World number one Novak Djokovic has won the last four renewals of Wimbledon and should he prevail on the grass at SW19 this year, he will match the record set by Roger Federer for the most wins in the men’s Grand Slam event.
Djokovic picked up his seventh Wimbledon title when he beat Nick Kyrgios in the final in 2022 in a four-set contest. His last defeat in the Grand Slam came in 2017 when he retired injured against Tomas Berdych in a quarter-final encounter. Since then, he has dominated the tournament.
French Open Next Leg of Calendar Grand Slam
HISTORY MADE ?
Novak Djokovic WINS the Australian Open for the 10th time! ?????????? pic.twitter.com/lnuwIOuokd
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 29, 2023
Before Djokovic starts focusing on the grass season, he will be vying to extend his number of Grand Slam titles to 23. The 2023 Australian Open winner is the 21/10 second favourite in the Roland Garros betting for the French Open. Should he prove successful in Paris, he will go into Wimbledon with the Calendar Grand Slam still alive.
Djokovic has been installed as the 11/10 favourite in the tennis betting for Wimbledon 2023. The 36-year-old has come close before to winning all four major events in the same year before, as he has picked up three titles in a season on three occasions.
Federer Was the King of Wimbledon During His Career
When Federer won his eighth Wimbledon title in 2017, it did not look likely that anyone would challenge his record any time soon. The Swiss star was at home on the grass courts at Wimbledon where the crowds cheered him like he was one of their own players.
Federer’s career is among the greats ?
20 Grand Slam titles
Eight Wimbledon titles (men’s record)
Only player to win five straight US Opens
Most consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 (237)Wow. pic.twitter.com/wah1stwhrV
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 15, 2022
Between 2003 and 2009, Federer reached seven consecutive finals at Wimbledon, winning five of those. He played a total of 12 finals in the Grand Slam throughout his career, with his last coming in 2019 when he lost to Djokovic in a thriller over five sets. The Serbian prevailed 13-11 in the final set of that contest.
That victory for Djokovic in 2019 must have felt like the baton had been passed to him from the tennis legend. He came from 2-1 down in sets to secure the title from his rival.
Challengers to Djokovic This Year
Big servers have done well at Wimbledon in recent years. In the last six finals of the Grand Slam event, Milos Raonic, Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, Matteo Berrettini and Kyrigos have all finished runners-up.
Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Kyrigos are expected to be three of Djokovic’s biggest challengers for the trophy at Wimbledon this year. They all have serves that are hard to defend against on the grass surface.
Former US Open winner Daniil Medvedev is also having an excellent year on the court so far. He has reached six ATP Tour finals in 2023. He has picked up titles at the Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open, Dubai Tennis Championships, Miami Open and Italian Open. The former world number one has yet to get past the fourth round at Wimbledon, but he will be hoping to perform much better on his return to the event.
The 2023 Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, 3rd July when Djokovic features in the opening game on Centre Court in his title defence.