Wimbledon 2022: Men's singles power rankings
Novak Djokovic has been the undisputed king of the All England Club in recent years. The Serb, however, comes into this year's Wimbledon Championships with not a lot of match wins to show for.
Djokovic, who opens his campaign against Kwon Soon-woo on Monday, will be expecting a tough test from an elite field that features the likes of 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini and two-time former champion Rafael Nadal.
In addition to the trio, there are a handful of others who have also done well on grass in recent times and will be keen to make their impact felt on the big stage. Here, we rank the top players’ prospects based on their performances on the surface in recent years.
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Note: The following formula was used to calculate the power rankings for this year's Wimbledon: (1x points earned in the 2022 grass season + 0.75x points earned in the 2021 grass season + 0.25x points earned in the 2019 grass season).
#8 Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal comes into this year's Wimbledon Championships having won the first two Grand Slam events of the season for the first time in his career.
The Spaniard has not played a lot of tennis on the surface in recent years, but his run to the title in Paris this year put to rest any doubts about his ability to bring out his best tennis in the big matches.
Nadal's run to the semifinals at the 2019 Championships was enough to secure him a spot in the power rankings. If fully fit, the two-time former champion is as big a contender for the trophy as any.
#7 Marin Cilic
A run to the title in Stuttgart last year, where he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final, showed that Marin Cilic still had what it took to succeed on the big stage. And while the Croat has gone out early in the last two editions of the Championships, he still has the game to turn things around for himself.
Cilic has had a few solid wins on grass this year, reaching the semifinals at the Queen's Club Championships. This year's Wimbledon could well mark his return to the second week.
#6 Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz's power-packed baseline game has earned him a reputation as an evergreen threat on hardcourt, but the 24-year-old can be just as intimidating on grass.
The American heads into Wimbledon fresh off a title in Eastbourne, a title that he also won back in 2019. With his serve and groundstrokes firing on all cyclinders, Fritz is more than capable of shaking things up in the bottom half of the draw.
#5 Roberto Bautista Agut
One of the most consistent players on the ATP tour in recent years, especially on grass, Roberto Bautista Agut enters this year's Wimbledon as one of the most underrated prospects once again.
The Spaniard has recorded semi-finals and fourth-round runs in the last two editions of the Championships. And by reaching the final in Mallorca on Saturday, he looks to be ideally prepared for the 2022 edition. On his day, Bautista Agut remains a threat as big as any at SW19.
#4 Felix Auger-Aliassime
Another player who has been fairly consistent with results on grass over the last few years is Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime. A power-packed game has seen him make back-to-back finals — 2019 and 2021 — in Stuttgart and reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club last year.
Auger-Aliassime is in decent form, having reached the quarterfinals in Halle and the semifinals in 's-Hertogenbosch leading up to Wimbledon this year.
#3 Hubert Hurkacz
Hubert Hurkacz had his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where he took out Roger Federer and Daniil Medvedev en route to a maiden semifinal at this level.
The run, however, is not the only time that Hurkacz's powerful game has come alive on grass. The Pole also reached the semifinals in Halle 12 months ago. He bettered that result by lifting the trophy at the ATP 500 event earlier this month.
#2 Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini's results on grass have outshone everyone else on the ATP tour in recent times. The Italian, who returned from an injury-induced hiatus at the start of the summer, needed virtually no time to find his stride. He already has two grasscourt titles — Stuttgart and Queen's Club — to his name heading into Wimbledon.
Berrettini returns to SW19, where he made the final last year, as an even bigger threat than he was 12 months ago. If fully fit, the big-hitting Italian is a force to be reckoned with on the surface.
#1 Novak Djokovic
For the nth time running, Novak Djokovic will be the man to beat at the Wimbledon Championships. The Serb has not lost a match at the All England Club since 2017.
Djokovic has rarely taken part in any of the grasscourt tournaments leading up to Wimbledon, but that has not stopped the Serb from succeeding at the Major. Given his dominance at SW19 over the last few years, it would take a special effort from the rest of the field to cut short Djokovic's quest for a seventh Wimbledon crown.
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Honorable mentions
The likes of former champion Andy Murray, 2021 semifinalist Denis Shapovalov and in-form players including Stefanos Tsitispas, Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur are also more than capable of staging an upset or two.