Wimbledon 2022, 1st Round, Monday, 27/06/2022
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas or someone else entirely? Before the tennis elite finally take to the court at Wimbledon on Monday, there is still no certainty about the absolute top favourites.
The young Spaniard is obviously one of them, but can he play on grass? Bet365 is relatively sure that he will make it through the first round, which would be a shame from a German point of view. In my Struff Alcaraz tip, I explain why I would also bet on an Alcaraz win.
As successful as Carlos Alcaraz’s year has been so far, now comes the 19-year-old’s fear discipline: A Grand Slam. Madrid, Barcelona and Miami, three major tournaments the 2022 prodigy has already swept.
After the French Open, which did not really end satisfactorily for him, he took time off to prepare himself optimally for Wimbledon. Will the training without competition mode be enough for him?
In the quarter-finals, he was defeated by Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros. So one could assume a bad omen here, because on Monday he will play another German, this time Jan-Lennard Struff.
Alcaraz will certainly remember him, because: At the French Open 2021, he was eliminated in the 3rd round in straight three sets! It seems extremely unlikely that this spectacle will be repeated.
With Struff’s odds of winning already averaging 4.10 with the bookies, the values on a 3:0 can already be guessed at: 16.50! No question, the omens are relatively clear on Monday.
In his only participation in Wimbledon so far, Alcaraz was already eliminated in the second round, failing clearly against Daniil Medvedev a year ago. He is only 19 years old, yet he is striving for a better record at Grand Slams than he has so far.
He is one of the top favourites for the title, but still has a lot to play for. How strong he really is on grass will become clear in the next few days. He should be quite lucky with the draw, because Jan-Lennard Struff only returned from an injury break a few days ago.
He had to retire with an injury at the Miami Open, but he was back on court in Stuttgart three weeks ago. He beat Marcos Giron in three sets, then lost 6-7, 6-7 to Lorenzo Sonego
It was also close in Halle a little later. 6-3, 3-6, 6-7 against Ilya Ivashka, only small things were missing to win. It was all the more disappointing that Struff was eliminated 3-6, 4-6 by Fernando Verdasco on Mallorca.
He is not yet back to 100%, but the Warsteiner has always been a fighter. A year ago, his Wimbledon adventure ended after just one match, when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in four sets.
He has not yet managed more than a 3rd round in London. Since he has hardly been able to pick up a racket in the last few months, he has slipped down the world rankings accordingly. Rank 158, the German is used to a completely different ranking.
My Struff Alcaraz Tip
Monday will show how strong Jan-Lennard Struff is again after his comeback. With Carlos Alcaraz, he got one of the toughest opponents possible.
In my analysis, of course, I could also see that Carlos Alcaraz has dived after the French Open. How well he serves on grass is not entirely clear. Therefore, I at least trust Struff to give him a great fight and I’m betting:
Alcaraz wins in over 30.5 games!
