Leading contenders – men

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Seeding: 1

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.

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)

DANIIL MEDVEDEV

Seeding: 2

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.

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)

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS

Seeding: 3

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: 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)

ALEXANDER ZVEREV

Seeding: 4

Former junior world No 1, Alexander Zverev achieved a career-high No 3 ranking as a 20-year-old in 2017. He claimed the biggest of his 15 career titles at the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals, defeating both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on the way. He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the 2020 Australian Open, and his first Grand Slam final later that year at the 2020 US Open. He then beat Rafael Nadal en route to his fourth ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2021 Madrid Open, before reaching his second Grand Slam semifinal at this year’s French Open. With his monster serve and power from the baseline, pundits believe that he is a match for anyone talent-wise – and the 24-yearold German seems to be finally making an impact on the big stage. While he has not done particularly well at Wimbledon in the past, his newfound confidence at the highest level could see him challenge this time around.

Age: 24 Birth place: Hamburg, Germany Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.98m Weight: 90kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2013 Career singles titles: 15 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $24 921 568 Wimbledon Championship played: 5 Best singles performance: 4th round (2017)

ANDREY RUBLEV

Seeding: 5

Nicknamed “Rubl” (the Russian word for ruble and a play on his surname), Andrey Rublev broke into the ATP Top 20 in January 2020, and then into the Top 10 in October. He has won eight ATP singles titles, and reached a career-high singles ranking of No 7 in April this year. He won his first of two doubles titles at the 2015 Kremlin Cup with Dmitry Tursunov, and among his singles titles are home victories in Moscow and St Petersburg. Rublev has achieved 10 victories over top 10 players including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He has reached the quarterfinals of the Australian, French and US Opens, and the semi-finals of the Davis Cup with Russia. An offensive baseliner with a big forehand – his favourite shot – he also has a dangerous and consistent two-handed backhand. His running forehand is particularly lethal because of his consistency and comfort with the shot.

Age: 23 Birthplace: Moscow, Russia Residence: Moscow Height: 1.88m Weight: 75kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2014 Career single titles: 8 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $8 272 610 Wimbledon Championships played: 2 Best singles performance: 2nd round (2017, 2019)

ROGER FEDERER

Seeding: 6

Nicknamed the “Maestro” for his elegant and seemingly effortless strokes, Roger Federer is considered by many to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He is currently ranked eighth in the world, and enters this year’s tournament in the hunt for his ninth Wimbledon trophy and his 21st Grand Slam title. The Swiss master is probably returning to The Championships this year with more than a touch of regret at how things ended for him in 2019, when he squandered two match points in a marathon final against Novak Djokovic. But the 39-year-old, who has since undergone knee surgery, called time on his 2021 French Open campaign at the fourth round stage in order to protect himself and get ready for another go at a ninth Wimbledon title. How his fitness stands up following his injury remains to be seen, but the Wimbledon Centre Court is likely to be a happy hunting ground once again for a well-rested Federer.

Age: 39 Birth place: Basel, Switzerland Residence: Switzerland Height: 1.85m Weight: 85kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 1998 Career singles titles: 103 Grand slam titles: 20 Career prize money: $130 199 920 Wimbledon Championship played: 21 Best singles performance: Champion (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017)

MATTEO BERRETTINI

Seeding: 7

Matteo Berrettini has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No 8, which he achieved in November 2019. Despite currently being ranked one place lower, he has produced his best ever results in recent months. At this year’s Australian Open he reached the fourth round, and then won his first singles title in more than a year at the Serbia Open, advancing to his first Masters 1000 final at the Madrid Open. His performance at the French Open, resulted in him becoming the first Italian male tennis player to have made the fourth round at every Grand Slam tournament and when Roger Federer withdrew ahead of their fourth-round match in Paris, Berrettini progressed to his second Grand Slam quarterfinal. His victory at the Queen’s Club Championships in England earlier this month was the biggest of his career and his first on the ATP 500 level, earning him the distinction of being the first debutant to triumph at Queen’s since Boris Becker in 1985 and the first Italian in history to win the title.

Age: 25 Birth place: Rome, Italy Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco Height: 1.96m Weight: 95kg Plays: Right-handed Turned pro: 2015 Career singles titles: 5 Grand slam titles: 0 Career prize money: $6 374 205 Wimbledon Championships played: 2 Best singles performance: 4th round (2019)