Will Novak Djokovic win Wimbledon? Will Iga Swiatek, Carlos Alcaraz, Andy Murray shine? 10 questions for grass season
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Updated 13/06/2023 at 10:55 GMT
What are the burning questions we want answered during the grass season, including Novak Djokovic's Calendar Slam bid, and Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek aiming to make their mark at Wimbledon. Djokovic won a 23rd Grand Slam title at the French Open while Swiatek won her fourth major. Holger Rune, Milos Raonic, Katie Boulter, Nick Kyrgios and Andy Murray could also feature heavily on grass.
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Goodbye clay, hello grass.
The dust has barely settled on the French Open – where Novak Djokovic won a record 23rd Grand Slam title – and already play is under way on grass in the lead up to Wimbledon.
The low-bouncing and quicker-playing grass brings with it plenty of new challenges – and plenty of new faces looking to make their mark on a surface that some enjoy more than others.
With that in mind, what are the burning questions we want answered over the next month?
Will Djokovic continue towards Calendar Slam?
For the second time in the last three years the Calendar Slam is on for Novak Djokovic.
The Australian Open and French Open are in the bag, and Wimbledon is next on the agenda.
As he has done for every season since 2019, Djokovic won’t play a grass event before heading to Wimbledon. Instead he will head to the Grand Slam filled with the confidence that beating him over five sets remains one of the toughest challenges in sport. And on grass probably even more so than on clay.
Can he be stopped there? If there’s hope for the field it’s that Djokovic dropped six sets at Wimbledon last year, including the first two against Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final.
But he still won. And it will likely take a big display of serving or hitting to prevent him tying Roger Federer with an eighth Wimbledon title.
Can Alcaraz adapt like Nadal?
Carlos Alcaraz has accomplished so much over the last 18 months that it doesn’t feel implausible that he will be a force on grass this season.
That’s despite his lack of practice on the surface – he has only played six tour-level grass matches, all at Wimbledon – and the fact this is his first grass summer since becoming a superstar on tour.
If Alcaraz needs any proof that it is possible for a young Spanish player to quickly adapt to grass he doesn’t need to look far – Rafael Nadal reached his first Wimbledon final in just his third appearance at the tournament.
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And, after making the fourth round at SW19 last year, Alcaraz was already speaking up his chances of being a hit on grass.
“Now I'm thinking that I could be a great player on grass. Next year I hope to play some tournaments before Wimbledon to adapt my game to get more used to playing here. But I would say I'm going to be a great player here on grass.”
Alcaraz is set to play Queen’s for the first time ahead of Wimbledon.
Can Swiatek shine on grass?
Iga Swiatek has been an all-conquering force on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022 – except for on grass.
The French Open champion hasn’t made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon in three appearances and last year saw her record-breaking 37-match winning streak ended in straight sets in the third round at SW19.
Swiatek has been so impressive on clay and hard courts that it seems only a matter of time before she figures out grass.
Will it be this season though? Speaking after her French Open win she said grass remains “something I haven't figured out yet”.
Will Sabalenka, Rybakina power up?
If the first six months of the season are anything to go by, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina could be the women to beat on grass this summer.
While Swiatek’s heavy top-spin game doesn’t look tailor-made for grass, the power games of world No. 2 Sabalenka and world No. 3 Rybakina make them much more of an obvious threat on the surface.
Rybakina powered her way to her maiden Grand Slam win at Wimbledon last year and has continued to improve, compiling an impressive 2023 season so far.
Having pulled out of the 2023 French Open ahead of the third round due to illness, she will hope to be fresh ahead of her return to SW19.
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Sabalenka too has taken huge strides over the last 12 months and should be a major factor on grass.
The Belarusian world No. 2, who made the Wimbledon semis in 2021 before being banned last year due to her nationality, won the Australian Open and along with Swiatek has been the standout player on the WTA Tour this season. She will be aiming to put her crushing French Open semi-final loss quickly behind her.
Just how good is Murray on grass?
The clay season wasn’t great for Andy Murray, but the former world No. 1 fancies his chances better on grass.
Murray has said that he reckons he is among the top 10 best players in the world right now on the surface – and he backed those comments up by making the “perfect start” to his grass season in Surbiton.
It’s now on to Nottingham as Murray continues his bid to be seeded for Wimbledon.
This feels like a very big summer for Murray, who skipped the French Open to give himself more prep time for the grass season.
Will Raonic return with a bang?
After almost two years away Milos Raonic made his return to the ATP Tour this week at the Libema Open in the Netherlands – and he did so in impressive fashion.
The big-serving Canadian, who has had several injury issues, took out Miomir Kecmanovic with a 6-2 6-4 win, showing off his trademark firepower to oust the fifth seed.
Raonic has had some of his best career moments on grass. In 2014 he made the Wimbledon semi-finals, losing to Roger Federer, and two years later he beat Federer on his way to making the final, where he lost to Murray. He also made the Queen’s final in 2016 and Stuttgart final in 2018.
The 32-year-old will be a fascinating watch this summer.
Will Kyrgios hit the grass running?
Nick Kyrgios played some of the best tennis of his career last summer, reaching two grass-court semis before blasting his way to the Wimbledon final, where he was beaten by Djokovic.
Will he back for another shot at Grand Slam glory at SW19?
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He hasn’t played singles since October, having undergone surgery earlier this year and then delaying initial comeback plans which suggested he could return at Indian Wells.
But Kyrgios is set for a return in Stuttgart this week and, like Murray, will probably fancy his chances on grass against anyone despite his lengthy time away from the tour.
Will British woman impress in Raducanu absence?
With Emma Raducanu out of action following surgery, there could be the prospect of no British women getting direct entry into the main draw at Wimbledon.
Katie Boulter has taken over as the new British No. 1 ahead of Raducanu and Jodie Burrage, but is ranked at No. 126 in the world.
Although the absence of US Open champion Raducanu will be a blow for British tennis, it is also an opportunity for others to grab some of the spotlight, particularly in the face of criticism about the state of British tennis from men’s No. 2 Dan Evans.
“My main goal remains on improving my ranking and continuing to work hard,” said Boulter after reaching the semi-finals of the Lexus Surbiton Trophy. “It’s going to be an exciting summer as we are all very close in the rankings.”
Can Rune contend on grass?
Holger Rune has burst onto the scene in thrilling fashion over the last 12 months. From being outside the top 100 at the start of 2022 he’s now ranked at No. 6, has won a Masters event, and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open for a second year in a row.
He might have rubbed some people up the wrong way, but he’s an electric talent and has been backed to win Grand Slam titles in the future by Eurosport expert Mats Wilander.
He is so far 0-3 for his career on grass but if he continues on the same steep upward trajectory then better results should be expected this summer.
Much more to come from Muchova?
Karolina Muchova is a player that Eurosport expert Mats Wilander once predicted could do “great things”.
Two lengthy injury absences haven’t helped her progress – she dropped to No. 235 in the rankings last year – but she showed at the French Open, where she made the final, that she is a seriously talented player.
She has also shown in the past that she can excel on grass, making two Wimbledon quarter-finals.
She’s definitely one to watch this summer.
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