The courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are preparing to receive from June 27 to July 10 the 135th edition of Wimbledon, the oldest tournament in the world and the third Major of the year, wrapped in controversy and news.
After the tournament organizers decided that Russian and Belarusian tennis players could not play this tournament due to the war they are experiencing with Ukraine, the ATP, WTA, and ITF announced that they will not take Wimbledon points into account, so many players will not be able to defend what they have achieved in 2021 and will drop quite a few positions in the ranking, as is the case of Novak Djokovic, defender of the title and who would drop to eighth place for not being able to defend 2000 points.
One of the surprises is that for the first time the players will be able to train on the central court and on-court number 1, which are the best and we’re only reserved for the main matches. This after last year Adrian Mannarino and Serena Williams were injured in their matches by slipping on these tracks.
Regarding the game, the Italian Matteo Berrettini, seed 8 in the tournament, is one of the big favorites after being a finalist last year and winning the ATP 250 in Stuttgart this month against Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, and 6-3 and the Queen’s ATP 500, for the second consecutive year, by beating Serbian Filip Krajinovic 7-5 and 6-4. They are very good results on grass and this time he is going for his first Grand Slam.
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Among the great casualties of the tournament will be those of the two best tennis players today: Daniil Medvédev (1) and Alexander Zverev (2). The first will not be due to the veto against the Russians, while the German will be absent due to injury. Rublev and Khachanov will also be missing due to sanctions on Russian-born players. Roger Federer also dropped out of the tournament for not being 100% and Wimbledon loses its biggest winner (8). The Swiss, turf specialist, will soon be out of the Top 100.
Rafael Nadal, the number 2 seed in the tournament, is excited after his title at Roland Garros and will fight for his third Wimbledon and his 23rd Grand Slam to continue making history. It must be remembered that the Spanish also won this year’s Australian Open with an epic comeback over Medvédev.
For Novak Djokovic hasn’t been a good year, partly because of his problems regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and also because of his pace of play. So far this year he only could claim champion at the Masters 1000 in Rome.
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On the women’s side, there are also surprises. Defending champion Ashleigh Barty will not be able to defend her title, as the Australian retired in March of this year, shortly after being crowned Australian Open champion and still world No. 1 at the age of 25.
Iga Świątek comes to this tournament as the number 1 in the world with a streak of 35 wins in a row that makes her the main candidate, in addition to recently winning Roland Garros. Serena Williams, 7-time champion of this tournament, received a wild card and will return to the courts after her injury.
Not counting Marion Bartoli in 2013 and Barty in 2021, there are the champions since 2009. Among the casualties due to the political veto, 11 Russian and Belarusian tennis players will not be able to play, including Aryna Sabalenka (7) and Victoria Azarenka (15). On the other hand, the Russian Natela Dzalamidze adopted the Georgian nationality to be able to dispute the contest.
Among the curiosities is that it will be the first time since 1996 that Venus Williams or Roger Federer do not play in this event.
2022 Wimbledon – Betting Odds & Free Pick – Info
When: June 27 – July 10, 2022
Where? London, ENG
TOP 10 tennis players who could be crowned champions in this 2022 Wimbledon (BetRivers.com)
ATP
- Novak Djokovic -125
- Matteo Berrettini +600
- Rafael Nadal +700
- Carlos Alcaraz +900
- Felix Auger-Aliassime +1400
- Hubert Hurkacz +1400
- Nick Kyrgios +1700
- Marin Cilic +2500
- Stefanos Tsitsipas +3000
- Andy Murray +4000
WTA
- Iga Świątek +150
- Ons Jabeur +900
- Cori Gauff +900
- Belinda Bencic +1700
- Simona Halep +1700
- Serena Williams +1800
- Karolina Pliskova +2000
- Emma Raducanu +2000
- Bianca Vanessa Andreescu +2200
- Maria Sakkari +2500