Djokovic could face Kyrgios again at Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic of Serbia plays in his match with Frances Tiafoe of USA at The Hurlingham Club on June 29, 2023 in London, England.
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Novak Djokovic will begin his quest for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, with a potential rematch of last year’s final against Nick Kyrgios looming in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic could face Andrey Rublev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight should Kyrgios not make it, with his projected semifinal to come against Jannik Sinner or Casper Ruud, who he beat in the French Open final earlier this month.
Top seed and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has not been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon in two appearances, but is finding his feet on the grass after winning at Queen’s Club last week.
Alcaraz starts against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, but has a tricky path through to the latter stages with the prospect for a rematch of the Queen’s final against Alex de Minaur in the fourth round and World No. 6 Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas meets Thiem
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem in the tie of the men’s first round with the winner potentially facing two-time champion Andy Murray, who takes on wild card Ryan Peniston.
Top seed Iga Swiatek has been handed the kinder side of the women’s draw. The Pole begins against China’s Zhu Lin and is projected to face Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals and Jessica Pegula or Caroline Garcia in the last four.
Heavy bottom half
The bottom half of the draw is stacked with defending champion Elena Rybakina, World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and last year’s finalist Ons Jabeur.
Five-time winner Venus Williams will take on a fellow wild card Elina Svitolina in one of the ties of the first round.
The third Grand Slam of the season gets underway on Monday, July 3.
Interesting first-round match-ups
Men
Tsitsipas vs Thiem
Berrettini vs Sonego
Goffin vs Kyrgios
Rublev vs Purcell
Fritz vs Hanfmann
Women
Swiatek vs Lin
Venus vs Svitolina
Kenin vs Gauff
Rybakina vs Rogers
Sabalenka vs Udvardy
