakina vs. No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula on the top half of the bracket with Swiatek-Vondrousova, and No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, and No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 8 Zheng Qinwen on the bottom half.
Gauff’s initial opponent will be another American, Caroline Dolehide. Other first-round women’s matchups include 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu against No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka against Diane Parry, and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka against 2017 US Open champ Sloane Stephens.
In the men’s bracket, Alcaraz will open his title defense against Mark Lajal, who will be making his Grand Slam main-draw debut after coming through qualifying.
Sinner starts against Yannick Hanfmann, who is 0-2 in Slam matches, and could meet 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Confusion during the draw
New Wimbledon tournament referee Denise Parnell’s first draw was hit by a bit of confusion when a few names were put on the wrong lines in the bracket and needed to be reshuffled.
Some seeded women, such as Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina and Ekaterina Alexandrova, wound up in incorrect spots and were eventually moved into the right places.
Parnell was appointed to the referee’s job last year. She is the first woman to be Wimbledon’s tournament referee in the tournament’s more than 120 years.
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