"Hope to see a different winner at Wimbledon, but it's probably going to be Novak Djokovic again" - Andreas Seppi
While the retired Andreas Seppi would love to see a new winner at Wimbledon this week, he knows it is very likely that four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic will defend his title yet again.
The Serb has reached the semifinals at SW19, where he will take on Italian sensation Jannik Sinner. In the other side of the draw, Carlos Alcaraz will lock horns with Holger Rune in one quarterfinal, while Daniil Medvedev will face off against Christopher Eubanks in the other.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, former World No. 18 Seppi, who made history as the first Italian man to win a title on all three surfaces, stated that Sinner and Alcaraz have the best chance of putting Djokovic under pressure.
However, he doesn't believe they have enough in the tank to oust the 23-time Grand Slam champion in a best-of-five clash on grass just yet:
"You have to probably go with Djokovic but I would love to see a different winner [at Wimbledon]. I think Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz have the best chance to put him under under pressure. So, I hope to see a different winner but it's it's probably going be Novak again."
Andreas Seppi also spoke about the chances of an Italian man winning a Grand Slam, remarking that Sinner had the best chance among the current crop. Even though he asserted that the 22-year-old is putting too much pressure on himself during slams, he is confident that the World No. 8 has what it takes to win not just one but many Majors in the future.
Seppi said:
"You have to go with Jannik. He has already played the quarter-finals in every Grand Slam. This year, he has not played so well in the first two Slams. But last year, at Wimbledon, he was leading against Djokovic by two sets to love and he had much point against Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open quarter-final."
He added:
"Matteo did reach the Wimbledon final and the semis in a couple of other Slams. He was even closer than Jannik. Jannik, I feel, sometimes he's putting himself a little bit more pressure on himself in the Grand Slams as compared to other tournaments. But for sure, he can do very well in the upcoming years to win one Grand Slam, or not just one, but many."
Novak Djokovic goes into Wimbledon semifinal with a 2-0 lead against Jannik Sinner
Novak Djokovic has an unbeaten record against his Wimbledon semifinal opponent Jannik Sinner, having beaten the Italian in both of their previous encounters. The latest of their meetings came at SW19 last year, where the Serb overcame a two-set deficit to beat the youngster in the quarterfinals.
This time around, Sinner comes into the clash having lost just two sets along the way, the same as Djokovic. While the World No. 2 took down Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, he bested the unseeded Roman Safiullin to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal.