Unlike the clay courts, the grass courts are still seen very much as a 'work in progress' for many on the Tour and there is a feeling that the majority of players struggle to adapt to a surface that has about a six week season.
While Wimbledon remains a very important tournament, it does mean the contender list always feels a lot shorter than for the other Grand Slams and this year looks to be no different.
You would find it very difficult to look past Novak Djokovic as a big favourite to win an eighth title here considering he has not been beaten in SW19 since 2017 when he was forced to retire in his Quarter Final against Tomas Berdych. The last time Novak Djokovic lost a completed match at Wimbledon was in 2017 in the Third Round having won the French Open, but he won both of those Slams in 2021 to become part of a very select few male players who have won both titles in the same year.
That is perhaps the biggest challenge for Novak Djokovic, but if he has an aura in most events, the ones in Melbourne and London might be the hardest to break at Slam level. And we have already seen his biggest challenger in this draw, Carlos Alcaraz, lose his way physically when facing Novak Djokovic at the French Open last month to suggest that the second Seed is very much the clear favourite.
There are not a lot of names in the draw who you would feel could even push Novak Djokovic, but it will need someone to serve at an exceptionally high level. We have also seen Djokovic under the cosh when trailing 2-0 in sets to Jannik Sinner last year so nothing in tennis a foregone conclusion, although it would be a big upset if he is not a part of the Final at the very least in two weeks time.
It feels like the draw has been a good one for Carlos Alcaraz to have a deep run in the tournament too after winning the title at Queen's Club last month, but he is still learning his trade on the grass.
This could leave the door open for someone like Daniil Medvedev or, if the home fans are granted their wish, Andy Murray to make a real impact in the tournament. Daniil Medvedev has shown he can play on the grass effectively and he might be the player who can 'fly under the radar' while Djokovic and Alcaraz steal the headlines.
Once again the Ladies draw might be the one that really offers up an upset or two- defending Champion Elena Rybakina would likely have had a strong run, but it is hard to know where she is with her tennis having had a lingering virus that forced her out of the French Open and in Eastbourne last week.
Aryna Sabalenka is back at Wimbledon this year, but may have to deal with some hostility from the crowds compared with Roland Garros. If she can handle that, the Number 2 Seed should have a strong run in the bottom half of the draw as the third favourite, although it is the tougher half of the Ladies draw this year.
The ATP Tour had the 'Big Three' era and the hope is that Rybakina, Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek can create that rivalry on the WTA Tour which will take the sport forward. Those three players have combined to win the last five Grand Slam titles and it has given the women's side of the sport some consistency which has been lacking through Serena Williams and Ashleigh Barty's retirements in the last eighteen months.
Iga Swiatek is heading up the draw and looks to be in the weaker half, but this is a player that has not had an impact on the grass and looks to be at her most vulnerable in this Grand Slam out of the four played each year.
Picking someone to come through and challenge the World Number 1 is the question in a half of the draw missing a number of consistent grass court players, but the standout name looks to be Coco Gauff. The American is the fifth favourite in the draw and looks a big price for a deep run having long been very comfortable on this surface and it does feel like it could be Gauff's time to win a maiden Grand Slam and get a little closer to the top three names on the WTA Tour.
She is in the same Quarter as Iga Swiatek, but there is no real guarantee that the World Number 1 will be there to meet her having only reached the second week at Wimbledon on one previous occasion.
Much like the French Open, the Ladies draw at Wimbledon could be a lot of fun to watch and I do think there will be some surprising names reaching the business end of the tournament.
This all makes for a potentially fun two weeks coming up before the majority of players pack up their grass court shoes for another season and begin to think about the US Open that begins at the end of August.
The weather looks to be a little inconsistent in the first week of the tournament, which could cause problems, but Middle Sunday is no longer a 'day off' for the players and staff and that should keep the tournament firmly on schedule.
Personally it does feel like the tournament has made the right decision to remove the blanket ban they had on those from Russian and Belarusian nationalities last year, even if many won't think the same. I think it was a nonsensical decision a year ago in all honesty, but made to look a lot worse when the other tournaments refused to back up a decision made by one nation.
There will be those who believe Wimbledon should have maintained the blanket ban and others who disagree and will be wondering why other nations that have been involved in wars have not had their players banned previously. A reversal or a ban was not going to be popular either way, but it feels like the decision made without consultation was never going to be one that could be maintained beyond the 2022 season and especially not with the Tours threatening to remove licences from build up events and having stripped Ranking points.
For the majority of the fans, the focus will be on the tennis being played on the courts over the next fortnight before the Tour will move on.
Day 1 will see the defending Men's Champion open on Centre Court and that means the bottom half of the draw will be scheduled on the day. For the Ladies, Elena Rybakina will open Centre Court on Day 2, assuming she is healthy enough to compete, and so the top half of the draw will be out on Monday.
The Australian Open was a strong one for the Tennis Picks and the French Open finished with a winning record- however, a difficult second week at the second Slam of the season meant it was a very small number compared with Melbourne back in January.
However, a positive number is a good thing and I mentioned that I would be having a break through the warm up events on the grass before returning for Wimbledon.
Below you will be able to read some of my thoughts on a few of the selections being made on Day 1, which looks like it will be a good one weather wise for the players. Another strong start will be welcomed to lay the foundation for the event and hopefully that all gets underway from the opening selections.
Novak Djokovic - 10.5 games v Pedro Cachin: The number next to his Seeding may say 'two' at this tournament, but there is no doubt that Novak Djokovic is still the best player in the world and he is a massive favourite to win a third Grand Slam title in 2023.
The win in Paris has only strengthened his claims to being the best player of all time, but there are still records that could tumble by the end of this season to back up those statements. He could join Roger Federer on eight Wimbledon titles, and not many would be willing to back against Novak Djokovic doing that, while another Grand Slam title would mean the Serb has matched the total Margaret Court has set to lead all others.
It would be a remarkable achievement as the defending Men's Champion opens up proceedings on Centre Court on the first Monday in SW19 and this is something that has become a familiar sight to those who attend Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic has not been beaten in the tournament since 2017 when he was forced to retire in the Quarter Final against Tomas Berdych and he will be looking for a fifth title in a row in this part of London.
An opening match on the grass can be challenging and conditions might be a little difficult throughout the next fortnight, while Novak Djokovic has actually dropped a set in the First Round against Jack Draper in 2021 and Soon Woo Kwon last year. He has been known for working his way into the Grand Slam events, but those two opponents look to be of a considerably higher level than Pedro Cachin who has little experience of this level.
The Argentinian has faced two top 20 Ranked opponents in the Australian Open and French Open, but has little grass court experience with this being his sixth career match on the surface. Four losses in five matches won't have given him Chacin a lot of hope in this First Round match, while this is only the second main draw match in a grass court tournament.
Last month Pedro Cachin was crushed by Yannick Hanfmann on a grass court in Spain and he is not going to be given a lot of free points from Novak Djokovic.
Make no mistake that this is a very big spread for a best of five set match- however, Novak Djokovic has won half of his last ten First Round matches at Wimbledon by a margin that would have covered this number. Pedro Cachin served pretty poorly in the loss to Hanfmann and he will need to find his absolute best in that department to keep this one competitive, but Novak Djokovic has all of the tools to make an early statement and roll through this match with something like a 6/4, 6/2, 6/1 win.
Andrey Rublev - 6.5 games v Max Purcell: Despite making it clear he was against the war being waged by his nation against Ukraine, Andrey Rublev was one of a host of top players that were banned from competing at Wimbledon last year.
With the lifting of those restrictions, Andrey Rublev will arrive as the World Number 7 and he has shown that he has the tennis that can have an impact on the grass courts. Last month Rublev managed to work his way into the Halle Final before coming up short against Alexander Bublik, but that should mean that Andrey Rublev is pretty well prepared to play his First Round match at Wimbledon on Monday.
Andrey Rublev put a couple of wins together in an exhibition event just outside of West London last week too and he should be feeling pretty confident as one of the top Seeds at Wimbledon. He did reach the second week in 2021 and that has to be the minimum of aims for Andrey Rublev who has yet to play in a Grand Slam Semi Final, despite the strong World Ranking he holds.
The serve is an important weapon for Andrey Rublev and he has found a way to get into a rhythm on his return on the grass courts in the last three years. It helps that he is an aggressive player with that really having an impact on the grass and Andrey Rublev is a pretty solid favourite in the First Round when he faces Max Purcell.
In the past Australian players have tended to enjoy playing on the grass courts and Max Purcell has reached the Semi Final in Eastbourne in the past. Last year he won three Qualifiers to take his place in the main draw at Wimbledon before losing a to pretty solid grass court player in Adrian Mannarino, but Max Purcell was beaten by Feliciano Lopez in a disappointing performance in the lead up to the third Grand Slam of the season.
Before his win over Jordan Thompson at the French Open, Max Purcell had not won a First Round match at a Grand Slam before, although you have to credit the Aussie for heading to Wimbledon at his career best World Ranking mark.
Unfortunately he is stepping up a level by a considerable distance and Max Purcell has struggled when facing top 50 Ranked opponents. He is 2-7 in those matches, while his rise in the World Rankings from outside the top 200 at the Australian Open to his current Number 62 mark has been built on strong form on the Challenger circuit.
Max Purcell was beaten pretty comfortably by Andrey Rublev when these two players met on the grass of Eastbourne back in 2019 in the Qualifiers and the latter should have too much for him here. All credit has to be given to the Aussie player with the form shown, but stepping that up to the main Tour level is going to be the challenge and Andrey Rublev should have a little too much quality all around to come through and win this First Round match fairly comfortably by its conclusion.
Hubert Hurkacz - 6.5 games v Albert Ramos: Over the last year it has felt like veteran Albert Ramos is coming close to an end in his career and he has certainly slipped off the level he once had.
At his best he was able to win some matches at Wimbledon, but Albert Ramos has suffered four consecutive First Round exits at this tournament, while his overall recent record on the grass courts has been pretty poor. He was beaten in the First Round at a warm up tournament, although Albert Ramos is not someone who will capitulate on the court and the Spaniard will have to be worn down in this one.
Pressure can be built by Hubert Hurkacz who is a former Semi Finalist at Wimbledon and who will go down as the player that beat Roger Federer in his last match, which was also here in this tournament. The Pole had a really disappointing First Round defeat in SW19 last year and his form on the grass has been a touch inconsistent over the last month, although Hurkacz continues to serve very well on the surface.
It is that serve which will be key for him here and Hubert Hurkacz is facing an opponent who has won 30% of return points played in grass court matches since 2017 and who has broken in just 10% of return games. Albert Ramos has an even poorer number when facing the Hurkacz serve having broken in just shy of 8% of return games played and that includes facing the higher Ranked player on a clay court when breaks are a little easier to create.
The clear concern with this spread is the Hubert Hurkacz return, which is pretty average in general, and the grass courts are not a surface on which an average return player can expect to have a lot of success. His numbers have proven that to be the case, even in the year when he made his run to the Semi Final, but Hurkacz has to believe he can find enough returns to put the pressure on Albert Ramos in this First Round match.
Hubert Hurkacz has broken in 23% of return games played against Albert Ramos and he should be able to have enough moments to find those he needs to cover this mark.
Harriet Dart - 3.5 games v Diane Parry: Young players do take a little bit of time to make adjustments when moving from the Juniors to the full Tour and inconsistent results are the norm.
Diane Parry is a former World Number 1 at Junior level and the 20 year old made a fast start to her professional career having gotten very close to breaking into the top 50 in the World Rankings. The last twelve months have been a touch more difficult and Parry is now edging towards an exit from the top 100, while she has had little preparation for Wimbledon where she reached the Semi Final in the Juniors tournament.
The Frenchwoman made her first appearance at the main draw at Wimbledon last year and Diane Parry did reach the Third Round so she deserves a lot of respect. However, Parry was beaten in Qualifiers last week ahead of Eastbourne and her recent form has perhaps seen the young player lose some confidence.
Handling that loss of confidence could be much tougher on Day 1 at Wimbledon when Diane Parry has to take on one of a host of British players that are involved in the main draw. Harriet Dart has reached the Quarter Final at events in Nottingham and Birmingham last month, while a loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the Second Round in Eastbourne last week will not have dented the Harriet Dart belief ahead of what looks to be a winnable First Round match.
This is a match scheduled for one of the bigger courts so both players will need to deal with the bigger crowd that is likely to be around these two as Wimbledon opens. You have to believe both have had enough experiences before to be able to play their tennis and Harriet Dart looks to have the edge on this surface at this stage of their careers.
It feels like the Harriet Dart serve is going to have a bit more success than Diane Parry's, while the British player may also have a slight edge when it comes to the return of serve. Nothing comes easy for British players with the raised expectations at Wimbledon and Dart is the lower Ranked player in this match, but that mark can take a positive jump with a win on Monday and the feeling is that Harriet Dart will do enough to cover this mark in a straight sets win.
Coco Gauff - 4.5 games v Sofia Kenin: The first breakthrough that Coco Gauff made on the Tour was as a 15 year old at Wimbledon in 2019 when she reached the Fourth Round after coming through the Qualifiers. The American beat Venus Williams in that run to really make an early statement and Gauff reached the Fourth Round in 2021 at SW19 before a disappointing Third Round exit last year.
Coco Gauff will be playing as one of the favourites to win the title at Wimbledon this year and she has been placed in what looks to be the weaker half of the Ladies draw. However, that does raise expectations and Coco Gauff will not be overlooking her First Round opponent even if Sofia Kenin has fallen out of the top 100 in the World Rankings.
It feels crazy to say that considering Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open in 2020 before the Covid pandemic shut down the sport and much of the world. Injury and a loss of confidence has seen Sofia Kenin struggle to get close to that level again having been Ranked as the World Number 4 in March 2020, but three wins in Qualifiers has to be encouraging for Kenin.
Playing on the grass has not been the best experience for Sofia Kenin who has been beaten in the Second Round in each of her previous appearances at Wimbledon. She has also failed to win a match at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2021, but Sofia Kenin did beat Coco Gauff at the Australian Open on her march to the title and the lower Ranked player has to believe she has nothing to lose and all of the pressure is on Coco Gauff.
In saying that, Coco Gauff has been a solid grass court player and she has the serve that can be a big weapon on the surface and that may make the difference in this match.
Coco Gauff did beat Sofia Kenin earlier this year in Auckland in a match that was played indoors and there has been enough from Gauff over the last month to make her a strong favourite against a former Slam Champion. The key to the cover is just showing a bit more controlled aggression on the return of serve, but Gauff should be able to do that against Sofia Kenin who has lost a couple of matches to players she would have expected to beat before the run in the Wimbledon Qualifiers.
Daria Kasatkina - 5.5 games v Caroline Dolehide: Some of the French Open crowd were clearly not aware of the kind of person Daria Kasatkina is when they were booing her leaving the court at the end of her loss to Elina Svitolina. The misunderstanding was thinking that a Russian national was refusing a handshake, but Daria Kasatkina was clearly respecting Svitolina's views even though she has been arguably the most vocal player on Tour speaking up against the war in Ukraine.
Daria Kasatkina's personal life is her own business, but it is something that her country would oppose and so this is clearly a person with character and strength to be as vocal as she has been. The expectation is that the Wimbledon crowd will be a bit more aware of Kasatkina's actions over the last several months and the Number 11 Seed should be given a bit more support than those in Paris offered.
She has also shown that she continues to be an effective grass court player and Daria Kasatkina's run to the Eastbourne Final will have given her plenty of confidence to take into the Wimbledon main draw. The last couple of showings at Wimbledon have been disappointing, but Daria Kasatkina is a former Quarter Finalist here and has a good looking First Round match in front of her to open this event.
Conditions might not be ideal for a player that does not have the best serve on the Tour and who will be looking to use plenty of variation in her tennis, but Daria Kasatkina is still expected to be too strong for Caroline Dolehide. The latter is the World Number 100 and reached her career best Ranking of 99 in May, but Caroline Dolehide has lost both of her grass court matches played over the last month and those have been against opponents Ranked outside of the top 100.
This is a big step up in terms of quality of opponent and it will be difficult enough for Caroline Dolehide who has lost six straight grass court matches. The 24 year old has lost all eight career meetings against top 20 Ranked opponents and you have to feel that Dolehide is going to be under pressure to get a lot of her first serves in play if she is going to upset Daria Kasatkina.
The Daria Kasatkina serve can be vulnerable and make it tough to cover the bigger handicap marks, but she is the stronger player in this match. Last week in Eastbourne, three of the four wins Kasatkina earned would have covered this handicap number and she can wear down an inexperienced Caroline Dolehide in the First Round in SW19.
MY PICKS: Novak Djokovic - 10.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev - 6.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Hubert Hurkacz - 6.5 Games @ 1.85 Coral (2 Units)
Harriet Dart - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Coco Gauff - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Coral (2 Units)
Daria Kasatkina - 5.5 Games @ 1.80 Coral (2 Units)
Dan Evans @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Denis Shapovalov - 5.5 Games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Lloyd Harris @ 1.91 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Harold Mayot @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Jordan Thompson @ 1.90 Bet365 (2 Units)
Roberto Bautista Agut - 1.5 Sets @ 1.61 Coral (2 Units)
John Isner - 1.5 Sets @ 1.66 Coral (2 Units)
Barbora Strycova - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Sara Sorribes Tormo - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (2 Units)
Victoria Azarenka - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Petra Martic - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
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