Carlos Alcaraz chases history, Coco Gauff eyes rare double: Wimbledon talking points

The National

a day ago

The draw is out, the players are putting the finishing touches to their games, and Wimbledon officially kicks off on Monday.
Here are some of the main storylines to look out for at the third Grand Slam of the season.
History on the line
It's difficult to look beyond Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic as favourites for the men's Wimbledon crown, and each one of them has a shot at history this upcoming fortnight.
Alcaraz is the two-time defending champion and will be gunning for a three-peat at the All England Club. If he retains his title, he would become just the second man – behind Bjorn Borg – in Open Era history to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in consecutive seasons.
Having successfully defended his French Open title earlier this month, can the Spaniard do the same and rule SW19 once again?
His first assignment is knocking out Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in round one.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Sinner is looking to become the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles trophy.
He opens his campaign against his compatriot Luca Nardi and could face another Italian, last year's semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti, in the quarter-finals.
Sinner shares a half of the draw with Djokovic, who is seeded No 6 at these Championships.
The seven-time Wimbledon winner is vying for an all-time record 25th Grand Slam title, which would send him one clear of Margaret Court's tally.
Victory for the 38-year-old Djokovic would also see him tie Roger Federer's Open Era men's record of eight Wimbledon crowns.
Gauff eyeing a rare double
After winning her second major at Roland Garros earlier this month, Coco Gauff will attempt to pull off the 'Channel Slam', clinching the trophies in Paris and London in the same season.
Only seven women have achieved the French Open-Wimbledon double in the Open Era, with Serena Williams being the most recent to do it in 2015.
If Gauff plans on ending that 10-year drought, the world No 2 will have to navigate a tricky draw that includes an opening round against recent Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska and a possible clash with the likes of five-time major winner Iga Swiatek or 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals.
Wimbledon is where Gauff had her first breakthrough as a 15-year-old qualifier, storming into the fourth round back in 2019.
Draper leading home hopes
Briton Jack Draper is seeded No 4 at Wimbledon, and as one of the best players on tour this season will experience the weight of expectations on home soil like never before.
After reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros, Draper enjoyed a smooth transition to the grass and made the semi-finals at Queens.
The draw gods have done him no favours at Wimbledon, though. His path includes the following possible scenarios: A second round against former finalist and recent Nottingham Challenger champion Marin Cilic, a third round against Halle champion and No 28 seed Alexander Bublik, a fourth round against big-hitting 15th seed Jakub Mensik, a quarter-final against Djokovic, and a semi-final against Sinner.
On the women's side, home favourite Katie Boulter was handed a daunting opener against ninth-seeded Paula Badosa, while Emma Raducanu could face recent Berlin champion and 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in round two and top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in round three.
Sabalenka seeks redemption
Sabalenka has made amends with Gauff after the world No 1 made some regrettable comments in the post-final press conference at Roland Garros.
The French Open runner-up told reporters she played horribly against Gauff in the final, giving little credit to her opponent and even saying Gauff would have lost the match had she faced Swiatek instead of her.
Sabalenka apologised both publicly and privately to Gauff, and the pair officially buried the hatchet when they practised together on Centre Court on Friday at Wimbledon, even filming a couple of TikTok videos to prove it.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion and a two-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon, will likely face her first big test at these Championships in the third round against either Nottingham champion McCartney Kessler or Vondrousova, who knocked Sabalenka out last week en route to the Berlin trophy.
Two Arabs in singles action
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur and Egypt's Mayar Sherif will be the sole players representing the Arab world in singles this year after Lebanon's Benjamin Hassan fell just one victory short of qualifying for the men's main draw (Lebanon's Hady Habib and Tunisia's Aziz Dougaz lost in round two and round one respectively in qualifying).
Jabeur, a two-time Wimbledon finalist and former world No 2, arrives at these Championships ranked No 59 and searching for form.
She will take on Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova in the opening round on Monday and could face 20th-seed Jelena Ostapenko in round two, and 12th-seed Diana Shnaider in the third round.
Incidentally, Jabeur and Shnaider practised together at Aorangi Park on Friday.
Meanwhile, Sherif will be making her third consecutive Wimbledon main draw appearance and will be seeking a first victory on the lawns of the All England Club when she takes on seventh-seed Mirra Andreeva in the opening round on Tuesday.