Australia’s ten Wimbledon hopefuls have been handed a nightmare draw, with Nick Kyrgios in line to meet Novak Djokovic as soon as the quarter-finals in a rematch of last year’s final.
That’s if the Aussie even makes it that far, coming off a long injury lay-off and with a hampered preparation – and with seventh-seed Andrey Rublev in the third round.
It’s a similarly brutal draw for top-seed Aussie Alex de Minaur, and there’s not much room for hope of a deep run elsewhere in the green and gold ranks after tough draws for most contenders.
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Novak Djokovic will begin his quest for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, with a potential rematch of last year’s final against Nick Kyrgios looming in the quarter-finals.
Kyrgios – coming in with just one tour match under his belt this year – has been handed a brutal draw, with Belgian David Goffin in the first round, seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the third round, and Djokovic in the quarters.
Djokovic could face Rublev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the last eight should Kyrgios not make it, with his projected semi-final to come against Jannik Sinner or Casper Ruud, who he beat in the French Open final earlier this month.
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Top seed and world number one Carlos Alcaraz has not been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon in two appearances, but is finding his feet on the grass after winning at Queen’s Club last week.
Alcaraz starts against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, but has a tricky path through to the latter stages with the prospect for a rematch of the Queen’s final against the top-seeded Aussie in Alex de Minaur in the fourth round and world number six Holger Rune in the quarter-finals.
De Minaur’s path is equally tough, with Alexander Zverev his likely third round opponent before a meeting with Alcaraz in the round of 16 – the man who beat him at Queens’ Club in the final.
Tennis reporter Marc McGowan tweeted: “First impressions? Brutal draw for the Australian men. Both Kyrgios and de Minaur are going to have to do something special to go beyond R4.”
Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the tie of the men’s first round with the winner potentially facing two-time champion Andy Murray, who takes on wild card Ryan Peniston.
WOMEN’S DRAW
Top seed Iga Swiatek — who had to withdraw from the Bad Homburg semi-finals on Friday due to suspected food poisoning — has been handed the kinder side of the women’s draw.
Swiatek begins against China’s Zhu Lin and is projected to face Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and Jessica Pegula or Caroline Garcia in the last four.
The bottom half of the draw is stacked with defending champion Elena Rybakina, world number two Aryna Sabalenka and last year’s finalist Ons Jabeur.
Five-time winner Venus Williams will take on a fellow wild card Elina Svitolina in one of the ties of the first round.
As for the two Australians in the draw, Storm Hunter will play Xinyu Wang, while Daria Saville will take on British hope Katie Boulter – also Alex de Minaur’s girlfriend.
Hunter could face seventh-seed Coco Gauff in the second round, and potentially 28th seed Elise Mertens, Venus Williams or former world number three Svitolina in the third round.
Saville has an even tougher draw, with third-seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the third round.
The third Grand Slam of the season gets underway on Monday, July 3.
Australians’ 1st round Wimbledon matches
Men
Alex de Minaur (15) vs K Coppejans (Q)
Chris O’Connell vs H Medjedovic (Q)
Alexei Popyrin vs Dom Stricker
Aleks Vukic vs D Altmaier
Max Purcell vs Andrey Rublev (7)
Nick Kyrgios (30) vs D Goffin (WC)
Jordan Thompson v Brandon Nakashima
Women
Storm Hunter vs Xinyu Wang
Daria Saville vs Katie Boulter