wimbledon 2021
4
leading contenders – men NOVAK DJOKOVIC
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS
Born in Serbia in 1987, Novak Djokovic began playing tennis at the age of four and was sent to train in Germany when he was 13. After a steady ascent to the top levels of the sport, he won the Australian Open in 2008 and led the Serbian national team to its first Davis Cup win in 2010. In 2011, he won three of the four Grand Slams and compiled a 43-match winning streak en route to claiming the world’s No 1 ranking for the first time. He again occupies the world top spot and is the defending Wimbledon champion, looking for a sixth title. He has already taken two grand slam titles this year – the Australian Open and the French Open, where he came from two sets down to overhaul Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the five-set final. The win brought him his 19th Major title and saw him become the first man in Open Era history to achieve a double career Grand Slam.
Daniil Medvedev is currently the world number 2 – a careerhigh singles ranking first achieved in March this year. The 25-year-old Russian won his first ATP singles match in 2016. In the next year, he participated in a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon, where he defeated world No 3, Stan Wawrinka, but lost in the next round. While he won his first ATP titles in 2018, he achieved a breakthrough in 2019, making his top 10 debut at Wimbledon and reaching six consecutive tournament finals, including the US Open final. To date, he has won 10 ATP Tour singles titles, including the 2020 ATP Finals where he defeated Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. With the win, Medvedev became the first and only player to defeat the top three ranked players in the world en route to the title. He advanced to his second Grand Slam final at the 2021 Australian Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
Nicknamed “Stef”, Stefanos Tsitsipas is the youngest player ranked in the ATP Top 10. He is known for his aggressive baseline play with powerful ground strokes, and his signature shot is a flourishing one-handed backhand. Raised in a tennis-playing family, he turned professional in 2013 and became the world No 1 junior on May 23, 2016. He is the first Greek player to break into the top 5, win an ATP Tour title, reach an ATP Masters 1000 final, and advance to a Grand Slam semi-final, which he has now done three times. He has won seven ATP Tour titles and is currently at a career-high ranking of world No 4. His best Grand Slam performance came earlier this year at the French Open, where he led Novak Djokovic by two sets to love in the final - only to lose the final three sets as he buckled under the pressure of playing in the biggest match of his career.
Age: 25 Birthplace: Moscow, Russia Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.98m Weight: 83 kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2014 Career single titles: 10 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $16 269 717 Wimbledon Championships played: 3 Best singles performance: 3rd round (2018, 2019)
Age: 22 Birth place: Athens, Greece Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.93m Weight: 89kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2016 Career singles titles: 7 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $15 050 627 Wimbledon Championship played: 3 Best singles performance: 4th round (2018)
Seeding: 1
Age: 34 Birthplace: Belgrade, Serbia Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.88m Weight: 77 kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2003 Career single titles: 84 Grand slam titles: 19 Career prize money: $149 798 813 Wimbledon Championships played: 15 Best singles performance: Champion (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Seeding: 2
Seeding: 3
