Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to win his seventh Wimbledon singles title, which begins on Monday.
In the absence of Daniil Medvedev, who is suffering the penalties of the All England Club’s ban on Russian and Belarusian players, and Alexander Zverev, who is injured, the super Serb is ranked third in the world.
Djokovic is 5-6 to make it four wins in a straight at Wimbledon, which will not be hosted in 2020 because to the Covid epidemic, and he will be eager to chip away at great rival Rafael Nadal’s lead in the race to be the most successful Grand Slam singles performer in men’s tennis.
Nadal’s victories in the first two majors of the season, the Australian and French Opens, have boosted his Slam singles championship collection to 22, two more than Djokovic and Roger Federer, who will miss this year’s London grassfest.
Nadal is the third favourite in the betting at 7-1, trailing last year’s runner-up Matteo Berrettini, who has recently won in Stuttgart and Queen’s, where he regained the title.
Andy Murray is a 66-1 shot to add to his 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon crowns. While the Briton returned to the grass courts in good health, an abdominal strain at Queen’s was hardly ideal preparation for his most important match of the season.
In the women’s singles, Iga Swiatek is the 6-4 favourite to add to her recent French Open victory, her second in three years at Roland Garros.
The Pole, who has won her last 35 matches, will begin her campaign in south-west London against Croatian qualifier Jana Fett.
Ons Jabeur, who had to withdraw from her Eastbourne doubles semi-final with partner Serena Williams this week, is now the obvious second favourite after Swiatek after the Tunisian battler received a lot of support after the Wimbledon draw on Friday.
Cori Gauff, an 18-year-old American who lost to Swiatek in the Roland Garros final, is the third favourite for Wimbledon at 12-1.
Williams, 40, returns to singles competition after a 12-month absence and is unranked for this year’s third major, although she is no more than 25-1 to win her eighth Wimbledon singles title.
Emma Raducanu is a 50-1 shot to win the tournament on grass, and she begins with a challenging match against in-form Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck.
