It is often difficult to establish any order of preferences when speaking of grass, of Wimbledon and all the annexes and connected ones. The matter in Prati regarding tennis is too particular, so much so that until a few years ago the seedings were also affected by this matter. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, in fact, established its own algorithm which also took into account previous results on grass (over two years) to compose the seeding. Then came uniformity compared to the other Slams (so the world ranking is followed), but the particularities remain. A premise is due: here we will not talk about Italian players (especially one, for which a much larger chapter is necessary).
And this is why, today, we must always pay attention to those low seeded players who, however, know how to make themselves very dangerous. The main name on which the hosts are banking, with Andy Murray who, even if he were on the pitch, would hardly be competitive in the long term, becomes Jack Draper. And his name does not appear by chance: he will be number 28 on the scoreboard and, therefore, could have to deal with some of the best in the world (not the top four, but the 5-8 range, that of Hurkacz) at the third round. An almost obligatory name, since his prices were raised to the highest degree by the success in the second round at Queen’s against Carlos Alcaraz and, before that, by the title in Stuttgart. His talent on grass, however, had been known for three years, when again at Queen’s he beat Jannik Sinner (in a complex period at the time) and then, at Wimbledon, he took a set from Novak Djokovic in the first round. Slowed down by physical problems, he has regained the place he deserves since the end of 2022 and, now, he is also ready to attack leading positions.
Wimbledon 2024, Jasmine Paolini and the goal of scoring as many points as possible in an unfavorable context
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Other dangerous figures in the 25-32 range when it comes to seeding are the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoorwho in Italy is well known for the many battles with Sinner (including that of Halle), and the Chinese Zhizhen Zhangwho with the German semi-final grabbed the last available place in the seeding (at least as long as Djokovic is in the draw: his forfeit could change the cards on the table in favor of the Frenchman Arthur Fils, whose potential on the lawns is still essentially unknown) .
We move out of the seedings, or, better said, among those who can meet from the first round. The other name inevitably on the lips of many when it comes to difficulties is that of Jan-Lennard Struff. The German has severely challenged Sinner in Halle, and is banking heavily on Wimbledon for a couple of reasons. The first is that, in his current condition, he has everything to go beyond that third round which, in his long career, is his best result at the Championships. The second is that, given that last year he was stopped from Halle to Zhuhai (September) due to injury, he has every interest in picking up points to get back into the top 30 and, why not, attack the top 20 in the final part of his competitive parable.
From his own area it is impossible not to mention other particularly “risky” figures when it comes to mating. It is particularly important to understand where it will end Christopher Eubanks, who this year, however, did not express himself at the same levels as in 2023 which was miraculous for him, almost to the point of removing Daniil Medvedev from the grassy Slam (the Russian overcame several disadvantages to beat him in the fifth set). He also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year Roman Safiullinwith the Russian who was stopped by Sinner, but in 2024 he arrives at Wimbledon with two matches on grass played (Berrettini in Stuttgart and the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, another not without dangers considering the performance in the most important tournaments). Another man who has come very far in the recent past, but in need of rediscovering sensations and confirmation, is Cameron Norrie, which in 2022 made people dream on British soil by reaching the semi-final. Until now, however, his herbivorous campaign has been less than glorious, as has that of Dan Evans.
There would be two other names to keep in mind, just for what they represent. Denis Shapovalov at Wimbledon he reached the semi-final in 2021, but the Canadian is basically in the worst period of his career and there are doubts about his chances at the Championships. Same goes for Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Spaniard who played the 2019 edition very well, but is in a very clear decline. Separate discussion for Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka: the Japanese and the Swiss are there, each in their own way, and have quarter-finals in their careers, but they have never been definable as real grass animals. However, they remain to be kept under an eye, even if the Japanese player is a very distant relative of the best version of him and even the Swiss player, although some flashes of his glorious past show him, no longer has the constant condition of the past.
