Wimbledon 2022 men's singles: Predicting the chances of last year's quarterfinalists ft. Novak Djokovic, Matteo Berretttini and Denis Shapovalov
In a little over 24 hours, the 2022 Wimbledon Championships will finally kick off, albeit without ranking points or Russian and Belarusian players in the draw. But the majority of the tennis world have made their way to the grasscourts of SW19 regardless, hoping to prove their mettle at the 'Mecca of Tennis'.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic and 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal lead the pack in the men's singles draw in the absence of Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, while eight-time winner Roger Federer is missing for the first time since his debut in 1999.
Last year's runner-up Matteo Berrettini and teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz are also in the draw along with other promising youngsters, hoping to disrupt things as much as possible.
With the grass swing being the shortest of the season, lasting barely more than a month, there is not much practice players can get before their stint at SW19, making the tournament one of the most chaotic of the Grand Slams.
It is interesting, therefore, to try and predict how far the quarterfinalists from last year will do this year, and whether fans can expect the same from them once again or look forward to an out-of-the-blue first-round dumping.
Of the eight who made it through to the quarterfinals last year, Karen Khachanov and Federer will be missing in action this year. Here's a look at how the other six might fare at Wimbledon in the coming weeks:
#1 Marton Fucsovics
Marton Fucsovics made his first ever quarterfinal appearance at a Grand Slam at the 2021 Wimbledon, falling to Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the last eight fixture. While the Hungarian hasn't reached any finals on grass on the ATP Tour, he has a title on the surface to his name on the Challenger Tour.
This year, Fucsovics reached the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open in the lead-up to the grass Major, but fell in the first round at the Halle Open. At SW19, the 30-year-old will open his campaign against Alexander Bublik, as unpredictable an opponent as he could have drawn in the first round.
The Kazakhstani hasn't had the most impressive grass season so far but is seen as the favorite to proceed to the second round. Even if Fucsovics manages to prevail over Bublik, things will only get harder from there, with potential successive clashes against 16th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and 23rd seed Frances Tiafoe awaiting the World No. 57.
Chances are that Fucsovics will not make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon once again, but the 30-year-old has shown over the years that he is more than capable of pulling off unlikely upsets on his day.
#2 Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime's maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came at Wimbledon last year, a result he went on to improve at the US Open soon after. Although he fell to Matteo Berrettini in four sets, the Canadian showed promise of much bigger things to come for him.
True to that, Auger-Aliassime reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the fourth round of the French Open this season, losing marathon five-setters to Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal respectively. In the lead-up to SW19, the 21-year-old reached the semifinals at the Libema Open and the quarterfinals in Halle.
The World No. 9's game is perfectly suited to grass, with his big serve and early-to-the-net approach capable of stunning any opponent when he is in rhythm. He has a difficult opener at Wimbledon to begin with, against serve-and-volleyer Maxime Cressy. If he gets through that battle, Auger-Aliassime will very likely repeat his run from last year at Wimbledon.
#3 Hubert Hurkacz
The 2021 Wimbledon marked Hubert Hurkacz's maiden semifinal appearance in a Major, where he fell to Matteo Berrettini in four sets. The Pole has since grown by leaps and bounds, and is even seen by some as an outside favorite for the title.
In the lead-up to the tournament, Hurkacz has one grass title to his name, which he secured at the Halle Open with a resounding victory over Daniil Medvedev in the final. But he also suffered a shock defeat against Fucsovics at Stuttgart the previous week.
your grass 
@ATPHalle
I ❤ your grass 🍀@ATPHalle https://t.co/7KP3TyaxHF
The World No. 10's SW19 opener will take place against the unpredictable Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but he is still the favorite to go through to the next round. There are not many players in the 25-year-old's quarter who can bother him, and another quarterfinal run at Wimbledon can most likely be expected from Hurkacz.
#4 Denis Shapovalov
The 2021 Wimbledon was the site of Denis Shapovalov's maiden Grand Slam semifinal appearance, where he fell to eventual winner Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Seeded 13th this time around, the Canadian will be hard-pressed to do the same once again.
The World No. 16 has been ousted in each of the three tournaments he played in the lead-up to SW19, getting outclassed by opponents much less rated than him such as Oscar Otte, Tommy Paul and Benjamin Bonzi.
Denis Shapovalov from Wimbledon semifinalist to loosing on every r1 grass event is beyond my mind. Can't win Bonzi, like wtf 🫤
Shapovalov's Wimbledon draw isn't the hardest in the tournament, with only a potential fourth-round clash against Nick Kyrgios expected to bother him on paper. The 23-year-old's opener will be against Arthur Kinderknech, which he is likely to win easily. Although the Canadian is capable of reaching the quarterfinals for the second year running, he will have to overcome his poor run of form to do that.
#5 Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the 2021 Wimbledon, cementing his status as one of the best grasscourt players on the tour right now. A year later, he is now seen by many as the second favorite for the title, even the top favorite based on his current form.
In the lead-up to SW19, the Italian has two grass titles under his belt (Stuttgart Open and Queen's Club Championships) and has won the most points on the surface. Immediately after returning from injury, the World No. 11 bounced back in style, reminding fans once again of what made him unplayable on grass when he is in his element.
"The first three favorites for the title are Djokovic, Berrettini and Rafa, in that order. But if Rafa gets through the 1st week, he will overtake Berrettini."
Francisco Roig, coach of Rafael Nadal https://t.co/bQPNAZbp2O
Berrettini, fortunately, has a fairly easy draw at the 2022 Wimbledon, with his toughest potential fixture coming against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Neither his opener against Cristian Garin nor the potential fourth-round clash with Diego Schwartzman is likely to bother the 26-year-old in any capacity.
#6 Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic won his then record-equalling 20th Grand Slam at the 2021 Wimbledon, triumphing over Matteo Berrettini in five sets. Although the former World No. 1 has fallen behind Rafael Nadal in the count since, he is expected to edge closer to the Spaniard with a title run at SW19 this year.
The Serb hasn't played any lead-up tournaments on grass but his prowess on the surface is not up for any debate. Djokovic is widely seen as the favorite to retain his crown in the coming days, even if he is not in the best form at the moment.
. @djokernole sharing with us on his IG stories what we want to see: him playing tennis 😍 https://t.co/jF9tIekDYr
The three-time defending champion will open his Wimbledon campaign against Soonwoo Kwon as the top seed and isn't likely to face much resistance until the potential quarterfinal clash against Carlos Alcaraz and the semifinal clash against Hubert Hurkacz. The draw has been rather kind to the 35-year-old, who will be looking to take advantage of it and win his first Slam of the year soon.