Wimbledon 2023

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Wimbledon draw is published today. Should Djoko and Alcaraz progress at least they won't have to meet before the final unlike RG.

There might be less pressure on Carlos next week as most will have Novak as clear favourite. Alcaraz lost to Sinner in a terrific match last year but given another year's experience and a title at Queen's, Carlos can be expected to go deep this year.

Difficult to see much beyond the top two for the title but would be interested to hear what others might think and who they reckon we should watch out for. Expectations for Murray were somewhat dissipated by his defeat at Queen's by De Minaur in the sort of match you feel he should have done better at if he wanted to do well at SW19.

Still, as Dunblane's finest said himself, no one will fancy meeting him in the first round.

Swiatek went into Wimbledon last year on a massive unbeaten swing but then played horribly. Can't see that happening this year but she'll probably have to battle past the likes of Sabalenka and Rybakina if she wants to take the title.

SFP, i don't think Novak played near his best in that Wimbledon final. I thought he served very poor to be honest and he was making some really poor misses. Even aside from the awful backhands in tie break when he should have taken 2 set lead, he also missed that key shot on break point at the start of the 5th set that would have given him 2-0 lead. For me Djokovic level was very erratic in the final and so much of that comes down to how poor he served. When you look at Hurkasz and Rublev matches, Djokovic serving was far superior both in terms of % and accuracy. Serving so poorly against Alcaraz is a disaster waiting to happen.

However Alcaraz did play really well and I thought served very well. At the end of the day they both broke serve 5 times but I think Alcaraz served far more consistent particularly at key moments.

prostaff85 wrote:IF Djokovic would start losing to Alcaraz from now on (and possibly to other young players), will he really go on playing as if he were 26, or join Rafa into retirement?

It's a fair point but let's see where we are after the Australian Open. That was a very good match but maybe their best slam match in terms of quality is still yet to come, even if it doesn't go to 5 sets. I wouldn't be surprised if they meet again in the final of one of the next two or three slams.

Even if Novak does badly there is the argument to keep soldiering on to make sure he stays ahead of Rafa in the total slams, I suspect he does care about that record. And if Novak keeps that record he gets to retire as statistically the greatest since in the other stats he is ahead. So I think he will be fully focused until either Rafa has retired, or he has a lead that can't be caught. To be confirmed as statistically the greatest, we are still waiting on him to win at least one more slam, or Rafa to retire without winning another.

But yeah once Rafa has retired if Djokovic would already confirmed as the greatest to keep playing on and losing to a younger player (IF that happens) doesn't seem to make much sense.If anything it would take away from his legacy and wouldn't be much fun

There is also the total number of slams beating the top female players, I am guessing he cares less about that record though.

Court 24
Williams 23
Djokovic 23
Nadal 22
Graf 22
Federer 20

With regard the slam record one must note the impact of coronavirus had especially on Djokovic being banned from Australia and the United States because he was deemed to be a public health risk. That period and this period is critical because Djokovic is no spring chicken and the number of slams he will win from herein will be as precious as hens teeth.

Mr Invisible - This is what you wrote last year. Very far-sighted.

"Next year I'm going to be really intrigued to see how Alcaraz does at Wimbledon - he has the potential to dominate there too, given his comfort at the net, including serve and volley."

And to think this was even before he'd played, and won, at Queen's, thus gaining valuable grass-court experience.

Coming back to the Wimbledon final this year, I'm not quite sure I agree with some of the assessments of Djoko's performance. Yes, he chucked in an uncharacteristically poor tiebreak and I accept he was not at his absolute best.

But he still looked remarkably hard to beat and, although obviously tired at the end, was still getting round the court well. Very few players would have taken it to a 5th after going two sets to one down against a rampant Alcaraz.

The Mr I quote above is taken from our "Next Player to Win a Slam" thread. I wonder if Sinner could be that next player? Ruud, as long as it's not grass, might also be a contender.

But what of Tsitsipas and Zverev, long tipped for GS glory? Could they miss out?