WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic begins his bid for a fifth consecutive title at Wimbledon and eighth overall at Centre Court on Monday.
Djokovic also will be trying to add to his men’s-record 23 Grand Slam singles titles — he broke a tie with Rafael Nadal by winning the French Open last month — and became the first player to collect 24 in the Open era. Oh, and then there’s this: The 36-year-old from Serbia is halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since Rod Laver won all four majors in 1969.
Djokovic faces Pedro Cachin, a 67th-ranked Argentine making his Wimbledon debut.
Aryna Sabalenka says she wants to talk only about tennis during Wimbledon and not the war in Ukraine that became a contentious topic for the Belarusian during the last Grand Slam event.
Top-ranked doubles player Katerina Siniakova won her first grass-court singles title by beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6 (5) in a rain-affected final at the Bad Homburg Open on Saturday.
Venus Williams is 43 and about to play singles at Wimbledon for the 24th time. She will be in action on Day 1 at the All England Club on Centre Court against Elina Svitolina.
American Madison Keys has prevailed in a marathon tiebreaker to win the Eastbourne International final, beating ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 7-6 (13) for her second title at the grass-court tournament.
The reigning women’s champion is Elena Rybakina, who won her first Slam trophy at the All England Club. She’ll open play on Tuesday against American Shelby Rogers.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek, who won her fourth major championship at the French Open, debuts on Monday against Zhu Lin.
One significant change: Players from Russia and Belarus are back at Wimbledon. They were banned by the All England Club a year ago because of the attack on Ukraine launched by Russia, with the help of Belarus, in February 2022, but the tournament reversed course now even though the war continues.
So No. 7 men’s seed Andrey Rublev, a Russian, and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, a Belarusian, are among those on Monday’s schedule.
Also slated to play on Day 1: Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, who is 43 and appearing at the tournament for the 24th time. She meets 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina, who recently returned after taking time off tour to have a baby, at Centre Court.
WHEN ARE MONDAY’S MATCHES?
Play begins on most courts at 11 a.m. local time, which is 6 a.m. EDT; that’s when Rublev will play Max Purcell on No. 3 Court, and Azarenka will take on Yuan Yue at Court 15, while No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula goes up against Lauren Davis at No. 2 Court in an all-American matchup. Action at No. 1 Court begins at 1 p.m. local time, which is 8 a.m. EDT, and the first match there is Swiatek-Zhu. Centre Court is the last arena to get going, at 1:30 p.m. local time, 8:30 a.m. EDT. That is when Djokovic-Cachin is set to start. Williams-Svitolina follows, meaning it could begin around 4 p.m. local time, 11 a.m. EDT.
HOW TO WATCH WIMBLEDON ON TV
— In the U.S.: ESPN, Tennis Channel
— Other countries listed here.
BETTING GUIDE
Not surprisingly, Djokovic is a heavy favorite for the men’s title, listed as a minus-190 money-line pick before play begins, ahead of Alcaraz at plus-370, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. No one else is really given much of a chance, so there are big payouts offered on some other top men, such as Jannik Sinner at plus-1,900 or Daniil Medvedev at plus-2,300. Young American Sebastian Korda is next at plus-3,600. Swiatek, who never has been past the fourth round at Wimbledon, is listed as the women’s favorite at plus-290, followed by Rybakina at plus-500 and Aryna Sabalenka at plus-500. Two-time champion Petra Kvitova is at plus-1,000, Coco Gauff at plus-1,400 and 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur at plus-1,500. Looking at Monday’s matches, Svitolina (minus-220) is favored against Williams (plus-180).
GET CAUGHT UP AT THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB
What you need to know about Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam tennis tournament:
— Novak Djokovic is pursuing more history, and his self-belief is a big part of his success
— Iga Swiatek succeeds everywhere else. Can she win Wimbledon?
— Aryna Sabalenka no longer wants to talk about the war in Ukraine
— Women’s tennis is working toward equal pay at more tournaments
— Frances Tiafoe is the first African-American man in the Top 10 in nearly 15 years
— Facts and figures about Wimbledon, including a look back at 2022
TEST YOUR TENNIS KNOWLEDGE
Try your hand at the AP’s Wimbledon quiz.
THE NUMBER TO KNOW
11 — Number of Grand Slam titles won by Novak Djokovic since turning 30, the most by a man or woman in the Open era (which began in 1968). Serena Williams is next on the list with 10, followed by Rafael Nadal with eight and Roger Federer with four.
THE QUOTE TO KNOW
“Last year, I felt a lot of pressure here, because I was No. 1.” — Iga Swiatek, who still leads the WTA rankings, on her third-round exit at Wimbledon in 2022, ending a 37-match winning streak.
UPCOMING SINGLES SCHEDULE
— Monday-Tuesday: First Round (Women and Men)
— Wednesday-Thursday: Second Round (Women and Men)
— Friday-Saturday: Third Round (Women and Men)
— July 9-10: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
— July 11-12: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
— July 13: Women’s Semifinals
— July 14: Men’s Semifinals
— July 15: Women’s Final
— July 16: Men’s Final
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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