Novak Djokovic 'definitely the favourite' for Wimbledon as he bids to equal Roger Federer record - Laura Robson
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Published 27/06/2023 at 15:01 GMT
Novak Djokovic is aiming to make more history at Wimbledon 2023. The 36-year-old will be looking to win a 24th Grand Slam title, which would move him level with Margaret Court in the all-time standings, and has a chance to equal Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles. Eurosport expert Laura Robson has given her verdict on Djokovic's chances and his main rivals for the title.
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Laura Robson says it’s “hard to bet against” Novak Djokovic winning Wimbledon for an eighth time to equal Roger Federer’s all-time record.
Djokovic heads to Wimbledon on the back of his record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam victory at the French Open.
He has won the last four editions and hasn’t lost at the tournament since 2017.
“He's definitely the favourite in my eyes, especially after Paris,” said Eurosport expert Robson.
“The amount of confidence that he has at the moment and then to come here to a tournament that he's won an incredible amount of times and just seems so at ease on this surface, so comfortable on Centre Court, that it's hard to bet against him.”
Djokovic has not played any competitive grass events ahead of Wimbledon.
But Robson does not think the transition to the surface from clay is an issue for the 36-year-old.
“The way he moves on this surface is unlike anyone else because he's able to take a few things that he uses on the different surfaces, like the sliding that he would do on the clay and the hard courts. And he still manages to stay so balanced, which is always the difficult thing on grass, to still find enough in the legs to get underneath every ball, make sure that it's not coming onto you so quickly. But he just doesn't even seem to think about it.
“A couple of weeks ago I remember speaking to him and he was saying that clay is the surface that he finds toughest to adjust to, where it takes him a few weeks to feel like he's stable. And it just doesn't seem like he has that at all on the grass.
“So, yeah, it's an easy transition for him at this point in his career.”
Carlos Alcaraz looks to have emerged as one of Djokovic’s main rivals at Wimbledon after winning the title at Queen’s.
Alcaraz, 20, had only played six tour-level grass matches before the tournament, but won in impressive fashion.
He returned to world No. 1 after the victory and said he sees himself as one of the favourites at SW19.
“It was so funny at the start of the week at Queen’s when he was a set down in the first round you were like ‘oh, maybe he just hasn't had enough time on the surface to get ready’, and somehow he turned that match around and was getting better and better with each match that he played,” reflected Robson.
“By the final, it just looked like he had so much time on his forehand and so much time to get around the ball and play the way that he wants to, even on a slightly more difficult surface.
“It was an incredibly quick improvement. I think he definitely played more aggressive in the later stages of the tournament, especially on his forehand side. He was going for less drop shots than we would usually see, but more of the longer slice, which worked for just about everyone on the courts at Queen’s.
“But I think in general this year, the courts aren't playing quite so quickly, so you don't have to make as many adjustments as you might think. So it's just about playing patient tennis, trying to give yourself as much time as possible and be prepared for the occasional bad bounce or a low bounce even where you need to get under it with the leg.
“I think it's more acceptance than anything else on grass, which helps and just that goes a long way.”
Robson also picked out a few Americans as surprise contenders at Wimbledon.
Frances Tiafoe broke into the top 10 for the first time after winning in Stuttgart earlier this month while Sebastian Korda made the semis at Queen's after returning from injury.
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Tiafoe saves championship point, wins Stuttgart Open title with amazing rally against Struff
“Tiafoe played so well and it was so entertaining the way he won that final in Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago and he's here already at Wimbledon and practicing, so he's getting some additional court time,” said Robson.
“I was also really impressed with how Sebastian Korda played at Queen’s right up until his loss, where it just seemed like he just played within himself and sort of lost the confidence that he had in the early rounds. But that's just having to play those top guys again and again is how you get used to that feeling.
“And any one of those young American guys, really, I feel like they just love the surface. Someone like Ben Shelton, it's hard to return any of his serves on the grass with the lefty swinger out wide. So I'd be interested to see how a couple of those names creep through the jaw and if things open up for them.”
Wimbledon starts on July 3.
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