Friday’s draw was largely kind to the World No. 3, the top seed here at Wimbledon due to the absences of Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, but there is a delicious potential clash against rising star Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters. end.
No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal, fresh off his 22nd Grand Slam win at the French Open, will play Argentina’s Francisco Cerúndolo in the first round and has a potentially tough fourth-round match against Marin Cilic.
In the projected quarterfinals, there is also the possibility of a rematch against talented Canadian star Felix Auger Aliassime, who recently pushed Nadal all the way in a five-set epic in the fourth round at Roland Garros.
Last year’s runner-up Matteo Berrettini is expected to meet Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, while third seed Casper Ruud could face Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who recently claimed the grass-court title in Halle.
Home favorite Andy Murray, a two-time winner here, earned a favorable first-round draw against Australian James Duckworth, who has yet to win a match on the ATP Tour this season and lost to World No. 277 last week. Paul Jubb in qualifying for Club de la Reina.
Murray has been struggling with an abdominal injury sustained in his final loss to Berrettini in Stuttgart which subsequently forced him to withdraw from Queen’s, but the former World No. 1 recently said he believed he could still play “great tennis”.
Swiatek looks to continue the streak
In the women’s draw, World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will play Croatian qualifier Jana Fett in the first round in her bid to win her first Wimbledon title. The Pole has been the standout player on the WTA Tour this season having won six titles, including the French Open, but grass is arguably her least favorite surface.
Swiatek has never made it past the fourth round at SW19 and could face American Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, a player whose best showing at Wimbledon was the second round last year.
Last year’s runner-up Karolína Pliskova is projected to meet World No.4 Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals, while World No.2 Anett Kontaveit could face Maria Sakkari.
Serena Williams, who recently played her first matches in nearly a year, faced World No.113 Harmony Tan in the first round.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who injured her leg in the first round of Wimbledon last year, reached the doubles semi-finals at Eastbourne last week playing alongside Ons Jabeur, but the pair were forced to withdraw after that the Tunisian suffered an injury.
British star Emma Raducanu, who enjoyed her breakout performance at Wimbledon last year, has had a tough draw against World No.46 Alison van Uytvanck, who last week won a second-tier grass event in Italy.
Raducanu has been struggling with injury ahead of Wimbledon and has recorded limited playing time on grass, withdrawing from the Nottingham Open and subsequently missing the Eastbourne International.
Wimbledon main draws start on Monday June 27.