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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Here are some of the men to watch at Wimbledon, which begins at the All England Club on Monday:
Seeded: 1
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 20
2023 Record: 40-4
2023 Titles: 5
Career Titles: 11
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-Lost in 4th Round, 2021-2nd, 2019-Did Not Play, 2018-DNP, 2017-DNP
Aces: Recent return to No. 1 in the rankings allowed him to be seeded No. 1. ... U.S. Open title last September helped Alcaraz become first teenager to finish a season atop the ATP. ... Won the Queen's Club tournament in London in June for his first career title on grass courts. ... Full-body cramps dashed any chance he might have had of beating Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinals in June; they only could meet in the final at the All England Club.
He Said It: "I consider myself one of the favorites — or one of the players to be able to win Wimbledon.”
Seeded: 2
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Serbia
Age: 36
2023 Record: 27-4
2023 Titles: 3
Career Titles: 94
Grand Slam Titles: 23 — Wimbledon (7: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), Australian Open (10: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), French Open (3: 2016, 2021, 2023), U.S. Open (3: 2011, 2015, 2018)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-Won Championship, 2021-W, 2019-W, 2018-W, 2017-QF
Aces: Broke a tie with Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam singles titles won by a man by earning No. 23 at the French Open. ... Adding No. 24 at Wimbledon would give him the most in the Open era by a man or woman. ... Has won 11 of the past 20 major tournaments. ... Seeks a fifth consecutive trophy at the All England Club and eighth overall, which would tie Roger Federer's men's mark. ... Has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the half-century of computerized singles rankings than any other man or woman.
He Said It: "I leave those kind of discussions of who is the greatest to someone else."
Seeded: 3
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Russia
Age: 27
2023 Record: 41-8
2023 Titles: 5
Career Titles: 20
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2021)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-Barred, 2021-4th, 2019-3rd, 2018-3rd, 2017-2nd
Aces: Like other players from Russia and Belarus, was not allowed to compete at Wimbledon in 2022 because of the invasion of Ukraine. That ban was lifted by the All England Club this year. ... Results have been improving on grass, but Wimbledon remains the only major where he has yet to reach at least the quarterfinals. ... A force on hard courts, Medvedev has made it to four Grand Slam finals on the surface, winning one; the defeats came against Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.
He Said It: “It’s not easy to play on grass. I cannot ... say I love it.”
Seeded: 4
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Norway
Age: 24
2023 Record: 22-12
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 10
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2022, 2023), U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-2nd, 2021-1st, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP, 2017-DNP
Aces: Entered 2022 with a 14-13 career record in Grand Slam main-draw matches and not one quarterfinal appearance at a major. He has gone 20-5 at those events since, including two runner-up finishes at the French Open (to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic) and one at the U.S. Open (to Carlos Alcaraz). ... Wimbledon is the only major where he hasn't been at least to the fourth round. Career mark at the All England Club is 1-3.
He Said It: “Probably going to plant some respect in my opponents’ eyes and hopefully I can build on that, and one day I’m going to try to obviously aim for a Slam title. That’s my biggest goal, my biggest dream in my career and in my life. It’s been close, but close but no cigar, so I’m going to keep working and try to get it one day.”
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Seeded: 5
Career-Best Ranking: 3
Country: Greece
Age: 24
2023 Record: 32-11
2023 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 9
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2021), Australian Open (2023)
Last 5 Wimbledon: 2022-3rd, 2021-1st, 2019-1st, 2018-4th, 2017-1st
Aces: At Roland Garros in 2021, became the youngest man to make it to the final of a Grand Slam tournament in more than a decade. Took a two-set lead against Novak Djokovic before losing in five. ... Lost to Novak Djokovic in a major final again at the Australian Open this January. ... Has reached six Slam semifinals, but best showing at Wimbledon was making it to the fourth round five years ago.
He Said It: “The opportunities and the way you want to play the game are kind of limitless. You can’t set boundaries to yourself. ... That magic little box is my playground and I get to sometimes experiment and try new things in practice and apply it on the court when I play. My personality is a big part of that.”
Seeded: 6
Career-Best Ranking: 6
Country: Denmark
Age: 20
2023 Record: 33-12
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Quarterfinals, French Open (2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-1st, 2021-DNP, 2019-DNP, 2018-DNP, 2017-DNP
Aces: Has won twice in a row against Novak Djokovic, showing the sort of potential Rune has. ... Finished 2022 strongly, going 19-2 and claiming two titles down the stretch. There were dips earlier in the season: He went 1-6 from January to February, then 0-7 from June to July.
He Said It: “I want to win a Grand Slam this year. That’s what I’ve said in the past, and I stick to that."
Seeded: 10
Career-Best Ranking: 10
Country: United States
Age: 25
2023 Record: 28-10
2023 Titles: 2
Career Titles: 3
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: SF, U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-4th, 2021-3rd, 2019-1st, 2018-3rd, 2017-2nd
Aces: First career grass-court title — at Stuttgart Open in June — moved Tiafoe into the ATP Top 10 for the first time. ... That made Tiafoe, who is from Maryland, and Taylor Fritz, who is from California, the first pair of American men simultaneously in the Top 10 since 2012. ... Tiafoe is the first African-American man to be in the Top 10 since James Blake in 2009. ... Tiafoe's breakthrough performance came at the U.S. Open last year, when he beat Rafael Nadal en route to becoming the first American man in the semifinals in New York since Andy Roddick in 2006.
He Said It: “Since the U.S. Open, any time I'm on a hard or grass court, I feel like I'm at my best and one of the best players in the world and have a chance against anybody. So I have high hopes for Wimbledon.”
Seeded: 31
Career-Best Ranking: 13
Country: Australia
Age: 28
2023 Record: 0-1
2023 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 7
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: F, Wimbledon (2022)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2022-Runner-Up, 2021-3rd, 2019-2nd, 2018-3rd, 2017-1st
Aces: Went from October until June without competing in singles because of injuries. ... He has long had the talent to be a contender at Grand Slam tournaments but never put it all together until a year ago at Wimbledon, where he made a run to the final before losing to Novak Djokovic.
He Said It: “It’s taken me 10 years — almost 10 years — in my career to finally get to the point of playing for a Grand Slam (title) and coming up short. I feel like if I had won that Grand Slam, I think I would have lacked a bit of motivation, to be honest.”
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports