Both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have work to do before their prospective Wimbledon semi-final matchup, which begins on Monday with their respective fourth-round matchups. Perhaps the two most outstanding players in the men’s draw thus far are world number one Sinner and sixth seed Djokovic. Serb Djokovic wants to match Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles, while Italian Sinner has won three Grand Slams but has not advanced to the Wimbledon final. With seeds of seventh and eighth, respectively, Mirra Andreeva of Russia and Iga Swiatek of Poland are the top-seeded players still in the bottom half of the women’s draw.
The 38-year-old Djokovic easily won rounds two and three but overcame illness to win his first-round encounter in four sets. He defeated fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic on Saturday, marking his 100th Wimbledon triumph. He is the third player to accomplish that feat, after Federer (105), and Martina Navratilova (120). Thus far, the 23-year-old Sinner has become even more at ease, winning his first three matches without dropping a set and playing for less than five and a half hours. However, on Monday, both title contenders will face a seeded player for the first time in this tournament. At 13:30 BST, Djokovic takes against Australia’s Alex de Minaur, ranked 11th in the globe, on Centre Court. with Sinner rounding things off on Centre against Bulgaria’s former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov.
The 23rd seed, Clara Tauson of Denmark, upset 2022 champion Elena Rybakina in the third round, earning her a matchup with Swiatek, the fifth-time Grand Slam champion, who is ranked third on Court One. Swiatek has only made it to one quarterfinal at SW19, but he has improved on grass, making it to the final in Bad Homburg before Wimbledon. In the opening match on Court One on Monday, Swiss Olympic gold winner Belinda Bencic will face Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, while American men’s 10th seed Ben Shelton will play unseeded Italian Lorenzo Sonego. Court two will host two additional singles matches starting at 11:00 BST;Croatian veteran Marin Cilic takes on Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli in the remaining men’s match, followed by Russian women’s 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova’s contest against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain.