'No Escaping' Carlos

With each screaming forehand and screaming headline of his breakthrough year, the more it has seemed as though Carlos Alcaraz might as well just go ahead and officially change his first name to 'No Escaping'.

Opponents have been struggling to extricate themselves from his explosive game, with the 19-year-old Spaniard moving so quickly up the rankings this season – as a consequence of winning three titles on clay and another on hard – that he finds himself the No.5 seed at only his second Wimbledon.

There's certainly no escaping the chatter about Alcaraz's promise.

He will be threatening to become the youngest men's Grand Slam singles champion since Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros in 2005.

Victory this Fortnight would also make him the youngest men's singles champion since Boris Becker landed the 1986 title as an 18 year old, having won the previous summer at 17.

On hard and clay courts, Alcaraz hasn't exactly held back with his shots, and he is suggesting he will play with "even more aggression than usual" on the grass of the All England Club.

If there is one concern with Alcaraz – who opens against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff – it's that he hasn't had any official matches on grass this year, because of an elbow injury, though he did play some exhibition tennis at the Hurlingham Club in south-west London.

Carry on, Kontaveit?

As the No.2 seed in the ladies' singles, Anett Kontaveit is expected to make the final.

But before anyone gets ahead of themselves, the Estonian's initial target must be reaching the second week here for the first time.

Four times she has lost in the first round, including last summer, and her best result to date has been the third round. She opens against Bernarda Pera of the United States.

Ons the up

Playing doubles alongside Serena Williams is going to raise anyone's profile.

But Ons Jabeur, who partnered the American to the semi-finals in Eastbourne, has been doing enough on her own to elevate her status, with the Tunisian the No.3 seed in the ladies' singles (Williams, by contrast, is ranked the wrong side of 1,000 in the world, is unseeded and needed a wild card, having not played a singles match for a year).

Jabeur, who demonstrated she can play on grass by winning a tournament in Berlin, opens against Mirjam Bjorklund, a qualifier from Sweden.

Flying the Swiss flag

In Roger Federer's absence, at least one Swiss multiple Grand Slam champion with an old-school single-handed backhand has made it on to the grass.

Stan Wawrinka, who was given a wild card, plays Jannik Sinner, the 20-year-old Italian and the No.10 seed, in what promises to be an entertaining first round.

Time marches on

Can it really be 10 years since Lukas Rosol defeated Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon, in what was one of the greatest shocks in the history of The Championships?

While Nadal is looking to win what would be his 23rd Grand Slam title, which would put him level with Serena Williams, Rosol is also still around, though he had to come through Qualifying.

The Czech plays Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili.

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