Wimbledon has not been a place of fond memories for Alexander Zverev but this year he enters the event with a fresh burst of confidence.
Only twice has the German managed to reach the fourth round stage at The All England Club which was in 2017 and 2021. Overall he has won just 13 matches at Wimbledon which is less than any other Grand Slam. The numbers don’t look great for Zverev but he believes that this year’s draw could be the most open it has been for two decades.
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic recently underwent knee surgery and only time will tell how his body will hold up after multiple best-of-five matches. Carlos Alcaraz’s pre-match preparation saw him lose in the second at Queen’s to an in-form Jack Draper. On a more positive note, world No.1 Jannik Sinner recently won his first grass title in Halle but only one out of the five players he faced was in the top 40.
“It’s the first time I feel like I’m here to be a competitor, to maybe win the title,” Zverev told reporters on Saturday.
“I think this is the most open Wimbledon Championship that we maybe had in 20 years in terms of favourites, in terms of potential winners.
“I think there’s multiple guys who have a very decent chance of going deep and very decent chance of winning the tournament.
“I don’t think it has been like that for maybe 20 years since before Roger started playing, right? After Roger came Rafa, Novak, Andy. I really feel it’s different this year.”
Last year Alcaraz broke the stronghold of the Big Four when he ousted Djokovic in a five-set battle to become the first player out of the quarter to win Wimbledon since 2002. More recently he won the French Open which made him the youngest man to win major titles in all three surfaces.
“I want to put my name on that short list to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I know that there’s going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I’m ready to do it.” Alcaraz declares.
“I’m doing great work these last weeks just to get ready and just to feel comfortable to play Wimbledon at my 100%.”
Winning back-to-back Wimbledon’s is a tough task. Only Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic have managed to achieve this over the past 30 years.
As for Djokovic, the recent injury setback has had little impact on his high expectations and belief that he can triumph yet again. Should he do so he would draw level with Federer for the most Wimbledon men’s titles won at eight. Alcaraz describes his rival as ‘superhuman’ because of his swift recovery. However, Djokovic believes he only was able to do so after taking inspiration from other athletes.
“When that happened in the fourth round of Roland Garros, I made a very quick decision to have surgery and I was very much in doubt to make Wimbledon,” he explained.
“Then, after extensive conversations with certain athletes that have been through very similar situations – for example, Taylor Fritz, who has been through something pretty much the same like I have three years ago. He said 21 days after he played his first round in Wimbledon.
“(Stan) Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, they all shared their experiences and really, that gave me faith and optimism that if rehab is done right and correct, and if of course the knee responds well – which is something that is very unpredictable – then there is a pretty good chance I’ll make Wimbledon.
“I arrived here on Sunday. It’s been a week of training. A very good week of training.”
Out of the 128 players in this year’s men’s draw, only four have previously reached a Wimbledon final – Alcaraz, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini.
