The favorites: Djokovic and Alcaraz avoid each other
It is not excluded that the poster for the Wimbledon final will be the same as last year. Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion, and Novak Djokovic, finalist beaten in five sets, were each placed in a different part of the draw on Friday during the draw at the All England Club. In the upper part with Jannik Sinner (potential semi-final), the Spaniard will start his fortnight against the Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal. In the lower part with Alexander Zverev, the Serb, who had knee surgery on June 5, will also test himself against a qualifier, the Czech Vit Kopriva. A round of 16 against Holger Rune then a quarter against Hubert Hurkacz could be on the agenda for the seven-time winner of the London Major.
For his first Grand Slam as world number 1, Sinner was not spared since, if he beats the German Hanfmann when he enters the competition, he could find his compatriot Matteo Berrettini, finalist of Wimbledon in 2021 and return to high level after several long injuries. Finally, the 4th in the world Zverev will launch his tournament against the Spaniard Carballes Baena before a potential third round against the dangerous local Jack Draper.
The French: Franco-French duels and heavy entry
The good news, if we see the glass half full, is that there will be at least two Frenchmen in the second round of Wimbledon since two posters for the first round will be Franco-French duels: Gaël Monfils against Adrian Mannarino and Hugo Gaston against Alexandre Müller. Monfils and Manna have already faced each other twice at Wimbledon (victory for the first in 2015, the second in 2017), while Gaston, from qualifying, and Müller have just competed for the title at the Lyon Challenger, finally won by the first. The winner could find Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
The only French seeded with Mannarino, Ugo Humbert was logically rather spared with a first round against Alexander Shevchenko and an affordable first week, before a possible shock against Alcaraz in the round of 16. Corentin Moutet and Constant Lestienne will have to achieve a feat, respectively against Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti.
Despite his lack of love for tennis, Maxime Janvier will try to surprise the world number 33 Zhizhen Zhang. For Arthur Fils, after a first round against Dominic Stricker, the road could noticeably rise in the wake against Hubert Hurkacz. Same thing for Arthur Rinderknech, opposed to Kei Nishikori before potentially meeting Taylor Fritz.
Having qualified without losing a set at Roehampton, Lucas Pouille will try to win his first match in the Wimbledon main draw since 2019 against Laslo Djere. Finally, Arthur Cazaux will face Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs in a Franco-Belgian duel that has a strong resemblance to the Euro football championship, and Quentin Halys will face American Chris Eubanks, the revelation of the last edition.
