Wimbledon 2024: No.1s Sinner, Swiatek handed tricky paths

Top seeds face tough opposition from the start

©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT

Friday 28 June 2024 - Reem Abulleil

The draw for Wimbledon 2024 was unveiled on Friday, making way for some exciting scenarios ready to unfold over the next two weeks.

Sinner, Alcaraz land in same half

Jannik Sinner’s first Grand Slam as world No.1 will be a mighty test as the Italian will likely navigate a difficult path during the Wimbledon fortnight.

The reigning Australian Open champion has lost just three times this season, and arrives at the All England Club fresh off a title run in Halle – his fourth trophy of 2024. But that only means players will be as hungry as ever to knock him off his perch, and Sinner will have to be ready for it.

The top seed could square off with 2021 Wimbledon finalist and recent Stuttgart runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the second round and could get No.27 seed Tallon Griekspoor – who has taken a set off of Sinner in each of their last two meetings this year – in round three.

Fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev or No.10 seed Grigor Dimitrov could lie ahead for Sinner in the quarter-finals, while defending champion and recent Roland-Garros winner Carlos Alcaraz looms ahead as a possible semi-final opponent.

Third-seeded Alcaraz opens against 21-year-old Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal and shares a quarter with freshly crowned Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul and No.8 seed Casper Ruud.

Tamer road for Djokovic

Novak Djokovic’s assault on a men’s record-equalling eighth Wimbledon crown begins against Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva.

The Serbian world No.2 underwent a procedure for a torn meniscus in his right knee after Roland-Garros earlier this month, but practised with Sinner on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Thursday and appears to be in good spirits.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner could face No.15 seed Holger Rune in the fourth round with No.7 seed Hubert Hurkacz looming ahead a potential quarter-final foe.

No.4 seed and recent Roland-Garros runner-up Alexander Zverev, Stuttgart champion Jack Draper, or No.13 seed Taylor Fritz, are all possible opponents for Djokovic in the semi-finals.

Swiatek dealt tough opener

Iga Swiatek’s quest to claim a maiden Wimbledon title will require the world No.1 to be super-sharp from the get-go as she takes on former Australian Open champion and 2020 Roland-Garros finalist Sofia Kenin in the first round.

Currently riding a 19-match winning streak, Swiatek’s quarter of the draw is riddled with Grand Slam champions. The Polish five-time major winner could face Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round and could get defending champion Marketa Vondrousova or No.31 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the quarter-finals.

Another Wimbledon champion, 2022 winner and No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, recent Berlin champion and No.5 seed Jessica Pegula, or two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur, could lie ahead for Swiatek in the semi-finals, with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff both landing in the bottom half as potential final opponents for the top seed.

“I think competing at Wimbledon every year and practising those few weeks before, makes you progress on grass any way. Every year when I go there it becomes easier to transition, easier to adapt,” said Swiatek after picking up a fourth Roland-Garros title earlier this month.

“I think it's possible for me to use the progress I've been having on my serve this year on grass.”

Vondrousova begins her title defence against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. The first seed she could face is fellow Czech Krejcikova in round three, while in-form 11th seed Danielle Collins possibly awaits in the last-16 stage.

Unseeded threats

The women’s draw is packed with unseeded players who can cause some serious damage on the lawns of Wimbledon.

Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu reached her first final in two years at the WTA grass-court tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch two weeks ago and is a serious threat in that bottom quarter of the draw, which she shares with top-eight seeds Gauff and Paolini.

Two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist and 2023 Roland-Garros runner-up Karolina Muchova made her first appearance of the season – after undergoing wrist surgery in February – in Eastbourne this week, where she reached the quarter-finals before withdrawing with wrist pain. It could have been a precautionary withdrawal to be ready for Wimbledon, where she takes on another unseeded threat in the form of ex-world No.2 Paula Badosa.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is playing Wimbledon for the first time since 2019 and has shown promising form on grass in the build-up, making the quarters in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and playing a tight three-setter in her Berlin opener against Zheng Qinwen.

Home favourite and former US Open winner Emma Raducanu is coming off the first top-10 win of her career – over Jessica Pegula – and arrives at the All England Club with a semi-final showing at Nottingham and a quarter-final appearance in Eastbourne under her belt.

Former world No.1 and 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova recaptured her grass-court form with a march to the Nottingham final earlier this month.

On the men’s side, a finalist and a semi-finalist from Wimbledon 2021, Berrettini and Denis Shapovalov, are both unseeded and looming in the top quarter of the draw.

Recent Halle and Stuttgart quarter-finalist Jan-Lennard Struff is a player no one wants to face on grass and the German is one of the highest-ranked non-seeds in the draw. The same applies to last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks.