With Wimbledon fast approaching, former tennis star Tim Henman has made his predictions ahead of the tournament whilst picking the sport’s new ‘Big Four’.
Speaking to SPORTbible from within the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Henman has given his predictions for both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
He said: “I’m going to go out on a limb and say Novak Djokovic is the favourite for the men’s. I mean he's just a machine right now. He's playing so well.
“On the women’s side, it is much more open. Iga Swiatek is number one but I don't think she's so comfortable and confident on grass yet with the movement side of things. Elena Rybakina played so well last year, Aryna Sabalenka is looking good, Ons Jabeur was in the final and Coco Gauff has played well on the grass in the past.
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“So there’s so many options on the women’s side but on the men’s I can’t remember anyone being such a clear favourite than Djokovic.”
After Friday's draw, Djokovic will face Argentina’s Pedro Cachin whilst there is a mouth-watering tie in the women’s draw with Venus Williams taking on Elina Svitolina in the first round.
Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will face fellow Brit Ryan Peniston before a potentially huge clash against either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem.
Henman is hopeful that the Brits can go deep into the tournament.
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He said: “ I think for the Brits if they could get into the second week and then build from there.
“I could see Cam Norrie, Dan Evans or Andy Murray getting to the second week. So that would be massively exciting.”
The 2023 Wimbledon will be broadcast live across the BBC and Henman will be amongst the coverage team led by Claire Balding.
Serbian Djokovic made history at the French Open by winning his 23rd Grand Slam, Henman now believes he is the greatest male player ever.
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He said: “I think he's the greatest male player that's ever played now that he's gone ahead in the numbers game. Having won every Grand Slam a minimum of three times. I mean, it's just absolutely incredible.
“I think he’ll end up with 26 or 27 Slams, I really do. I think he's very motivated to be the tennis player with the most Grand Slam singles titles.”
With the likes of Djokovic, Murray and Rafael Nadal in their late 30s and Roger Federer retired, Henman has picked out players who can form tennis’ new ‘Big Four’.
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Henman has labelled current number one Carlos Alcaraz as the most complete player at 20 he has ever seen.
He said: “His qualities remind me of some of the greats because he's that good. He's been world number one. He's won a slam. He’s won plenty of Masters 1000s. He's incredible, he’s probably the most complete player that I've ever seen at 20.
“Hopefully these rivalries, whether it's with Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev, they can really flourish because that's what the sport needs. We've been incredibly blessed with big rivalries in the past 20 years and we need some more.”
He added: “You've got Rune in the top 10 now, Sinner as well is young. I definitely think Alcaraz, Sinner, Rune and Felix Auger Aliassime, players of that age group.
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“I think they're all sort of 20,21 or 22 aren't they so I think that that's a pretty good quartet.
“You’ve got Tsitsipas and Medvedev who are a little bit older. But there’s a healthy crop coming through.”
Live coverage of Wimbledon will be available across BBC TV, radio and online from Monday 3 July – Sunday 16 July.
All matches are available on iPlayer, plus clips, commentaries, player columns and live scores on the BBC Sport Website and app so that fans can keep up with the action.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Wimbledon, Tennis, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Spotlight
