Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon draw has emerged, and it could not have been more favourable.
All of his greatest opponents have seemingly been put on the other half of the tournament, meaning the five-time Grand Slam champion needs only beat players who he has routinely defeated in the past to make it to a third straight final at the All-England Club.
It will not be easy, as no Grand Slam run ever is, and there are a few players who could provide a threat.
One of those stars has been pointed out by Matt Roberts and David Law.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon draw analysed
It was Roberts who kickstarted the analysis, emphasising the ease of Carlos Alcaraz’s draw by outlining the seeds that surround him.
He told The Tennis Podcast: ‘I think the seeds closest to him are Felix Auger Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev. Like, there’s a world where those players became what we thought they were gonna become, and that’s a really difficult draw, but they all feel like sort of, yesterday’s men, really.
‘And I think Alcaraz takes care of all of them extremely comfortably, especially on this surface, even Holger Rune, who I wouldn’t say yet is yesterday’s man, but isn’t really a threat to Carlos Alcaraz.
‘I think the toughest name in Alcaraz’s quarter for him is Frances Tiafoe if Tiafoe is playing his best.
‘Like we saw the way he pushed him here last year. He’s taking him to five sets at a couple of slams. He’s able to rush Alcaraz, I think, in a way that some players aren’t.
‘But for Frances Tiafoe to get to that match, he’s got to win four rounds here, and that feels like a tall order, he might have to go through the Queen’s finalist Jiri Lehecka, who you would also have to say is, you know, a little bit tricky for Alcaraz, but generally, I’m looking at this and thinking that all the other big names that we’ve been talking about heading into this, Wimbledon are in the other half, and this is just a land of real opportunity for Carlos Alcaraz to just make his way through.
‘And look, maybe that maybe that’s the trap.’
Law concurred, adding: ‘Whenever I seem racing all over the court in the first three games and doing a tweener and putting his finger to his ear, I think actually, that’s not it, really, at this stage of the match, you know. You’re supposed to just be dealing with these people.
‘The only one that I would really worry for him is against this Tiafoe in that section of the draw.’
Carlos Alcaraz bidding to make history at Wimbledon
Alcaraz is gunning for his third straight Wimbledon title this year, and has arguably been handed the perfect draw to boost his chances of achieving that.
After all, the likes of Jack Draper, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are all clustered in the other half, meaning he will be able to watch them fight for the honour of likely facing him in the final.
Should the Spaniard make it there, and win the title, it would put him alongside the likes of John McEnroe and Boris Becker on three, and ahead of icons like Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Stefan Edberg.
These are legends of the sport who he could surpass at just 22, and he would have achieved this with three titles in as many years.
Only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic have ever managed that feat at Wimbledon, and with this in mind, it’s worth comparing Alcaraz’s grass-court record to Djokovic, Roger Federer and McEnroe to truly highlight his greatness.
