Sinner aims for Wimbledon dream and to realize yet another epic feat in the history of Italian sport. Having reached the top of the ATP rankings, the champion from Alto Adige is called upon not to disappoint the expectations of being number one in the world. His climb to the Olympus of tennis passes through the sacred grass of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, where the 137th edition of the most evocative tournament on the circuit officially began. Along with the 22-year-old talent, the draw includes 8 other Italians involved in the singles, including Matteo Berrettini, Fabio Fognini and Jasmine Paolini, who passed to the second round, Matteo Arnaldi and Martina Trevisan, both already eliminated in the first, Lorenzo Sonego, Mattia Bellucci and Sara Errani.
Wimbledon 2024, Sinner’s debut and the derby with Berrettini
Making his debut at Wimbledon as number 1, Jannik Sinner lived up to the predictions by winning in the first round against the German Yannick Hanfmann and is now expected in the second round of the Italian derby with Matthew Berrettini.
Despite back problems, the 28-year-old Roman made his debut by beating the 32-year-old Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in five sets. Regardless of his physical condition, the 2021 London Slam finalist, the first in the history of Italian tennis, will start as an underdog in the challenge against the 22-year-old from Alto Adige, who could also snatch the lead from him.
Sinner arrived at his fourth Wimbledon as the top seed, having won in 2024 four titlesthe Australian Open, the Rotterdam tournament, the Miami Masters 1000 and the Halle 500 with a record of 38 wins and 3 defeats, two with Alcaraz (Indian Wells and Roland Garros) and one with Tsitsipas (in Monte Carlo).
If he were to advance, the Italian champion could face the Dutch number 27 ATP Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, the American Ben Shelton (no.14) in the eighth finals and one between Daniil Medvedev (no.5) and Grigor Dimitrov (no.10) in the quarter-finals.
Wimbledon 2024, how much does a Slam winner earn?
Obviously, to win the first historic victory at Wimbledon, Sinner will have to deal with rival Carlos Alcaraz and legend Novak Djokovic, pursuers in the ranking and contenders for the conquest of the Slam.
“If Djokovic regains confidence in his body he will be very difficult to beat. Alcaraz won here last year. I also have my chances. just like them, sure, but let’s see. All these questions will be answered in the next two weeks” said the Italian champion, answering the question of whether he was the favorite or not for the final success, in an interview given to the British newspaper The Times on the eve.
Whoever wins among the three will take home the richest edition in the history of Wimbledon: with a prize pool of 50 million pounds, approximately 59.4 million eurosthe All England Club increased its prize pool by almost €8 million last year, becoming the most lucrative tournament on the circuit of all time, surpassing the record of €58,714,000 set by the 2023 US Open.
So, if in the last edition the winner of the Championships pocketed a cheque for 2.57 million Euros, this year whoever lifts the cup will collect a prize of approximately €3.2 million (£2.7 million)while the final will be worth 1.662 million.
The figures for those who reach the semi-finals have also increased by 20%, earning 849 thousand euros, while the losers of the first round will earn almost 72 thousand euros.
