The Tennis Gazette brings you three dark horses for the men’s singles title as players battle it out to take home the crown at Wimbledon 2024.
It’s that wonderful time of the year again, when the Pimm’s flows, the strawberries pile up, and every blade of grass is meticulously pruned.
Last year’s champion Carlos Alcaraz arrives in SW19 in fine form having swept up the title in Paris to add a French Open to his growing trophy cabinet.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner will look to go one better than last year’s semi-final at the All-England Club, with the new No. 1 hoping to build on his grand slam success in Melbourne in January.
With French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev dubbing this year’s installment as ‘the most open Wimbledon for 20 years’, and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic fresh off major knee surgery, who are the ‘dark horses’ who might clinch the crown in 2024?
Hubert Hurkacz
The towering 6ft 5 Pole sits at a career-high number seven and goes into this year’s Wimbledon as a real contender to reach his first grand slam final.
Hubert Hurkacz is one of the few active players to have won titles on all three surfaces and with one of the best serves in the game, his style is perfectly suited to the green stuff.
With the title in Halle agonizingly stolen from him by doubles partner Sinner 7-6 7-6, seventh seed Hurkacz battled past home favorite Zverev to make the final in Germany.
Last year’s tight quarter-final defeat to Djokovic saw the Pole lose two tie-breaks and get broken just once in a lung-busting three-hour affair on Centre Court.
Moldovan qualifier Radu Albot stands in his way but having never made it past the third round at the All England Club, he poses little threat to the big serve and soft hands of Hurkacz as he bids to win his first major.
Sebastian Korda
The floppy-haired American has often gone under the radar on the grass and will likely do so yet again as compatriot Tommy Paul made headlines across the pond after clinching the title at Queen’s a fortnight ago.
Similarly stood at 6ft 5, the American No. 4 arguably has the best grass-court game out of all his compatriots, with smart net play and superb movement helping him make consecutive Queen’s semi-finals and the final at Holland’s Libema Open three weeks ago.
A shock four-set defeat in the first round to Jiri Vesely in 2023 dampened the American’s spirits after a fantastic start to the year saw him make the last eight at the Australian Open.
The withdrawal of Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has seen Korda come up against Lucky Loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – a 20-year-old Frenchman who astonishingly stands 7cm taller than the 20th seed.
With the focus likely on his compatriots, Korda may well have the perfect opportunity to quietly get on with business and forge a deep run at Wimbledon.
Jack Draper
It’s not been a smooth ride for two-time Wimbledon Champion Andy Murray this year, and having this morning announced his withdrawal from the singles, the dream of a homegrown winner has often felt lofty at best.
Cue Jack Draper – the 22-year-old loose-hitting lefty whose grass-court season has caught the attention of nearly everyone.
A remarkable run in Stuttgart saw the Brit earn his first ATP title, beating former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini to secure the trophy.
Just a week later, the exuberant force of Alcaraz stood on the other side of the net at Queen’s with the reigning Wimbledon champion bidding to get his grass-court season off to a fast start.
A miraculous display of supreme down-the-line forehands, thundering serves, and cute volleys followed, and to the joy of the home crowd the London-born Draper marched on.
The former Junior Wimbledon runner-up is at a career-high No. 28 in the ATP rankings and goes up against Sweden’s Elias Ymer as the nation waits with bated breath.
While we are certainly fortunate that Sinner and Alcaraz have grabbed the reins of the former ‘Big Three’, with Djokovic a major doubt, a spot in the final looks there for the taking.
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