Wimbledon 2024 – day one!
If we arrived at Roland-Garros with the general pattern of things reversed – we knew who was likely to win the women’s event but had not a clue who might take the men’s – we move to Wimbledon with both trophies up for grabs.
In the women’s competition, it seems unlikely Marketa Vondrousova, now seeded six, can repeat last year’s unlikely triumph, while of those above her, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are still learning the surface; Elena Rybakina, the 2022 champ, is erratic; and Aryna Sabalenka, who looks best-placed, still has plenty to prove. Ultimately, the finalists – never mind the winner – winner could be any of them or none of them.
On the men’s side, things look a little less complex, the questions more about who wins the big matches when they inevitably arrive. We don’t know exactly where Novak Djokovic is in his preparations, but do know what it takes to beat him when it counts, and if that happens before the semi-finals, in which he’s seeded to meet Alexander Zverev, it’d be a surprise.
Meantime, in the other half of the draw, it’s hard to shake the excitement of another impending Carlos Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner epic. The former is the defending champion and French Open champion, the latter the Aussie Open champion and world number one, which is to say we’re at the start of a rivalry which could easily define the next decade.
Before that, though, we’ve got all the joy and love of the early rounds: surprise classics, huge shocks and just the enormous sense of affirming wellbeing we get from unstoppable, incessant tennis all day every day. So, in the immortal words of the all-time worst sporting chant and exhortation, “Let’s go!”.
Play: outside courts 11am BST, No 1 Court 1pm BST, Centre Court 1.30pm BST
Source: theguardian.com
