Those who like their Grand Slam draws dense with intrigue found rich satisfaction when the die was cast for Wimbledon 2021 on Friday morning. The very first match drawn out of the bag pitted Novak Djokovic – gunning to complete part three of a calendar year Grand Slam – against the 19-year-old British wild card Jack Draper, who had such a splendid run to the quarter-finals at Queen’s. Did the world No.250 wince or grin when he discovered he would be opening Centre Court proceedings against the defending champion next Monday?
Further down the line, if this is to be the tournament where Djokovic equals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 Grand Slam titles, then (if the seedings pan out) the five-time Wimbledon champion will face Andrey Rublev in the last eight, and then Stefanos Tsitsipas – who ran him so close in the Roland-Garros decider earlier this month – in the semis.
What of Federer, who surrendered two Championship points on his own serve to Djokovic in the longest singles final in Wimbledon history two years ago? The eight-time champion – also known as the No.6 seed this year – will face the world No.42 Adrian Mannarino. Federer has six career victories without reply against the Frenchman, including two in SW19. That’s the kind of confidence-boosting armour the 39-year-old legend can do with, after an uncertain season so far in his comeback from two knee operations last year.
Federer is in the opposite half of the draw to Djokovic, and if the Swiss can fulfil his seeding he will play Daniil Medvedev in the last eight. The Russian – who is having a fine time of things on the Mallorca greensward this week – will himself give his increasing confidence on grass another workout against Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round. Meanwhile Tsitsipas, who has gone beyond the opening chapter just once at Wimbledon, starts his campaign against Frances Tiafoe; and the charismatic victor at Queen’s last weekend, Matteo Berrettini will take on Guido Pella.
Also in form on grass is the French left-hander Ugo Humbert, whose first hurdle at Wimbledon will be Nick Kyrgios. Humbert’s triumph in Halle will stand him in good stead. The mercurial Australian, on the other hand, has left his home nation for the first time in 15 months to play at Wimbledon. His last match was his third round defeat by Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open.
Elsewhere, it could have been better and it could have been worse for Andy Murray, drawn to face the No.24 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, yet to go beyond round two here. Currently ranked No.119, the champion of 2013 and 2016 is a wild card this time, having last played singles on the sacred lawns four years ago in a quarter-final defeat to Sam Querrey, when he was hampered by the hip injury which threatened to end his career.
Jannik Sinner, making his main draw debut in SW19 at 19 (and dispatched by Draper at Queen’s last week), will meet the experienced Martin Fucsovics. The US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev faces Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, while Marin Cilic – losing finalist to Federer four years ago – takes on Salvatore Caruso. Two-time semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, now 36, will start perhaps his last Wimbledon against Mikael Ymer; and Kei Nishikori, who has twice made the last eight, kicks off against Alexei Popyrin.
Other eyecatchers include a charisma-fest between Grigor Dimitrov and Fernando Verdasco. British eyes will be drawn to No.22 seed Dan Evans against 39-year-old Feliciano Lopez, winner at Queen’s just two years ago; while Cameron Norrie’s reward for his first time seeding is a joust with Lucas Pouille.
Hold tight, everybody. It’s going to be a great ride.
