Serb’s ‘hit and fly’ return makes him clear favourite at a tournament where he could equal the men’s slam record
As Wimbledon returns after a sad season without grass-court tennis, the question surrounding the men’s draw this year is simple and plain: can anyone stop Novak Djokovic? Over the past 10 years of his dominance and destruction, similar questions have been asked before a major tournament, but rarely have there been so few potential disruptors waiting in the wings.
Grass has been a specialist surface with a fleeting competition season for some time, but the top eight seeds at Wimbledon this year are as unproven and inexperienced on the surface as any leading pack in decades. Aside from Djokovic, five times the champion here, and the eight-times champion Roger Federer, who is still seeking to rediscover consistency fter two knee operations, the rest have just one Wimbledon quarter-final between them.
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