Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic Placed On Opposite Sides of Wimbledon Draw
ByAlexa Johnson
World No. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was drawn on Friday opposite Roger Federer, who was placed on the Wimbledon bracket. They will not meet until the final — possibly a rematch of the epic 2019 final won by Djokovic.
After winning the French Open earlier in the month, Djokovic, 34, now has 19 Grand Slam titles. He can tie Federer or Rafael Nadal for the top spot on the all-time men's list with 20. Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in February, is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam. Since Rod Laver's 1969 victory, no man has ever won the calendar Slam. This year, Nadal will not be playing Wimbledon.
Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev, a Russian heavyweight, in the quarterfinals. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the French Open runner-up in the semis is in the top half.
Federer, 39, lost two match points to Djokovic in 2019 final. This would have earned him a 21st career major. Federer, 39, withdrew before his fourth-round match against Matteo Berrettini at the French Open to concentrate on the grass-court season, which is his best chance of adding another major.
Federer may have to play the world's No. 2, Daniil Medvedev, in the quarterfinals, and No. 6 Sascha Zaverev in semis. Simona Halep was the Wimbledon champion for 2019, but she withdrew shortly before the draw due to an injury to her left calf. Two of the top three WTA players are now out of the field, No. 2 Naomi Osaka withdrew from the WTA rankings last week and is now focusing on winning Tokyo Olympics gold. No. 6 seed Serena Williams is looking for her record-setting 24th major title. She could also benefit from Osaka and Halep's absence. She will face No. 3 Elina Svitolina, world No. 1 Ash Barty is in the semis of the top half.
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will meet No. 7 Iga Swiatek would face No. No. 4 Sofia Kenin would be facing No. 8 Karolina Pliskova
Djokovic versus Jack Draper, an 18-year-old wild-card entry from England who was the Wimbledon boys' runner-up in 2018, and Andy Murray against No. No. 24 seed Nikoloz Baskalashvili; No. 21 Ugo Humbert against Nicky Kyrgios
The first-rounders for women are of particular interest to Barty and Carla Suarez Navarro (a 32-year old Spaniard who recently returned from cancer treatment); 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams versus 100th-ranked Aliaksandra Sasnovich (who reached Wimbledon's fourth rounds in 2018); French Open champion Barbora Krajcikova versus Clara Tauson (18 years); and Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, against the 2017 U.
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