Alcaraz and Sinner's routes to Wimbledon final as Draper handed nightmare draw
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are once again on a collision course in the Grand Slams, but it was not good news for Jack Draper after Friday's Wimbledon draw.
Alcaraz and Sinner played out a thrilling five-set final in the French Open earlier this month and head to SW19 as the number one and two seeds for the men's singles draw.
Alcaraz, the defending champion after his dominant victory over Novak Djokovic last year, will begin his defence on Monday on Centre Court against Italy's Fabio Fognini.
And a second-round match could pit the Spaniard against the vastly inexperienced World No.719 Oliver Tarvet if the unlikely British qualifier can get past Leandro Riedi in the first round.
With Draper and Novak Djokovic also with Sinner on the other side of the draw, Alcaraz will fancy of chances of reaching the later stages, with Taylor Fritz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev three of his potential semi-final opponents.
Sinner, meanwhile, will begin his tournament against fellow countryman Luca Nardi before a potential second-round match-up with Aleksandar Vukic.
American Tommy Paul and compatriot Lorenzo Musetti could await in round four and the quarter-finals, respectively, while the World No.1 could be set for a semi-final against either Draper or Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz's possible path to Wimbledon final
Round One: Fabio Fognini
Round Two: Oliver Tarvet/Leandro Riedi,
Round Three: Felix Auger-Aliassime
Round Four: Andrey Rublev/Stefanos Tsitsipas
Quarter-final: Holge Rune/Jiri Lehecka
Semi-final: Taylor Fritz/Alexander Zverev/Daniil Medvedev
Final: Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner's possible path to Wimbledon final
Round One: Luca Nardi
Round Two: Aleksandar Vukic
Round Threee: Denis Shapovalov
Round Four: Tommy Paul/Grigor Dimitrov
Quarter-final: Lorenzo Musetti/Ben Shelton
Semi-final: Jack Draper/Novak Djokovic
Final: Carlos Alcaraz
Draper's run to the semi-final at Queen's ensured the Brit would enter Wimbledon as the fourth seed and would therefore avoid Alcaraz until the final.
However, the 23-year-old will have to be at his very best if he is to reach that point in the competition after being given a brutal draw for this year's tournament.
Beginning against Sebastian Baez in the first round, Draper could then face former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic in the second round before a tricky third-round encounter with Alexander Bublik.
The big-hitting Kazakh knocked out Draper when the two last met at the French Open, and has shown impressive form already on grass this season, with victories over Sinner and Medveded on route to winning the Halle Open last weekend.
Should Draper come through that encounter, a fourth-round clash with Jakub Mensik would then await.
But a quarter-final with Djokovic and a semi-final against Sinner could then follow as Draper looks to become the first Brit since Andy Murray in 2016 to reach a Wimbledon final.
On the women's side, Emma Raducanu will be spearheading British hopes, and the World No.38 will begin her tournament against compatriot and wildcard Mimi Xu in the first round. More Trending
While avoiding any big names in the first round, Raducanu would face an uphill task in the second round against either Marketa Vondrousova and McCartney Kessler.
Vondrousova is a former champion at SW19 back in 2023 and won the recent Berlin Open, while Kessler showed her grass-court prowess with a victory at last week's Nottingham Open.
While difficult to look past that clash, Raducanu knows that a potential match-up with world No1 Aryna Sabalenka could await in the third round.
British No.2 Katie Boulter, meanwhile, is also unseeded but did not avoid a big name in the first round and will take on World No.9 Paula Badosa for a spot in the second round.
British first-round matches – men's singles:
Jack Draper vs Sebastian Baez
George Loffhagen vs Pedro Martinez
Johannus Monday vs Tommy Paul
Jack Pinnington Jones vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Dan Evans vs Jay Clarke
Arthur Fery vs Alexei Popyrin
Billy Harris vs Hubert Hurkacz
Henry Searle vs Ethan Quinn
Jacob Fearnley vs Joao Fonseca
Oliver Crawford Mattia Bellucci
Cameron Norrie vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Oliver Tarvet vs Leandro Riedi
British first-round matches – women's singles:
Emma Raducanu vs Mingge Xu
Katie Boulter vs Paula Badosa
Hannah Klugman vs Leylah Fernandez
Harrie Dart vs Dalma Galfi
Sonay Kartal vs Jelena Ostapenko
Jodie Burrage vs Caty McNally
Heather Watson vs Clara Tauson
Fran Jones vs Yulia Starodubtseva
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