The die is cast. The draw for Wimbledon (June 27 – July 10), operated this Friday, delivered some trends. Seeded N.1, in the absence of Daniil Medvedev, excluded, Novak Djokovic, triple title holder, will have a first round a priori without roughness against the South Korean Kwon Soon-woo (N.75). If nothing then hinders his progress, the Serb could find Spanish nugget Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
For his first Wimbledon since 2019, Nadal is offered the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo as a digestible appetizer. On a lawn, where he is chasing after a third success since 2010, he may also have to scrap with Felix Auger-Aliassime, to whom he had fought a daunting fight in five sets, a few weeks ago at Roland-Garros, in the eighth of final. Italian Matteo Berrettini, finalist last year and victorious in Stuttgart and Queen’s this month, will be in Nadal’s half of the table for a possible semi-final.
On the side of the local idols, Andy Murray, injured since his lost final in Stuttgart, will do battle with the Australian James Duckworth in the first round. He will then possibly have to measure himself against the powerful server John Isner in the second round. Regarding the meager tricolor chances in the tournament, after Gaël Monfils’ package, there will be a Franco-French duel between Benoît Paire and Quentin Halys in the first round.
Adrian Mannarino has an entry point within his reach with Australian qualifier Max Purcell, while Richard Gasquet has been offered Portuguese Joao Sousa.
A smooth introduction for Swiatek
Among the ladies, for her return to Wimbledon, where she won seven times, the American Serena Williams inherited a first affordable opponent with the Frenchwoman Harmony Tan, 113th player in the world. At 40 and after a one-year hiatus since retiring from the same tournament in 2021, Williams has received an invitation from organizers. The former world No.1, now down past 1,000th place due to her long absence, took part in the grass doubles tournament this week at Eatsbourne, where she spent two rounds with Ons Jabeur, before to forfeit due to an injury to his Tunisian partner.
Not yet very sharp, the youngest of the Williams sisters has, however, lost none of her power and her aggressiveness, even if she seemed to lack a bit of speed on the move. For Tan, 24, it will be an already unforgettable first appearance on the London lawn, after his semi-final in Venice in mid-June. Seeded N.1, the Polish Iga Swiatek, will face the Croatian Jana Fett, from the qualifications. She has in her half of the table the finalist of last year, the Czech Karolina Pliskova (N.7) whom she could therefore meet in the semi-finals, when the defending champion, the Australian Ashleigh Barty, took her retirement in March.