Who are the favourites to win at Wimbledon?
All eyes turn to the grass courts of London now – but who might win the men’s singles?
The French Open is officially in the history books, and now all eyes are on Wimbledon. It was Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz who reigned supreme on the famed Parisian clay courts. His attention now turns to SW3, and defending his Gentlemen’s Singles crown. But who are the favourites for glory? Let’s find out.
Carlos Alcaraz
The newly minted King of the French Open heads to Wimbledon not only as the defending champion but also as the bookies’ favourite. Popular outlet Premier Bet has priced him up as the 2.20 frontrunner to successfully retain the trophy he won so impressively last year. Last summer, the 21-year-old met long reigning champion Novak Djokovic in a Centre Court show-piece for the ages. The Serbian maestro hadn’t lost at Wimbledon since a quarter-final defeat to Czech star Tomas Berdych in the summer of 2017, winning the last four tournaments on the spin. However, he finally met his match in the form of Alcaraz, despite a 6-1 drubbing in the first set.
The Spaniard would rally to claim the second and third sets, before Djokovic showed the heart of a champion to tie things up at two sets apiece. In the final set, the match would ebb one way and flow the other, before the exuberance of the would-be champion put the veteran Nole to the sword. Alcaraz eventually triumphed 6-4 in the decider, claiming the trophy for the first time in his career. Now, he is the favourite to follow in Djokovic’s footsteps and claim back-to-back crowns.
Jannik Sinner
Italian sensation Jannik Sinner made headlines earlier this year as he became the first Italian man in 48 years to successfully win a Grand Slam when he defeated Russian Danil Medvedev in the Australian Open. To say he did it the hard way would be an understatement. He first had to defeat Djokovic in the semi-finals, something that no one had been able to do in Melbourne since 2018. But he passed that test with flying colours, before rallying from two sets down to defeat the aforementioned Medvedev in the final.
Now, Sinner has been made a 3.25 second-favorite for victory at Wimbledon. The Italian made it to the semi-finals last year before being dispatched in straight sets by Djokovic. This year, he will be aiming to go one better.
Novak Djokovic
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly considering his record at the All England Club, Novak Djokovic is a distant third favourite at odds of 4.50. Much of that is down to some recent injury woes. This forced him to drop out of his French Open quarter-final contest against Casper Ruud, allowing the Norwegian to progress with a walkover victory before a ball was served. Now, he faces a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon.
At such long odds, there is surely value to be had on the Serbian. He has won four of the last five Wimbledon championships, and if he is fully fit, he is still a formidable opponent, even at the age of 37.