Tennis
Nadal, Djokovic or Kyrgios. Who has the best chance of winning Wimbledon?
The Wimbledon quarter-finals are upon us and the two biggest favourites remain in the title game. Outside of them, there are also two handcuffs in the fire that could surprise. Who will win the third Grand Slam of the season?
The Wimbledon quarter-finals are upon us and the two biggest favourites remain in the title game. Outside of them, there are also two handcuffs in the fire that could surprise. Who will win the third Grand Slam of the season?
If someone had shown you the line-up of the quarter-final pairings before the tournament, you probably wouldn’t have believed them. But whether due to performance or health reasons, there have been a few surprises and so the likes of Matteo Berrettini, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud are no longer in the tournament.
The quarterfinal pairings are as follows:
Novak Djokovic – Jannik Sinner
David Goffin – Cameron Norrie
Cristian Garín – Nick Kyrgios
Rafael Nadal – Taylor Fritz
Who are the biggest favourites for the title?
Rafael Nadal
The most successful tennis player in history with 22 grand slams. The king of this season, he has already won two Grand Slams, dominated the unpopular Australian Open and the French Open.
However, two factors speak against him. He hasn’t played on grass for three years and, according to his own words, he is still getting used to it. So far he hasn’t had any problems with progression, but in some sections it’s not the same. The second warning sign is his health, his leg is still not 100% fit and his movement is very limited. Still, as we have learned several times, Nadal can never be underestimated.
Novak Djokovic
Of the big top three, he is probably the most obsessed with finishing his career with the most grand slams. Nadal currently trails him by two titles, so Djokovic needs to work hard at Wimbledon. So far he’s playing pretty sovereignly and has only lost two sets.
Moreover, he has traditionally done well at the All England Club. He has already won six titles and has also won the last three editions. His path to the final is also quite open, if he beats Sinner, he will play the better of the Goffin-Norrie pair.
Nick Kyrgios
A wild card, literally. The boisterous Kyrgios has finally started to focus more on his game than his excesses and it shows immediately. He’s playing great tennis at Wimbledon and still putting on his proverbial show, even if he’s toned it down a bit.
For some fans, he is a dark horse to win a Grand Slam, which would be the biggest achievement of his career, as the furthest he has stopped so far is at the quarterfinal gate (Australian Open 2015, Wimbledon 2014). Now he has a chance to cross his shadow, facing the lowest ranked player in the entire quarterfinals, Cristian Garín (43rd ATP).
Jannik Sinner
The Italian talent who is proving at this year’s Wimbledon that he has already matured among the elite. After an amazing performance, he knocked out Spanish darling Carlos Alcaraz, but the lot didn’t give him much luck.
The 20-year-old will face Djokovic in the quarter-finals, which will be a huge test.
Source: Wimbledon, ATP