Wimbledon 2022 men's singles preview and prediction: Djokovic favourite to defend title, Nadal handed tough draw

The draw for 2022 Wimbledon Championships was announced on Friday, with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal being drawn on either sides.

The men's singles draw for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships was announced on Friday and unlike in French Open, the two top-seeded players, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal find themselves on two sides of the draw, implying a potential meeting in the final. However, both have been handed a tricky draw in the tournament. While Carlos Alcaraz has been added to Djokovic's half, implying a blockbuster quarter-final clash on the cards, Nadal, who will be aiming to move a step closer to the Calendar Slam, has been handed a tough draw.

FIRST QUARTER:

There is no looking beyond the first name from this draw. He has been unbeaten at The Championships in his last 21 matches, which includes his sensational run of three back-to-back title wins in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Those three are part of his tally of six titles at the SW19 as the Serb is aiming for his seventh victory in Wimbledon and subsequently reduce the gap at the top in the all-time Grand Slam list.

And while he remains the top favourite to defend his title, Djokovic finds himself in unfamiliar territory, without a Slam in either of the first two tournaments. The last time it happened was four years back, before he clinched four of the next five majors.

Djokovic will be making his return to the court for the first time since losing to Nadal in the quarterfinal in French Open last month, although he did play two exhibition matches at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club.

Djokovic will begin his campaign against South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon and could potentially face No.15 seed Reilly Opelka in the pre-quarters. The other half of the quarter has Alcaraz, who will kick off his campaign against Jan-Lennard Struff and could possibly run into Jannik Sinner or Andy Murray in the last 16.

Quarterfinal: Djokovic defeats Alcaraz

SECOND QUARTER:

Less than a month after their fourth-round meeting in the French Open, Casper Ruud, who had made the final at the Roland Garros this summer in Paris, could once again go one-on-one against Hubert Hurkacz at the All England Club, but this time in the quarterfinal.

The Poland international has been in fine form on grass. After succumbing in the round of 16 in Stuttgart Open earlier this month, Hurkacz won his maiden grass-court crown at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle earlier this week. His run had included wins against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Nick Kyrgios before beating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the final.

The 2021 semi-finalist will begin his journey against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his Wimbledon opener and could potentially run into Cameron Norrie or Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16.

Ruud, who had reached the French Open final earlier this month, did not have a perfect start to his grass-court campaign this season as he managed to only reach the round of 32 in the Queen's Club Championships. He will face Albert Ramos Vinolas in his first match. He also has some good names in his part of the quarter - David Goffin, Pablo Carreno Busta, Frances Tiafoe.

Quarterfinal: Hurkacz defeats Ruud

THIRD QUARTER:

The one name that has created all the hype heading into Wimbledon, besides Djokovic and Nadal, finds himself in the third quarter of the draw. After making his first appearance on court since mid-March, owing to an injury, Matteo Berrettini has won nine matches in a row on grass this season which resulted in title wins in both Stuttgart Open and in Queen's. The 2021 runner-up will be up against Cristian Garin in his opening match at Wimbledon 2022 and could potentially face Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.

However, the biggest obstacle for the Italian will be Stefanos Tsitsipas, who stands in the other end of the quarter, awaiting a possible quarter final tie. And while the 23-year-old Greek is considered to have a game suitable for this surface, his best show so far in Wimbledon has been a fourth-round appearance, back in 2018.

But for the anticipated quarter final tie to be possible, Tsitsipas will have to be wary of Nick Kyrgios, who has been in an ominous form this season on grass. Having skipped the European clay court swing, the Australian international reached the semi-finals in both Stuttgart and Halle.

Quarterfinal: Berrettini defeats Tsitsipas

FOURTH QUARTER:

A 23rd major, third in Wimbledon and a step closer to Calendar Slam - there is more at stake for Nadal than it has ever been in his career before the grass-court major. But the one that stands of utmost importance has been his chronic foot pain. There were concerns around the left-foot injury since the start of this year but he put doubts aside with wins in the Australian Open and French Open. But Wimbledon will be his toughest test.

Although Nadal has undergone treatment and feels "perfect" after playing two exhibition matches at the Hurlingham Classic, he hasn't won the Wimbledon since 2011 and will be making his return to SW19 after three years. To add to that concern, Nadal has been handed a tough draw.

He will open his campaign against F Cerundolo and could face Sam Querry in the second round, Lorenzo Sonego in the third, 2017 finalist Marin Cilic in the fourth. And if he manages to get past all those, No. 6 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who had almost handed him a shocker in French Open last month, awaits the 36-year-old in the quarterfinal.

Quarterfinal: Nadal defeats Auger-Aliassime

Semi-final: Djokovic defeats Hurkacz, Berrettini defeats Nadal

Final: Djokovic defeats Berrettini