Twenty years have passed since anyone outside the quartet Roger Federer, Novak DjokovicRaphael Nadal and Andy Murray was proclaimed men’s singles champion in Wimbledon.

Could this be the year another man wins the trophy?

“Of course why not? What Roger, Rafa, Andy and Novak have done for this sport is truly amazing, and they have been in so many battles. But now is the time for our faces,” said Hubert Hurkacz, a 25-year-old Pole who beat Federer on center court en route to the semi-finals at the All England Club.

“We ride and play very well. It is more and more competitive. We’re getting a bit closer,” added Hurkacz, the seventh seed who will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina when the grass-court Grand Slam kicks off on Monday.”

Whether this streak of titles won by the Big Four of men’s tennis will end this time – which is not a certainty despite the fact that Federer, who turns 41 on August 8, will not compete after a series of operations at the knee, and Murray, 35. , not the same player after two hip surgeries, Djokovic (35) and Nadal (36), are the two seeds and have combined to share 14 of the last 16 Majors — Hurkacz He showed his carats at the within the group of candidates.

He set the tone at Wimbledon by beating current world number one Daniil Medvedev, who will not feature at the All England Club due to the ban on all players from Russia and Belarus due to the war in Ukraine. , in the final of the tournament. on lawn in Halle, Germany.

Other names to consider are Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who lost to Djokovic in the final last year and comes eighth in the standings after winning two titles on grass in recent weeks; Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime (6th seed and quarter-finalist in 2021) and Denis Shapovalov (13th seed) and semi-finalist in 2021; and Stefanos Tsitsipas (ranked 4th), whose Wimbledon career includes three first-round defeats and a run to the round of 16. The Greek argues that his game can be coupled to the box and reach the final days of the tournament.

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“My tennis is adapted to that. I am a person who likes to work hard, so I see no reason not to come because I am capable with my tennis, my mentality and my skills as a tennis player,” said Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic. in French. Open final and which on Saturday he became champion of the Mallorca tournament on grass. “I think I will be able to do it at some point.”

Variety has been the norm among the women who have won recent titles – seven sharing the last eight Wimbledon trophies – and five are in the draw this time: Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza and Petra Kvitova who won the grass-court tournament title on Saturday, at Eastbourne on Saturday.

Ash Barty, the 2021 champion, will not defend the title after retiring in March at the age of 25 (Marion Bartoli, the 2013 champion, also retired shortly after being crowned champion.

In addition to those previous champions – Williams has won seven of his 23 Grand Slam crowns at the All England Club and reappears in the singles group after a year without competition – the list of contenders includes world number one Iga Swiatek, who comes to to be crowned at Roland-Garros and on the crest of the wave for a streak of 35 consecutive victories; Coco Gauff, the 18-year-old American who lost to Swiatek in the Paris final; and Tunisian Ons Jabeur, quarter-finalist in 2021 and third seed.

Since Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002, Federer has set a record eight men’s titles (Martina Navratilova has won the women’s title nine times), Djokovic has won six, and Nadal and Murrya have won two each.

“Novak and Rafa are probably still the favorites – Novak may be the (top) favourite, if you have to pick one. If he starts strong and gets into a rhythm, of course it will be very dangerous, because he is the one who moves the best on this surface,” said Casper Ruud, the Norwegian who appears as the third seed and who lost to Nadal in the Paris final earlier “It’s amazing how good he is on grass. Everyone mentions (seven-time champion Pete) Sampras and Federer as legends on grass, but he’s up there too.”