Associated Press Jun 28 2023 06:03 ET3 minutes read
Alcaraz is aiming for number 1 at Wimbledon
Carlos Alcaraz breaks down his thoughts ahead of his first-ever grass final against Alex de Minaur.
LONDON – Carlos Alcaraz – not four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic – and Iga Swiatek were predictably seeded for Wimbledon on Wednesday as the All England Club held on to the ATP and WTA rankings.
Alcaraz overtook Djokovic at the top of the men’s classification on Monday. Djokovic has not played since winning a record 23rd men’s Grand Slam title at the French Open on June 11 and has slipped to second place, while Alcaraz rose a place after winning a grass tournament at the Queen’s Club on Sunday .
Djokovic has won the championship at Wimbledon each of the last four times – and seven times in total – but he didn’t benefit from a ranking boost in 2022 as the ATP and WTA withheld all points in protest at the All England Club’s decision players out To lock down Russia and Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine.
These athletes are allowed to compete this year and Russian player Daniil Medvedev is seeded 3rd in the men’s while Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is ranked 2nd in the women’s.
The draw for the individual groups will take place on Friday. The tournament starts on Monday.
Casper Ruud is No. 4 of the 32 seeded men, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. Nick Kyrgios, second behind Djokovic at Wimbledon a year ago, is seeded 31st.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is 39th and unseeded.
Swiatek has been No. 1 since April 2022 and owns four Grand Slam titles, most recently at the French Open. She has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
2022 All England Club Women’s Champion Elena Rybakina is No. 3 of the 32 seeded women, followed by Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Ons Jabeur, Coco Gauff, Maria Sakkari, two-time champion Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova.
From 2002 to 2019, the All England Club based its men’s draw seedings on a formula that took into account results on grass at Wimbledon and elsewhere. After that, however, the tournament decided to simply follow the leaderboard to determine all seeded spots.