London, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Three days before the start of the main tournament, the signing form for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships was released on the 24th. With Djokovic and Nadal as the top two seeds in the men's singles, they are in the top and bottom half, a legendary showdown that is one less than once can only be played out in the final. The women's singles scene is always more unpredictable, and it may be more suspenseful how far world number one Sviatek, who has won 35 straight games, can go.
On May 31, Djokovic returned the ball in the men's singles quarter-finals of the 2022 French Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
With the absence of the world's top two Medvedev and Zverev, the world's third-placed Djokovic has become the number one seed at Wimbledon this year. Compared with last year's consecutive Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles, the US Open also reached the final of the dazzling performance, the 35-year-old Serbian suffered a blow at the beginning of this year. Due to local vaccine policies, Djokovic, who had flown to Melbourne, was eventually denied his visa and had no chance of defending his title. He met the "king of clay" Nadal in the quarter-finals of the French Open, failing to stop the Spaniard from winning the trophy at the Clay Grand Slam for the 14th time.
However, when it comes to the meadows of Wimbledon, London, the 20-time Grand Slam winner Dzhukovic is still the biggest favorite of the world. He has topped Wimbledon six times since defeating Nadal in the 2011 final to dominate Wimbledon for the first time, with three consecutive titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (wimbledon did not take place in 2020).
On July 11, 2021, Djokovic kissed the trophy at the 2021 Wimbledon Open Men's Singles Awards Ceremony. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tim Ireland)
Looking around, there are not many opponents in the upper half who can pose a threat to Djokovic. Spain's rising star Alcaraz and Norway's rookie Rudder, who reached the French Open final this year, are no. 5 and no. 3 seeds respectively, but the high ranking mainly relies on a particularly prominent clay record. Poland's No. 7 seed Hulkac is more noteworthy, after all, he beat Medvedev and Federer at Wimbledon last year to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
On July 6, 2021, Hulkac served in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Wimbledon Open men's singles. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tim Ireland)
Nadal, 36, has confirmed that his left foot at the French Open needs to be treated to play a closed one, which will not drag him down the Wimbledon campaign. However, many people in the second half of the district will be eager to become his "roadblock" to the 23 crowns of the Grand Slam.
Shapovalov, a 23-year-old Canadian, reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, while his compatriot Aliassim, 21, advanced to the quarter-finals. Croatia's 33-year-old Cilic is back in form this year, and it wouldn't be a surprise if Wimbledon, where he reached the quarter-finals and reached the finals, would have made a difference.
Of course, What Nadal admires most is his unquenchable fighting spirit. If he can reach the final, his 60th meeting with Djokovic is likely to be staged here.
On June 5, Nadal celebrated his victory after the men's singles final of the 2022 French Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Meng Dingbo
In the women's singles field, the defending champion Barty has retired, and the young Serena Williams, who has not fought for nearly a year, has returned. After slipping and injuring in the first set of the first round of Wimbledon last year and saying goodbye with tears, Serena Williams has been away from the field. It wasn't until earlier this month that the 40-year-old suddenly announced that she was going to the meadow to "warm up"; He then entered the main tournament as a wild card player, and the first round will be against a French girl who has never had experience in Wimbledon.
Along with Serena Williams in the top half are last year's Wimbledon runner-up Pliskova, as well as Kvitova and Muguruza, both of whom have won at Wimbledon; But no one seems to be able to steal the limelight of Sviatek, who has won six crowns this year and has won 35 consecutive games. The 21-year-old Polish girl is proud of the French Open for the second time this year, and wimbledon reached the round of 16 last year.
On 10 July 2021, Pliskova returned the ball in the 2021 Wimbledon Women's Singles Final. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Yan
Throwing off his nearest player by more than 4,000 points on the leaderboard, Sviatek weakened the presence of No. 2 seed Kontawirt and No. 3 seed Jaber ur. Both girls are in the lower half, more threatening than Djabeuul from Tunisia, who beat Sviatek in last year's Wimbledon quarter-finals.
On June 4, Sviatek lifted the trophy at the women's singles award ceremony of the 2022 French Open. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing
In addition, the Chinese team has a total of 6 players playing in the first round of women's singles, of which Zhang Shuai, Wang Qiang, and Wang Xinyu will all encounter seeded players; Wang Xiyu and Zheng Qinwen are participating in the Wimbledon tournament for the first time; Zhu Lin reached the second round last year.
Editors: Zhang Yueshan, Huang Xuguo, Wang Qinou, Chen Jiayan (Intern)