Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic skips SW19, emotional Andy Murray farewell lead our ATP grass court season predictions

Oli Dickson Jefford
ATP grass court predictions
A Wimbledon final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, and an emotional farewell for Andy Murray are among our grass court predictions.

A long, dramatic, and at times controversial clay court season has finally come to a close after the conclusion of the French Open.

Though clay will be back soon – with most top players eyeing up Olympic gold in Paris – it is now time for players and fans to turn their attention to the grass, where the next month or so of action will take place.

This time of year is defined by Wimbledon but there are plenty of other events to enjoy and plenty of key storylines that could emerge.

Here, we make five initial predictions for the upcoming ATP grass court season.

Alcaraz vs Sinner Wimbledon Final

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner banished pre-event injury doubts at Roland Garros, with the Spaniard winning his third major title, and the Italian rising to world No 1.

The two have been a class apart on the ATP this season, and it is hard to see who will stop them on the grass.

Alcaraz will defend his Queen’s title while Sinner is set to play in Halle that same week, before both head to Wimbledon – as the top two seeds, and the world No 2 as the defending champion.

Considering the form they have been in, it is hard to see who can stop them from meeting in a major final for the first time.

Djokovic skips SW19

This is perhaps an obvious pick, considering the updates from Novak Djokovic after his French Open withdrawal.

World No 3 Djokovic is one of the greatest SW19 champions in history, with seven titles overall and a runner-up finish just 12 months ago.

But his meniscus tear means he won’t play pre-Wimbledon, and it would be a huge shock if he appears at the All England Club.

Expect Djokovic to withdraw and prioritise his Olympic tilt instead.

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Dimitrov, de Minaur surges to continue

Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur are both inside the top 10, deservedly so after career-best form over the past 12 months.

And both will be a factor in this grass-court swing after previous good results on the surface.

The Bulgarian is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and Queen’s champion, while Australian de Minaur is a former Eastbourne winner and Queen’s runner-up.

Both are playing at Queen’s this year before Wimbledon and considering their current rankings may be primed to do some damage across the next month.

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Tsitsipas, Zverev, and Ruud to disappoint

Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Casper Ruud have a total of seven Grand Slam finals between them – but also have a combined total of zero Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Zverev and Tsitsipas have only twice reached the second week at SW19, while Ruud is yet to make it past round two at the third Grand Slam of the year.

It has been a long and partially successful clay season for all three, but grass is evidently not a strong surface for any of them.

It seems unlikely that any of the three will have huge success before returning to the clay at the Olympics.

Emotional Murray farewell

Andy Murray has not yet officially confirmed a retirement date, but it seems highly likely that this will be his final time playing on grass in front of his home fans.

The tennis great is in Stuttgart this week and is then set to play at Queen’s before Wimbledon – where he may also play doubles alongside his brother Jamie.

Expect Murray to open up more about his future in the coming weeks, and emotions will certainly be high whenever he is on court.

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