Carlos Alcaraz aims for his third consecutive Wimbledon title, starting against the challenging Italian player Fabio Fognini, defending his 18-match winning streak. In the women`s draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka faces Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine in her first match.
The draw, held Friday at the All England Club, revealed several intriguing first-round matches.
Men`s top seed Jannik Sinner, recently defeated by Alcaraz in the French Open final, will play countryman Luca Nardi. Sixth seed Novak Djokovic, who is chasing Roger Federer`s record of eight Wimbledon singles titles, has a difficult opening match against world No. 40 Alexandre Muller.
The reigning women`s champion, Barbora Krejcikova (seeded 17th), withdrew from the Eastbourne tournament due to a thigh strain but is set to play Alexandra Eala from the Philippines.
Women`s second seed Coco Gauff begins her tournament against Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine. The third seed, Jessica Pegula, who could potentially meet Gauff in the semifinals, will play Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, last year`s Wimbledon finalist, takes on Anastasija Sevastova from Latvia and is seeded for a potential semifinal encounter with Sabalenka.
Great Britain has its largest contingent of singles players since 1984, with 23 competitors. Men`s fourth seed Jack Draper is under significant pressure following his quick ascent. However, his path to potentially match two-time champion Andy Murray`s success looks challenging.
The 23-year-old Draper faces a difficult opening match against world No. 38 Sebastian Baez. His potential path includes a second-round match against former finalist Marin Cilic of Croatia and a third-round clash with Kazakhstan`s Alexander Bublik, who defeated him at Roland Garros.
For Draper to win the title, he might need to overcome Djokovic in the quarterfinals, Sinner in the semifinals, and Alcaraz in the final.
Great Britain`s top female player, Emma Raducanu, starts against fellow Brit Mingge Xu, one of three teenage wild cards from the UK in the women`s draw. If the 2021 US Open champion wins, she could face the 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round, with a possible third-round match against Sabalenka.
A potentially exciting second-round match could see Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen face four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.
Alcaraz, who prepared for Wimbledon by winning the Queen`s Club title, is expected to be cautious against the unpredictable Fognini. However, the 38-year-old Italian, who reached world No. 9 in 2019, has not progressed past the third round in his previous 14 Wimbledon appearances.
Following his first-round match, Alcaraz could face British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, world No. 719, who earned his spot in the main draw and plays Swiss qualifier Leandro Riedi in his opener. Alcaraz is potentially seeded to meet third seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, who begins against France`s Arthur Rinderknech.
Gauff, fresh from winning her second major title at the French Open, will start her Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday against Dayana Yastremska, a semifinalist at the 2024 Australian Open.
If Gauff wins, she might encounter former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the second round. A potential third-round opponent is 28th seed Sofia Kenin, who eliminated Gauff in the first round at Wimbledon two years prior.
Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, who recently announced her retirement plans for later this year, faces 10th seed Emma Navarro in her opening match.
As the defending men`s champion, Alcaraz has the honor of opening play on Centre Court on Monday. This day`s schedule will feature matches from the bottom half of the men`s draw and the top half of the women`s draw.
Defending women`s champion Krejcikova will play her first match on Centre Court on Tuesday.
Marcus Bellamy