The common threads between Britain's leading Wimbledon stars
British number ones Katie Boulter and Jack Draper are both seeded at Wimbledon for the first time – this is how they got there.
British number ones Katie Boulter and Jack Draper are both seeded at Wimbledon for the first time – this is how they got there.
Jay Clarke denies former world number eight Diego Schwartzman one final trip to Wimbledon by beating him in straight sets in the first round of qualifying.
Emma Raducanu has “rekindled” her love for tennis in recent weeks as she prepares to take on Sloane Stephens at Eastbourne.
Gael Monfils rode an outstanding day on serve to snap a six-match losing streak against Dominic Thiem at the Mallorca Championships presented by Waterdrop.
Monfils came into the match with an 0-6 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Austrian, but fired 13 aces, won 90 per cent of first-serve points and did not face a break point en route to a 6-3, 7-6(3) win.
[ATP APP]The 37-year-old Frenchman advances to play Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, who defeated countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a third-set tie-break on Sunday. Improving to 14-13 on the year, Monfils seeks to reach his first quarter-final since making the Doha semi-finals in February.
“Today was a good match, I served good,” Monfils said.
Thiem, who has announced that the 2024 season will be his last, was acknowledged by the tournament during a brief post-match ceremony. “I have been here many times before the tournament and twice for the tournament and it has been great,” Thiem said. “I’m really looking forward to coming back to this nice club to watch the tournament in the future.”
Earlier, Italian veteran Fabio Fognini saved three of four break points faced to defeat Dutch lucky loser Gijs Brouwer 7-6(4), 7-6(5).
Australian Rinky Hijikata, who comes into the week just five places below his career-high PIF ATP Ranking of 70 after last week reaching the Queen’s quarter-finals, defeated Luca Nardi 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 after seeing the Italian save 14 of 18 break points faced.
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Novak Djokovic says he will only play at this year’s Wimbledon if he can “fight for the title”.
#NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng earned victory in his first tour-level grass-court match on Monday at the Rothesay International, where he moved past seventh seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(4).
The 19-year-old qualifier fired 39 winners and hung tough in the third-set tie-break to advance after two hours and 27 minutes.
The Chinese lefty, who sealed victory with a forehand winner, now holds a 9-10 record against Top 50 opponents. Shang, currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, plays Cameron Norrie or Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round.
[ATP APP]American Marcos Giron continued his strong start to the grass season when he took out fifth seed and defending champion Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(5), 7-6(4)
Giron last week defeated former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini en route to the Halle quarter-finals after beginning the swing with victory over two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in Stuttgart, where he pushed eventual champion Jack Draper to three sets.
Giron, who is 15-15 on the season, is now just one spot away from his career-high PIF ATP Live Ranking of No. 44. Against Cerundolo the California native dropped just five points on first serve and won 70 per cent of second serves.
British wild card Billy Harris backed up last week’s run to the quarter-finals at Queen’s by reaching the second round in Eastbourne. The 29-year-old downed countryman Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 7-6(7).
Harris is competing at a career-high No. 139 in the PIF ATP Rankings after reaching his first tour-level quarter-final in London. He will next meet Queen’s champion Tommy Paul.
Australian lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-4. Vukic advanced to the last eight on grass at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch earlier this month. Vukic next plays third seed Alexander Bublik
Australian Max Purcell defeated Serbian Laslo Djere 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Purcell struck 10 aces according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance after two hours. With his win, the 2021 semi-finalist snapped a four-match losing streak.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and more of the world’s biggest stars have arrived at Wimbledon to begin their preparation for the grass-court major.
Alcaraz, the defending champion, will try to secure his second consecutive Grand Slam title after lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros. The No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was working hard on the practice court Monday under the watchful eye of Samuel Lopez.
[ATP APP]Alcaraz began his grass-court season at the cinch Championships in London, where he lost in the second round to in-form Briton Jack Draper. The Spaniard is 17-3 in tour-level grass-court matches according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/06/24/14/59/djokovic-wimbledon-2024-practice.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Novak Djokovic” />
Photo: John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic has also arrived at The Championships.
The Serbian has been working hard following recent knee surgery. Djokovic withdrew ahead of the Roland Garros quarter-finals due to a meniscus tear in his right knee.
One year ago, Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in a memorable Wimbledon final. The players, who have shared five Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings (Djokovic leads 3-2) embraced Monday at the tournament site one week before the action begins.
Djokovic moved ahead of Alcaraz in the No. 2 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings this week after the Spaniard’s early loss at Queen’s. Jannik Sinner will enter the tournament as World No. 1 and as the top seed at a major for the first time in his career.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]A familiar embrace, one year on from the 2023 Gentlemen’s Singles final 🤝<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Wimbledon | @DjokerNole | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/R50cIyNlrA
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/1805246417218187751?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 24, 2024
Britain’s Harriet Dart overcomes Marie Bouzkova in a topsy-turvy match to set up a second-round encounter with top seed Elena Rybakina at Eastbourne.
Watch highlights as Great Britain’s Harriet Dart beats Marie Bouskova in an epic three-set thriller in the first round of Eastbourne.
Two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist David Goffin made a winning start in qualifying on Monday when he defeated Australian Marc Polmans 6-3, 6-1.
The Belgian, who won an ATP Challenger Tour title on grass in Ilkley last week, reached the last eight at SW19 in 2019 and 2022. Goffin will next play Yasutaka Uchiyama after the Japanese World No. 203 beat 2022 ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Tim van Rijthoven 6-7(6), 7-6(3), 6-1.
Richard Gasquet reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2007 and 2015. The former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings is up and running in qualifying after he defeated Briton Oliver Crawford 6-2, 7-6(8). The 38-year-old Frenchman holds a 31-17 main draw record at SW19.
[ATP APP]Daniel Elahi Galan advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. The Colombian defeated Spani’s Roca Batalla Oriol 6-3, 6-4. Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who reached the second round at the ATP 500 event at Queen’s last week, beat countryman Ugo Blanchet 6-2, 7-5.
#NextGenATP Croatian Dino Prizmic qualified for the Australian Open in January. He moved closer to matching that feat at Wimbledon, where he downed Clement Tabur 6-3, 6-4. The 36-year-old Mikhail Kukushkin also advanced, defeating Ukraine’s Vitaliy Sachko 6-3, 6-3. Kukushkin reached the fourth round at The Championships in 2019.
Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles downed Dane Sweeny 7-5, 6-1, Australian Alex Bolt overcame Argentine Nicolas Kicker 6-1, 6-4 and Moldovan Radu Albot clawed past Italian Francesco Maestrelli 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2. Albot reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2018.
More to follow…
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