Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic come into the Wimbledon 2023 Championships as the top 2 seeds in the men’s singles draw. A final between them is truly on the cards, as the drama surrounding their ‘rivalry’ seems to be intensifying by the day. This is mainly due to the fact that Alcaraz recently seized the No.1 spot from Djokovic as well as bagged the top seeding at Wimbledon, relegating the Serbian to No.2. Having won 2 Grand Slams this year and Wimbledon last year, Djokovic should have been awarded 2000 points that would have made him remain the top-ranked player, according to tennis pundits and enthusiasts.
Nevertheless, it appears that both players will be significantly challenged this year at the Championships. With the men’s singles draw having come out on Friday, here are the players’ confirmed opponents as well as potential matchups to watch out for.
Novak Djokovic might meet an old Grand Slam foe in Round 3
Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, will be taking on Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in Round 1. Should he win that match, it is unlikely that Round 2 should be an obstacle for him. However, things might get interesting in Round 3.
Djokovic is likely to take on Stanislas Wawrinka, who is currently ranked 87 in the world. But this is one of the oldest rivalries of the game which is still existing, as the duo played each other for the first time way back in 2006. While no doubt Djokovic leads their head-to-head comfortably by 20-6, the stat conceals one major fact.
4 out of those 6 wins of Wawrinka’s have come in Grand Slams against Djokovic, making him the big match slayer. Although it is surprising that they haven’t played a single match on grass yet, the Swiss star is responsible for Djokovic not winning the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open Championships surely. On the other hand, Wawrinka knocked Djokovic out of the quarterfinals of the 2014 Australian Open, which he went on to win, as well as the 4th round of the US Open 2019. When it comes to Djokovic’s Grand Slam matches won against Wawrinka, that number is surprisingly just 3. A blockbuster clash is loading for sure, should Wawrinka find some vintage touch at SW19.
Should Djokovic move past Round 3, his quarter-final is then likely to be against 7th seed, Andrey Rublev or Canada’s Felix Augur-Aliassime. Remarkably, neither of the two could face Djokovic in an unlikely situation, as Nick Kyrgios happens to be in contention for that spot too. Djokovic and Kyrgios played each other in the finals of last year’s Championship.
And if that wasn’t enough, the Serbian might find life hardest in the semi-final, as his opponent in the French Open final, Casper Ruud awaits him. Should that opponent not be Ruud, then the even more dangerous player on grass Jannik Sinner would be coming in his way to deny him a 24th Grand Slam title and his 8th at Wimbledon. Sinner, who is currently ranked as World No.8, nearly beat Djokovic last year at the All England Club, leading 2 sets to none in their quarter-final, only for the champion to bounce back and win the next 3 sets.
Alcaraz ready to battle harder than Djokovic
For a change, it seems that the No.1 seed does not have a favorable draw as compared to the No.2 seed in the men’s singles event. While the first three rounds do not seem to pose a major threat to the 2o-year-old Spaniard, it is all his following 4 matches that could make Djokovic the overwhelming favorite to win the title again.
Carlos Alcaraz might have the talented Alex de Minaur from Australia or the experienced Alexander Zverev as his Round 4 opponent. The World No.1 could be encouraged by the fact that he beat de Minaur recently in straight sets at the Queen’s event, which turned out to be his first title on a grass court. While he has never played on grass against Zverev, he falls behind on their head-to-head, 2-3.
If Alcaraz’s form is to go by, he could reach the quarter-finals though, where either Denmark’s rising star, Holger Rune could be waiting for him or the United States’ Francis Tiafoe. The last time Alcaraz played Tiafoe, it was at the US Open 2022 where the American was the closest to take him out, in a semi-final which went to 5 grueling sets. Should the Spaniard cross this hurdle as well, he is all set to run into Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev, both of whom are always amongst the favorites to go the distance in Grand Slams.
As a result, it is fair to say that Novak Djokovic might have a better run than Carlos Alcaraz in the competition, also given the fact that the former has more versatility, experience and fitness to survive in best-of-5 matches. This is all set to be one of the most competitive Wimbledon 2023 Championships, starting July 3.
