To continue making history, we will have to sweat and suffer. Rafael Nadal already knows the winding path that awaits him at Wimbledon if he wants to win the most prestigious tennis trophy for the third time. The draw for the main draw held this Friday has not been kind to the man from Manacor, for whom dangerous rivals await him almost from the start.
The most positive aspect is that, unlike what happened at Roland Garros, he would not meet Novak Djokovic until a hypothetical final. The same would happen with Carlos Alcaraz, although the expectations regarding the promising Murcian tennis player are lower on grass, where he has only played an exhibition match during the tour and arrives short of filming.
Before dreaming of a final, Nadal, in the process of recovering sensations in his battered foot, has a long way to go. His debut at the All England Club in principle should not be a problem. He will face an allergic to grass like the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, an opponent he has never faced.
The scenario would get complicated in the second round. If Sam Querrey does his homework on the first day, it would be a tough stumbling block right off the bat. It is true that the American (34 years old) is in the twilight of his career and is far from his best level, but at Wimbledon he grows.
As a good server, the surface benefits him. He reached the semi-finals in 21017 after knocking out then number one Andy Murray. A year earlier, he did the same with Djokovic, at that time also at the top of the ranking. If Nadal won, there would be a truce in the third round (at most he would have to face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego).
From the round of 16 the curves would return. Marin Cilic, a semifinalist this year at Roland Garros and a finalist at Wimbledon 2017, could be another tough stumbling block. Not to mention the young Felix Auger-Aliassime, who already pushed him to the limit in Paris a few weeks ago.
In the semifinals, as long as the predictions are met, it would be the turn of Matteo Berrettini, finalist last year at Wimbledon and who knows no defeat this season on the green carpet. The Italian, number 11 in the world, swept Stuttgart and Queen's. The other candidate for the semifinals would be Stefanos Tsitsipas.
For his part, the other Spaniard who raises passions will start the tournament against a player who also performs well on this surface such as the German Jan-Lennard Struff, executioner of Alcaraz last year at Roland Garros. The worst thing is the matchup with Djokovic-he makes his debut against the affordable Soonwoo Kwon- in the round of 16, although the Italian Jannik Sinner would wait for him a round earlier. Casper Ruud in the quarters or Hubert Hurkacz in the semis are the most likely options.
As for the most outstanding Spaniards, Pablo Carreño starts against Dusan Lajovic; Jaume Munar, against Thiago Monteiro; Albert Ramos vs. Casper Ruud; Carlos Taberner vs. Reilly Opelka; Fernando Verdasco against Tommy Paul and Roberto Bautista, against Attila Balazs.
One of the most unlucky was Alejandro Davidovich, who was injured in Eastbourne in a finger and who will start against the Pole Hubert Hurkacz, winner in Halle last week and semifinalist in London in 2021.
This year's edition stands out for the absence of Russian and Belarusian tennis players, excluded as a reprimand from the organization for the invasion of Ukraine. A decision that caused the ATP to decide not to award points in this tournament, in which the current number one, Daniil Medvedev, does not appear.
In the women's draw, Paula Badosa, fourth seed, will debut against the American Louisa Chirico (no. 227 in the world), while Garbiñe Muguruza, champion in 2017, will do the same against the Belgian Greet Minnen (89th).
Badosa is in the part of Coco Gauff's draw, a finalist at Roland Garros 2022. It could be his rival in the round of 16. Karolina Pliskova would be in the quarterfinals and the number one, Iga Swiatek, in a hypothetical semifinals.
In the path of Muguruza, who hopes to recover sensations after a few fateful months, the American Jessica Pegula appears in the round of 16, Swiatek in the quarterfinals and Badosa or Pliskova in the semifinals. Both avoid second-seeded Anett Kontaveit until the final. Serena Williams, with a wild card and after a year without competing, will start her journey for the complicated eighth Wimbledon against the French Harmony Tan.
