WIMBLEDON: DJOKOVIC FIGHTING FOR GOLDEN GENERATION AMID CHALLENGE FROM ALCARAZ, SINNER

• Odds will be stacked against the seven-time champion and the holder of 24 grand slam titles when the tournament gets under way

Novak Djokovic is poised to mount a one-man battle to preserve the legacy of Wimbledon's golden generation in the face of an increasingly successful new wave spearheaded by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

However, the odds will be stacked against the seven-time champion and the holder of 24 grand slam titles when the tournament gets under way this week.

Arriving in London having recently undergone knee surgery, the 37-year-old has seen his grand slam powers eroded in 2024.

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He was succeeded as Australian Open champion by Sinner with the Italian also taking his world No 1 ranking.

Djokovic then saw his French Open crown pass to Alcaraz after he limped out of Paris suffering from a torn meniscus in his right knee.

If Djokovic equals Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles, he would become the oldest champion of the modern era.

"I have this incredible desire to play, just to compete," Djokovic, who will take on 123rd-ranked Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic in his opener, said.

"Just the thought of missing Wimbledon was not correct."

With Federer now retired, Rafael Nadal skipping the tournament to focus on the Paris Olympics and Andy Murray playing in the aftermath of a back operation, there is definitely change in the air in southwest London, which is moving away from the domination of the 'Big Four'.

It means that for the first time since 2002, the men's final on July 14 may not feature at least one of the 'Big Four' who have swept up 19 of the last 20 titles until Alcaraz's victory in 2023.

The Spaniard, at 21 and 16 years Djokovic's junior, is already a three-time major winner.

He captured the US Open in 2022 while still a teenager, defeated Djokovic in a five-set final at Wimbledon in 2023 before seeing off Zverev in another five setter at the French Open this month.

Alcaraz opens Centre Court action on Monday against 262nd-ranked Mark Lajal of Estonia.

"I know that it's going to be a really difficult and big challenge for me, but I think I'm ready to do it," he said.

Sinner, 22, made the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year and faces Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in his opener.

Wimbledon will also bid an emotional farewell to two-time champion Murray.

The 37-year-old, who ended Britain's 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men's champion with his 2013 victory, plans to bow out at the Olympics.

In the women's event, world No 1 Iga Świątek, fresh from a fourth French Open title and fifth grand slam title, arrives on a 19-match win streak.

The 23-year-old's best run at Wimbledon was a quarter-final spot in 2023.

Świątek faces 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round.

US Open champion and world No 2 Coco Gauff made her breakthrough at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old qualifier in 2019 when she made the last 16 and will face compatriot Caroline Dolehide, ranked 52.

Third-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023, said she is still not "100 per cent certain" of playing because of a a shoulder injury.

Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded player to win the women's title 12 months ago but history is not on her side if she is optimistic of a repeat.

Serena Williams, in 2016, was the last woman to successfully defend the title.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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2024-07-01T00:16:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd