Wimbledon as the host venue provides world beating stadia and facilities. The famous Centre Court is the 6th largest tennis stadium in the world housing a capacity of almost 15,000 people. With the British weather being unpredictable and often inclement, a retractable roof allows a full day’s play to continue up until 11pm. The venue will only get bigger and better during the forthcoming decade. A recent purchase of land means the total land area is 115 acres. Currently featuring 18 championship grass courts and 22 practise courts, the additional land will ultimately house another 39 grass courts and a new 8,000-seat ‘Parkland Stadium’.
Qualification and The Men’s Singles Championship
When it comes to the automatic qualification or qualifying for a grand slam such as Wimbledon, there are three opportunities available. Overall, there are places for 128 of the best tennis competitors in the world and the majority of these will be based on ranking. The top 104 ranked players will automatically qualify for entry to the competition as long as they have registered to participate.
16 of the remaining 24 places will be awarded through a qualifying competition. Usually, the qualifying competition is held the week before the main Championship starts. The players that are entered to play in the qualifying rounds need to win three rounds of tennis. In doing so, 16 players will celebrate their entry to play alongside the elite. Shall an automatically selected player withdraw from the event during qualifying week then a ‘lucky loser’ who lost in the final round of qualifying will be selected from the qualifying competition.
There are also another 8 potential positions available known as wildcards. Those wildcards are outside the ranked positions and do not play in the qualifying rounds. Instead, they are selected by a committee and confirmed one week before the competition begins. The selected payers will have a reason to be chosen, such as excellent historic performances at the event or even a past winner that will help draw enthusiasm and interest from the crowds and audience.
Wimbledon Men’s Singles Championships
With 128 entrants in the male championship, the winner of the tournament has to win 7 rounds of tennis, excluding any qualifying rounds. Each match will be determined by the best of five sets and if the score in each set reaches 6 games all, then a tie breaker is played to decide the winner of that set. In the fifth set, if the score reaches six games all then the winner of the match will need to win that set by two clear games.
There is a huge prize pot to play for of approximately £35 million for the whole tournament including women’s singles, doubles, mixed doubles and so on. The men’s singles winner of 2022 will collect a sensational £1,7 million, the runner up £900,000 and the losing semi-finalists £465,000 each. The final will be played on 10 July and is scheduled to commence at 14:00.
Potential Wimbledon Men’s Singles Winner 2022
Novak Djokovic
With the confusion and chaos surrounding the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is expected to take advantage of being able to participate at Wimbledon. The question is, how will he react following the Australian Open debacle? Djokovic has only played in one tournament in 2022, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Playing on a concrete surface he was knocked out in the quarter finals by Czech Jiri Versely, then ranked 123 in the world. Since, Djokovic has had to pull out of Indian Wells and the Miami Open as he does not meet necessary Covid rules. Before Wimbledon starts, Djokovic will play at Roland Garros on clay, not his favourite surface. A poor tournament in Paris for the 34-year-old may see pre-tournament Wimbledon pressure building. Reaching the twilight years of his career, he was recently knocked off his long-time, almost seven-year standing as ATP world number one.
Let us not forget that Djokovic is a true great of the men’s singles tennis circuit with massive experience and an 85%-win record playing on a grass surface as a professional. He has won Wimbledon on 6 occasions, including the last three tournaments.
Daniil Medvedev
It is the Russian Daniil Medvedev who has recently ended the reign of Novak Djokovic as world number one. A three-set win over Djokovic in August 2021 at the US Open and runner up at the recent Australian Open, Mevedev warrants his place as the current number one in the world. However, with the terrible situation unfolding in Ukraine there is increasing pressure for Russian athletes to be banned from international events. Potentially, this may also include tennis and be bad news for Medvedev, who has personally worked so hard to obtain his status. Ultimately, he may not be able to play under his own flag. Bearing in mind his current number one status, the 25-year-old still needs to step it up on grass to cement his position, with a respectable 4th round best at Wimbledon last year and a 67% win percentage.
Matteo Berrettini
Like Medvedev, another young upcoming star who is starting to reach maturity in the sport at 25 years of age. This was proven during 2021 where his best performance came on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon as runner up to Djokovic. The aggressive all-round player with a strong serve and forehand also made a quarter final appearance at Roland Garros in 2021, followed by a semi-final appearance in the Australian Open earlier this year. If Berretini continues to improve his game mentality while reducing unforced errors, his 78%-win ratio on grass should not go unaccounted.
Rafael Nadal
Another all-time great and at 35 years old Rafa has an impressive 78%-win percentage on grass with two Wimbledon titles, the last being way back in 2010. Can Nadal rekindle his rivalry with Djokovic during the forthcoming Wimbledon Championship? Nadal recently returned to prominence winning the Australian Open against Medvedev after being two sets down. The rivalry with Federer will unlikely continue at Wimbledon as sadly Federer appears to be injured. Can this never say die attitude that Nadal possesses take him to a third Wimbledon title?
Felix Auger Aliassime
An up and coming 21-year-old showing great promise on the grass with a 76%-win rate, having won 22 of 29 of his professional appearances to date. Last year at Wimbledon, Auger Aliassime made the quarter finals beating 6th seed Alexander Zverev on the way. He ultimately lost to the runner-up Betterini in four sets. This year, Auger Aliassime also made the quarter final of the Australian Open.
Alexander Zverev
Possibly grass is not the favoured surface of a player who has a strong all-round game, in particular the service and backhand. The 24-year-old has yet to play beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon, reaching this stage last year whilst having an overall professional win record of 64% on grass. There was also a fourth-round exit at this year’s Australian Open after an impressive semi-final appearance last year at Roland Garros. Can the tall 6ft 6in (1.98m) frame be mobile enough to step up to the net and have an even greater impact on grass?
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Last year, Tsitsipas suffered an early first round loss at Wimbledon with his previous best being the fourth round in 2018. However, he clearly enjoys the Australian Open reaching the semi-finals for the past two years, losing to Daniil Medvedev in January this year. A busy February 2022 has seen reasonable form as a losing finalist to Auger Aliassime at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, whilst making the quarter and semi-finals in two other championships. Tsitsipas goes into this tournament ranked number 4 in the world rankings and the 23- year-old has a 59%-win ratio on grass surfaces.
With some major events occurring at the beginning of 2022 including Djokovic being sent home from Australia and whether Medvedev will be eligible, some speculation surrounds two of the pre-tournament favourites. Is it time for a new Wimbledon champion to step in and take the title for the first time?
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