10 things to look for at 2022 Wimbledon

The 2022 Championships at Wimbledon are getting underway today, which means it is time for me to write my 10 things to look for. To check out all of the draws, click here. To check out my recent French Open recap, click here. 

#1. Can Novak Djokovic get back in the winner's circle? Novak Djokovic has had a rough go lately. He didn't get vaccinated against COVID and as a result missed the Australian Open. He later got bounced in the quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal in the French Open. If there's a Grand Slam for him to bounce back at, it's Wimbledon. He's won the event six times and really should be the odds on favorite to win it all. How Djokovic does will be really interesting to see given the rough ride he's been on. 

#2. Can Iga Świątek make a deep run? Iga Świątek has won two French Open titles after winning it all in Paris this year. She's the best in the world on clay in the women's game. Now it's a matter of winning Grand Slams outside of the French Open. She's ranked number one in the world and has an opportunity to show she truly is the best in the world and not just the best on clay. The furthest she's gone at Wimbledon is the 4th round last year, so she's certainly got a lot to prove. 

#3. Can Rafael Nadal win another Wimbledon? If Rafael Nadal finds a way to win Wimbledon this year, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) discussion will get even more interesting than it already is. It would be Nadal's third Wimbledon title and his first since 2010. It would also be his 23rd Grand Slam title, extending his all-time record. And in case you think it's a long put for Nadal, when he won the Australian Open this year, it was his first Australian Open title since 2009. Maybe this is going to be the year of Nadal ending really long droughts. 

#4. Can Anett Kontaveit back up her ranking? Anett Kontaveit comes in as the number two ranked player in the world and yet she has never been to the semifinal of a major. At Wimbledon, she's never gotten past the 3rd round. This is a big Wimbledon for her. A chance to show she is as good as her ranking says she is. How she does under the pressure will be fun to watch. 

#5. Can Stefanos Tsitsipas make some noise? Stefanos Tsitsipas is seeded 4th at Wimbledon and yet has never gotten past the 4th round. He's reached the semifinals three times at the Australian Open and the 2021 French Open final, so he's gone deep at majors. He just hasn't yet done so at Wimbledon. If he can find a way to step up his game on the grass, look out. 

#6. Can Ons Jabeur back up her ranking? Ons Jabeur is seeded third at this year's championships even though she's never reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam. She did reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2021 and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2020. Like Kontaveit, Jabeur is another player who has a lofty ranking, but hasn't done enough in the majors to justify her ranking. It'll also be interesting to see how she performs and how well she backs up her ranking. 

#7. Can Andy Murray find lightning in a bottle? Andy Murray reached the 3rd round of Wimbledon last year and will once again have the British crowd behind him. If the draw opens up for him a bit, he could make things interesting. Watching Murray even go as far as the 4th round would be a ton of fun. 

#8. Can Serena Williams win one more Grand Slam? Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slams, the most of anyone in the Open era, and just one shy of Margaret Court's record of 24. She's been stuck on that number 23 for a while though as she hasn't won a Grand Slam since 2016 Wimbledon. It does feel like Serena is not going to tie Court's mark, but given how many times she's been doubted before and proved us wrong, I wouldn't count her out. 

#9. Can Casper Ruud do something at Wimbledon? Casper Ruud is coming off a phenomenal run to the French Open final and yet at Wimbledon he has never gotten past the 1st round. History says he'll flame out early, but after what he did at Roland Garros, one can't help be like his chances of at least winning one match. 

#10. Can Coco Gauff build on her strong French Open? Coco Gauff is coming off a trip to the French Open final and will look to build on that with a strong performance at Wimbledon. She first burst onto the scene at 2019 Wimbledon with a run to the 4th round, so the fans are very familiar with her. She has since not been able to get beyond the 4th round at Wimbledon, but it's possible this run to the French Open final will propel her to an even deeper run. 

#11. How will the lack of ranking points affect the tournament? Due to Russian and Belarusian players being banned from Wimbledon due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, ranking points won't be assigned for this tournament. It'll be interesting to see how that affects the feel of the tournament and just in general, what the absence of some major names will mean. It's a very strange position for the tournament to be in and one of the major storylines going into the tournament for sure. 

Prediction: On the gentlemen's side, I'm going to predict that Novak Djokovic will find a way to win it all. He's been the best on grass and he knows he really needs to win this one. On the ladies' side, it's a total crapshoot, so just to have some fun, I'm going to predict Serena Williams to come out on top. This very well may be her final Wimbledon and if things open up for her, she could make a deep run. 

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10 things to take away from the 2022 French Open

                                              (Credit: SportsKeeda.com) 

Before I dive into my Wimbledon preview, I do want to write my takeaways from the two weeks that were at Roland Garros. Like every grand slam, it was an exciting two weeks with lots to discuss! 

#1. Rafael Nadal continues to make his case for GOAT: Rafael Nadal defeated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final to win his 14th French Open title and his 22nd Grand Slam, both of which are all-time records. No one in the men's game has won anything close to that number of French Open titles and he also has the most Grand Slam titles of anyone in the men's game. A lot of people like to resist calling him the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) because so many of his Grand Slam titles have come on the clay, but at some point, you just gotta admit it doesn't matter how he gets to the number that he has. It's simply phenomenal. 

#2. Iga Świątek is the best female on clay: While Rafael Nadal is the undisputed King of Clay, the best clay player in the women's game is definitely Iga Świątek. Świątek now has won two French Open titles (2020 & 2022), defeating Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in this year's women's final. She's really figured things out on the clay and now it's just a matter of her figuring things out on the other surfaces. If she can do that, there's no telling how many Grand Slam titles she'll have. 

#3. Casper Rudd has arrived: Even though he didn't win it all, Casper Ruud had his best performance in a Grand Slam by reaching the final. It was the best performance he's had at Grand Slam by a mile as his previous best performance was reaching the 4th round at the 2021 Australian Open. The big thing will of course be for him to build on this and consistently make deep run in the majors, but boy is this a great start for him. At just 23 years of age, he should have plenty of deep runs ahead. 

#4. Clay is actually Coco Gauff's best surface: While she first turned heads by reaching the 4th round at the 2019 Wimbledon, it turns out clay is the surface that Coco Gauff plays her best tennis on. Which is unusual for an American.  Before reaching this year's final, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open back in 2021, her second-best performance at a Grand Slam. It'll be interesting to see if she'll be able to dethrone Świątek in coming French Opens and also if she'll be able to make similar strides on the other surfaces. 

#5. Novak Djokovic has a Rafael Nadal problem: Rafael Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open and also defeated Novak Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 in the quarterfinals of this year's French Open. With 20 Grand Slam titles, everybody assumes that Djokovic is going to eventually win more Grand Slams than anyone in the men's game and become the GOAT, but right now, he's two titles back of Nadal who (A) won his favorite event in Australia this year and (B) knocked him out of the French Open again this year. Nadal is not going down without a fight and Djokovic better step up his game if he wants to solidify the GOAT debate in his favor. 

#6. Sloane Stephens had a bit of a bounce back: Sloane Stephens has been pretty quiet lately in Grand Slams, but had a bit of a bounce back in this year's French Open by reaching the quarterfinals before falling to Gauff. That was the best performance she's had at a major since the 2019 French Open, where she also reached the quarterfinals. Stephens is one of the bigger names in tennis, especially American tennis, and yet she hasn't won any majors since the 2017 US Open. It would be fun to have her contending in majors in the future. 

#7. Alexander Zverev keeps knocking on the door: Alexander Zverev was unable to complete his semifinal match against Nadal as he tore three lateral ligaments in his right ankle and underwent surgery afterwards. He is out indefinitely and will miss Wimbledon. It's not all doom and gloom for Zverev, though. As a result of reaching the semifinals, he achieved a number two world ranking, the highest of his career. It feels like it's only a matter of time before Zverev will win a major. 

#8. Daria Kasatkina made a deep run: Daria Kasatkina reached the semifinals before getting knocked out by Świątek. It was the furthest run she's had at a major since her back-to-back quarterfinal appearances at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2018. It'll be interesting to see if she can build on this in the rest of 2022 and beyond. 

#9. Marin Cilic turns back the clock: Marin Cilic reached the semifinals before getting knocked out by Ruud. This was the best performance Cilic has had at a Grand Slam since the 2015 US Open in which he reached the semifinals one year after his 2014 US Open title. Whether or not this was an aberration for Cilic or a possible sign of things to come remains to be seen. But for while it lasted, it was fun to see him back in the mix at a major. 

#10. Naomi Osaka needs to figure out how to win away from the hard court: Naomi Osaka lost in the first round and will not be playing Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury. While she has won the US Open and Australian Open twice for four total Grand Slam titles, she hasn't gotten past the 3rd round at the French Open or Wimbledon. This year's French Open was just another reminder that Osaka needs to figure out how to win on surfaces other than hard court. That's really the next step for her in her career. 

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