Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios could repeat last year's final, if they both reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon 2023.
Djokovic's draw is considered easy, as he has barely faced any grass-court experts in the early rounds. He will face Pedro Cachin in his opening match, and is likely to face another Argentinian in the third round, Tomas Martin Etcheverry - who just reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. In between these two opponents is a tougher second-round challenge, Jordan Thompson or Brandon Nakashima.
Waiting for Nole in the fourth round are likely to be Lorenzo Musetti or Hubert Hurkacz. In the quarter-finals, the world number two could face Kyrgios, Andrey Rublev or Felix Auger-Aliassime. The difficulty could increase in the semi-finals, with Jannik Sinner or Taylor Fritz, last year's quarter-finalists.
Djokovic (right) defeated Kyrgios in four sets in the 2022 Wimbledon final. Photo: AP
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz's draw is tougher. The Spaniard faces Jeremy Chardy in the first round and is likely to face Arthur Rinderknech in the second. Both Frenchmen have good serves and forehands. Rinderknech was the only player to take a set from Alcaraz at the Queen's Club Championships last week.
If he makes it to the third round, Alcaraz will likely face 25th seed Nicolas Jarry, who has a similar style of play to the two names mentioned above, but is slightly more powerful and accurate in his shots. Alcaraz will face Alex De Minaur or Alexander Zverev in the fourth round, both of whom are in good form. If he makes it to the quarterfinals, Alcaraz will face Holger Rune or last week's Stuttgart champion Frances Tiafoe. Alcaraz will be joined in the semi-final by top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Tsitsipas bracket promises to be an interesting matchup in the early rounds. The Greek will face former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in his opening match. The winner of this match will likely face former world number one Andy Murray in the second round. The bracket also has Ben Shelton waiting in the third round and Cameron Norrie likely waiting in the fourth round.
The women's singles also saw some exciting opening round action, with five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams taking on former world number three Elina Svitolina. Coco Gauff will face fellow American and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. Top contenders Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina both face tough opening round opponents Lin Zhu and Shelby Rogers.
The main draw of Wimbledon begins on July 3. The women's singles final will be held on July 15, while the men's singles final will take place a day later. Novak Djokovic and Elena Rybakina are the defending men's and women's singles champions, respectively.
Vy Anh
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