Colin Abgrall / Photo credit: CLIVE BRUNSKILL / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
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1:48 p.m., July 03, 2023
The third Grand Slam of the year, the Wimbledon tournament, begins on Monday. And he already has his share of surprises: the Australian Nick Kyrgios, who suffers from a torn ligament in his wrist, forfeited Sunday evening. One less solid opponent for Novak Djokovic, the only big favorite of the tournament and in search of a 24th title.
Novak Djokovic once again seems untouchable. Titled at the Australian Open in January, crowned at Roland-Garros last month, the Serb arrives in London full of confidence. For Europe 1 consultant Cédric Pioline, finalist at Wimbledon in 1997, there is Djokovic and there is the rest of the world. “I don’t think there are many people in front of him who can look like a scarecrow, even if Carlos Alcaraz won his first tournament on grass. Finally, wouldn’t Novak Djokovic be his own adversary?” he philosophizes.
Mission impossible for Djokovic’s opponents
His own enemy mentally, because Djokovic still has an appointment with history. Quadruple defending champion, seven times winner in London. The Serb can match Switzerland’s Roger Federer’s eight successes and increase his Grand Slam tally to 24, two more than Rafael Nadal. For its competitors, the mission seems impossible: to beat the one who has not lost for six years at Wimbledon and for ten years on the center court of the London Grand Slam.