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Wimbledon 2016 gets underway on Monday: Here’s all you need to know
A look at Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam tennis tournament.
The All England Lawn Tennis Championships, better known as Wimbledon, get underway in London on Monday. Women’s number one Serena Williams’ bid to equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slams and men’s counterpart Novak Djokovic’s attempt to win his fourth Wimbledon title will be among the dominant storylines of The Championships.
Here’s a look at the year’s third Grand Slam.
Surface: Grass courts
Site: The All England Club, London.
Schedule: Play begins Monday. The women’s singles final is July 9; the men’s singles final is July 10. Traditionally, the middle Sunday of the two-week-long tournament is an off day. Thus, there will be no play on July 3.
Top Players on court Monday: No 1 Novak Djokovic vs James Ward; No 3 Roger Federer vs Guido Pella; No 6 Milos Raonic vs Pablo Carreno Busta; No 2 Garbine Muguruza vs Camila Giorgi, No 4 Angelique Kerber vs Laura Robson, No 8 Venus Williams vs Donna Vekic, No 9 Madison Keys vs Laura Siegemund
Monday’s Forecast: Cloudy. High of 68 degrees (20 C)
Wimbledon top seeds’ rivals guide
Novak Djokovic v James Ward
First meeting
British 29-year-old Ward is ranked 177 in the world, after a career high of 89 three years ago, and has not won a match on the main tour in 2016. Reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2015, losing in five sets to Canada’s Vasek Pospisil. The son of a London taxi driver, Ward’s determination cannot be faulted -- in 2009, he took part in a play-off to earn a place in the British Davis Cup team in a match that lasted six hours, 40 minutes.
Andy Murray v Liam Broady
First meeting
Broady, 22, is ranked 234 in the world and his career prize money of $217,000 pales in comparison to compatriot Murray’s $46,700,000. The left-hander hasn’t played on the main tour this year, making his living instead on the Challenger and Futures circuits in venues ranging from Bangkok to Shrewsbury. He has won just one match on the main tour in his career and that was at last year’s Wimbledon. However, his five-set win over Marinko Matosevic was overshadowed by questions over a feud with his father. Sister Naomi plays on women’s tour.
Roger Federer v Guido Pella
First meeting
Pella is a 26-year-old left-hander from Argentina who is ranked 51 in the world. He grew up admiring Federer. More at home on clay, he made the final at the Rio ATP event this year. Pella was forced to retire from his first-round match on his Wimbledon debut in 2013 while he fell in qualifying last year.
First round fixtures:
Centre Court (1200 GMT/1300 local time)
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) v James Ward (GBR)
Camila Giorgi (ITA) v Garbine Muguruza (ESP x2)
Roger Federer (SUI x3) v Guido Pella (ARG)
Court One (1200 GMT/1300 local time)
Venus Williams (USA x8) v Donna Vekic (CRO)
Sam Groth (AUS) v Kei Nishikori (JPN x5)
Laura Robson (GBR) v Angelique Kerber (GER x4)
Court Two (1030GMT/1130 local time)
Kyle Edmund (GBR) v Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Laura Siegemund (GER) v Madison Keys (USA x9)
Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) v Milos Raonic (CAN x6)
Simona Halep (ROM x5) v Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (SVK)
Court Three (1030GMT/1130 local time)
Samantha Stosur (AUS x14) v Magda Linette (POL)
Dudi Sela (ISR) v David Ferrer (ESP x13)
David Goffin (BEL x11) v Alexander Ward (GBR)
Naomi Broady (GBR) v Elina Svitolina (UKR x17)
Court 12 (1030GMT/1130 local time)
Marin Cilic (CRO x9) v Brian Baker (USA)
Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) v Ana Ivanovic (SRB x23)
Zhang Shuai (CHN) v Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP x12)
Gael Monfils (FRA x17) v Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
Court 18 (1030GMT/1130 local time)
Sabine Lisicki (GER) v Shelby Rogers (USA)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Gilles Simon (FRA x16)
Daniel Evans (GBR) v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Jelena Jankovic (SRB x22) v Stefanie Voegele (SUI)
History and statistics
2015 Men’s Singles Champion: Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
2015 Women’s Singles Champion: Serena Williams of the United States.
Last Year: Djokovic earned his third Wimbledon title by beating seven-time champion Roger Federer 7-6 (1), 6-7 (10), 6-4, 6-3, starting a run of four consecutive Grand Slam titles for the Serb. It was the second year in a row that Djokovic defeated Federer in the final at the All England Club. Williams collected her sixth Wimbledon trophy with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Garbine Muguruza. That was Williams’ fourth straight major title and 21st overall; she has not added another since then.
Key Statistic I: 28 - Consecutive Grand Slam matches won by Djokovic, who is halfway to a true Grand Slam, which was the name given to the feat of winning all four majors in a calendar year.
Key Statistic II: 13 - Consecutive Wimbledon titles won by the “Big 4” of men’s tennis: Federer, Djokovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal; Lleyton Hewitt, who has retired from singles but got a doubles wild-card entry for Wimbledon, was the last man outside of that quartet to win the championship, back in 2002.
Key Statistic III: 22 - Grand Slam singles titles won by Steffi Graf, the record for the Open era and one more than Williams has.
Not Here: Nadal, who won two of his 14 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon, pulled out because of the left wrist injury that forced him to withdraw from the French Open. Maria Sharapova, whose first of five major trophies came at Wimbledon in 2004, is serving a suspension for failing a drug test. Another former No 1 and two-time Australian Open champion, Victoria Azarenka, is sidelined by an injured right knee.
Recent Wimbledon champions
Men
2015 - Novak Djokovic
2014 - Novak Djokovic
2013 - Andy Murray
2012 - Roger Federer
2011 - Novak Djokovic
2010 - Rafael Nadal
2009 - Roger Federer
2008 - Rafael Nadal
2007 - Roger Federer
2006 - Roger Federer
Women
2015 - Serena Williams
2014 - Petra Kvitova
2013 - Marion Bartoli
2012 - Serena Williams
2011 - Petra Kvitova
2010 - Serena Williams
2009 - Serena Williams
2008 - Venus Williams
2007 - Venus Williams
2006 - Amelie Mauresmo
List of men’s seeds at Wimbledon
1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
2 Andy Murray (Britain)
3 Roger Federer (Switzerland)
4 Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)
5 Kei Nishikori (Japan)
6 Milos Raonic (Canada)
7 Richard Gasquet (France)
8 Dominic Thiem (Austria)
9 Marin Cilic (Croatia)
10 Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic)
11 David Goffin (Belgium)
12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France)
13 David Ferrer (Spain)
14 Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain)
15 Nick Kyrgios (Australia)
16 Gilles Simon (France)
17 Gael Monfils (France)
18 John Isner (U.S.)
19 Bernard Tomic (Australia)
20 Kevin Anderson (South Africa)
21 Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany)
22 Feliciano Lopez (Spain)
23 Ivo Karlovic (Croatia)
24 Alexander Zverev (Germany)
25 Viktor Troicki (Serbia)
26 Benoit Paire (France)
27 Jack Sock (U.S.)
28 Sam Querrey (U.S.)
29 Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay)
30 Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine)
31 Joao Sousa (Portugal)
32 Lucas Pouille (France)
List of women’s seeds at Wimbledon
1 Serena Williams (U.S.)
2 Garbine Muguruza (Spain)
3 Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland)
4 Angelique Kerber (Germany)
5 Simona Halep (Romania)
6 Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)
7 Roberta Vinci (Italy)
8 Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
9 Venus Williams (U.S.)
10 Madison Keys (U.S.)
11 Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)
12 Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland)
13 Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)
14 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
15 Samantha Stosur (Australia)
16 Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic)
17 Johanna Konta (Britain)
18 Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
19 Sloane Stephens (U.S.)
20 Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia)
21 Sara Errani (Italy)
22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)
23 Jankovic Jelena (Serbia)
24 Ana Ivanovic (Serbia)
25 Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)
26 Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania)
27 Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)
28 Coco Vandeweghe (U.S.)
29 Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic)
30 Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
31 Caroline Garcia (France)
32 Kristina Mladenovic (France)
Women to watch at Wimbledon
SERENA WILLIAMS
Ranked: 1
Age: 34
Country: United States
2016 Match Record: 24-4
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 70
Major Titles: 21 - Wimbledon (’02, ‘03, ‘09, ‘10, ‘12, ‘15), U.S. Open (’99, ‘02, ‘08, ‘12, ‘13, ‘14), Australian Open (’03, ‘05, ‘07, ‘09, ‘10, ‘15), French Open (’02, ‘13, ‘15)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-Won Championship, ‘14-Lost in 3rd Round, ‘13-4th, ‘12-W, ‘11-4th
Topspin: Since winning Wimbledon a year ago for her fourth consecutive major title and self-styled Serena Slam, moving within one of Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22, has not added to the total, losing in the semifinals at the US Open, the final at the Australian Open, and the final at the French Open. As usual, she did not enter any grass-court tuneup tournaments after playing on the red clay of the French Open before heading to the All England Club.
GARBINE MUGURUZA
Ranked: 2
Age: 22
Country: Spain
2016 Match Record: 22-10
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 3
Major Titles: 1 - French Open (’16)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-F, ‘14-1st, ‘13-2nd, ‘12-Did Not Play, ‘11-DNP
Topspin: Showed she could be tennis’ “Next Big Thing” by reaching the Wimbledon final a year ago before losing to Serena Williams, then broke through for her first Grand Slam title by beating Williams this month in the final at Roland Garros.The Venezuela-born Spaniard plays a fearless, big-stroke game, full of flat groundstrokes and isn’t shy about saying she plans to add more major trophies to her collection.
AGNIESZKA RADWANSKA
Ranked: 3
Age: 27
Country: Poland
2016 Match Record: 26-9
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 18
Major Titles: 0 - Best: F, at Wimbledon (’12)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-SF, ‘14-4th, ‘13-SF, ‘12-F, ‘11-2nd
Topspin: Her varied game, filled with all sorts of slices and spins and speeds, can fluster opponents on grass courts. ... Since 2008, has been the runner-up at Wimbledon, reached the semifinals two other times, and the quarterfinals another two years. ... With a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open in January, has made it that far at a major tournament at least once each season for the past five years.
VENUS WILLIAMS
Ranked: 9
Age: 36
Country: United States
2016 Match Record: 12-7
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 49
Major Titles: 7 - Wimbledon (’00, ‘01, ‘05, ‘07, ‘08), U.S. Open (’00, ‘01)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-4th, ‘14-3rd, ‘13-DNP, ‘12-1st, ‘11-4th
Topspin: After reaching the final at the All England Club eight times in a 10-year span, including earning five championships, has made only one quarterfinal appearance in the past half-dozen years. ... Used to be owner of one of the top serves on tour, but so far this season she has 35 percent more double-faults (74) than aces (55). ... Because of No. 6 Victoria Azarenka’s withdrawal, Williams moved up one spot to No. 8 in the seedings, making her the oldest top-eight seed at a major since Martina Navratilova, 37, at Wimbledon in 1994.
MADISON KEYS
Ranked: 10
Age: 21
Country: United States
2016 Match Record: 22-7
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 2
Major Titles: 0 - Best: SF, at Australian Open (’15)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-QF, ‘14-3rd, ‘13-3rd, ‘12-DNP, ‘11-DNP
Topspin: Title on grass at Birmingham, England, this month helped her break into the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time. ... First American woman to make her debut in the top 10 since all the way back in April 1999, when a player by the name of Serena Williams first climbed that high.
PETRA KVITOVA
Ranked: 11
Age: 26
Country: Czech Republic
2016 Match Record: 15-14
2016 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 17
Major Titles: 2 - Wimbledon (’11, ‘14)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-3rd, ‘14-W, ‘13-QF, ‘12-QF, ‘11-W
Topspin: Left-hander with a big serve and flat forehand consistently produces her best Grand Slam results on the grass at the All England Club, including two titles in the past five years. ... Winning more than 80 percent of her service games on grass since 2013.
Men to watch at Wimbledon
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Ranked: 1
Age: 29
Country: Serbia
2016 Match Record: 44-3
2016 Singles Titles: 6
Career Singles Titles: 65
Major Titles: 12 - Wimbledon (’11, ‘14, ‘15), U.S. Open (’11, ‘15), Australian Open (’08, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13, ‘15, ‘16), French Open (’15)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-Won Championship, ‘14-W, 13-Lost in Final, ‘12-SF, ‘11-W
Topspin: Has 28-match Grand Slam winning streak, covering four consecutive major championships. Now tries to complete first true Grand Slam by a man since Rod Laver in 1969. ... Has reached at least the semifinals at Wimbledon each of the past six years, including titles in 2011, 2014 and 2015. ... Leads ATP in match wins, titles this season. ... Fifth consecutive year he is seeded No. 1 at All England Club.
ANDY MURRAY
Ranked: 2
Age: 29
Country: Britain
2016 Match Record: 33-6
2016 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 37
Major Titles: 2 - Wimbledon (’13), U.S. Open (’12)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-SF, ‘14-QF, ‘13-W, ‘12-F, ‘11-SF
Topspin: Recently reunited with coach Ivan Lendl; their partnership resulted in Murray’s two Grand Slam titles. ... Will always be remembered as the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon, beating Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final. ... Has lost eight major finals, including to Djokovic at the Australian Open in January and at the French Open this month. ... Prepared for Wimbledon by winning record fifth title on grass courts at Queen’s Club.
ROGER FEDERER
Ranked: 3
Age: 34
Country: Switzerland
2016 Match Record: 16-6
2016 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 88
Major Titles: 17 - Wimbledon (’03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘09, ‘12), U.S. Open (’04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, ‘08), Australian Open (’04, ‘06, ‘07, ‘10), French Open (’09)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-F, ‘14-F, ‘13-2nd, ‘12-W, ‘11-QF
Topspin: Starts a new streak of Grand Slam appearances after his record 65-major run ended when he pulled out of the French Open because of a bad back. ... Enters Wimbledon without a title, his longest drought to start a season since 2000. ... Last Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2012, equaling Pete Sampras and Willie Renshaw with seven championships at the grass-court major. ... Lost to Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals. Could face him again in this year’s semifinals.
STAN WAWRINKA
Ranked: 5
Age: 31
Country: Switzerland
2016 Match Record: 27-9
2016 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 14
Major Titles: 2 - French Open (’15), Australian Open (’14)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-QF, ‘14-QF, ‘13-1st, ‘12-1st, ‘11-2nd
Topspin: Working with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek to get help with playing on grass. ... Has won major titles on hard courts and red clay, but least amount of Grand Slam success has come at Wimbledon, where he has yet to make it past the quarterfinals and has three first-round exits in the past six years. ... If his big forehand and beautiful-as-can-be one-handed backhand are on target, can present problems for any opponent.
MILOS RAONIC
Ranked: 7
Age: 25
Country: Canada
2016 Match Record: 31-8
2016 Singles Titles: 1
Career Singles Titles: 8
Major Titles: 0 - Best: SF, at Wimbledon (’14), Australian Open (’16)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-3rd, ‘14-SF, ‘13-2nd, ‘12-2nd, ‘11-2nd
Topspin: Brought aboard three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe as a coaching consultant for the grass season. McEnroe calls Raonic “one of the contenders” at the All England Club. ... Has the type of game - big serve, especially - to succeed on grass, and made an impressive run to final on the surface at Queen’s Club this month before losing in three sets to Andy Murray.
DOMINIC THIEM
Ranked: 8
Age: 22
Country: Austria
2016 Match Record: 47-12
2016 Singles Titles: 4
Career Singles Titles: 7
Major Titles: 0 - Best: SF, at French Open (’16)
Last 5 Wimbledons: ‘15-2nd, ‘14-1st, ‘13-Did Not Play, ‘12-DNP, ‘11-DNP
Topspin: Breakthrough season includes top-10 debut, run to first major semifinal, victories over Roger Federer on grass and Rafael Nadal on clay, and titles on grass, clay and hard courts.
