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LONDON. — The oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament — Wimbledon — gets underway from July 27 to August 10 and, while there is still plenty of prestige to play for at the oldest Grand Slam, controversy has marred its significance for many.
The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club took a firm stance in the wake of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and as such the tournament has been stripped of all rankings points.
Nevertheless, plenty of star power has committed to the classiest Grand Slam of them all and, despite some notable absentees, the action on court is set to be as scintillating as ever.
LUCKY NO. 7
To say that 2022 has not been kind to Novak Djokovic would be putting it mildly but a return to a happy hunting ground might be just the tonic the Serb needs to etch his name into the history books yet again.
Three major milestones are on offer for the World No. 3, the first of which would be joining Pete Sampras and William Renshaw, who’s titles came before the open Era, as the players with the second most Wimbledon titles, with a total of seven championships, one behind Roger Federer.
Djokovic stands to become only the fourth man since the Open Era to win four consecutive Wimbledon titles, joining the likes of Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, and Sampras.
And lastly, if Novak was to claim his 20th Grand Slam title he would move one clear of Roger Federer on the all-time list and one behind Rafael Nadal, who won his 22nd at Roland Garros 2022.
CALENDAR SLAM ON
At 36 years old and struggling with keeping an aging body fit, one would have been forgiven for thinking that 2022 could be a barren year for Rafael Nadal.
Alas the champion, as champions do, proved to be more resilient than many would have thought possible. Overcoming injuries in the build-up to both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, the Spaniard went on to claim both titles, which puts him in a position heading into Wimbledon that he has never been in before.
2022 will be the first time that Nadal is in with a shot of winning a Calendar Slam, a feat achieved by just five players, the last of which was Steffi Graff in 1988. Nadal has not won the title at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2010 so, while recent history might not be on his side, he has already proven twice this year that writing his chances off is not always the smartest thing to do. — AFP
Online Reporter