WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Men to watch at Wimbledon, where play begins Monday:
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Seeded: 1
Ranked: 1
Country: Serbia
Age: 32
2019 Match Record: 28-6
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 74
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 15 - Wimbledon (4: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018), Australian Open (7: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019), French Open (1: 2016), U.S. Open (3: 2011, 2015, 2018)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-Won Championship, 2017-Lost in quarterfinals, 2016-3rd, 2015-W, 2014-W
Aces: 26-match Grand Slam winning streak ended with semifinal loss to Dominic Thiem at French Open. … Champion or runner-up in five of past eight years at Wimbledon. … This is his sixth time seeded No. 1. … 5-1 vs. top-10 opponents in 2019.
Topspin: So, yes, it turns out he can lose a major match. Still, Djokovic’s form over the past 12 months casts him as the favorite at the All England Club.
___
ROGER FEDERER
Seeded: 2
Ranked: 3
Country: Switzerland
Age: 37
2019 Match Record: 32-4
2019 Singles Titles: 3
Career Singles Titles: 102
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 20 - Wimbledon (8: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017), French Open (1: 2009), Australian Open (6: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018), U.S. Open (5: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-QF, 2017-W, 2016-SF, 2015-F, 2014-F
Aces: Career record of 181-26 on grass courts, a winning percentage of .874. … Won grass tuneup event in Halle, Germany, for 10th time. Oldest man to win tour-level title since 43-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1977. … 7 ATP titles from tying Jimmy Connors’ record.
Topspin: No reason to think he couldn’t get to a 12th Wimbledon final, in part because can’t face Djokovic until the title match. Finally returning to the clay circuit might have given Federer just the right amount of preparation.
___
RAFAEL NADAL
Seeded: 3
Ranked: 2
Country: Spain
Age: 33
2019 Match Record: 32-5
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 82
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 18 - Wimbledon (2: 2008, 2010), Australian Open (1: 2009), French Open (12: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019), U.S. Open (3: 2010, 2013, 2017)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-W, 2017-W, 2016-3rd, 2015-QF, 2014-W
Aces: Reached the final in five consecutive appearances, including two titles, from 2006-11. But is only 13-6 in past six trips to Wimbledon, with four of those losses coming against opponents ranked 100th or worse.
Topspin: Sure looked good while winning record 12th championship in Paris and narrowing gap between himself and Federer for most major trophies won by a man. Can he regain his footing on grass?
___
DOMINIC THIEM
Seeded: 5
Ranked: 4
Country: Austria
Age: 25
2019 Match Record: 23-9
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 13
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: RU, French Open (2018, 2019)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-1st, 2017-4th, 2016-2nd, 2015-2nd, 2014-1st
Aces: Only 5-5 for his career at the All England Club. … Split with his longtime coach Gunter Bresnik to team up with 2004 Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu ahead of the clay circuit.
Topspin: Has proven he is as close to a No. 2 player on clay as there is, losing to Rafael Nadal in each of the past two French Open finals. Now he needs to translate that success to other surfaces.
___
STEFANOS TSITSIPAS
Seeded: 7
Ranked: 6
Country: Greece
Age: 20
2019 Match Record: 34-14
2019 Singles Titles: 2
Career Singles Titles: 3
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: SF, Australian Open (2019)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-4th, 2017-1st, 2016-Did Not Play, 2015-DNP, 2014-DNP
Aces: Leads tour in match wins in 2019. … Run to second week in 2018 bodes well for him this year and in the future at Wimbledon.
Topspin: His ability to get to the net and volley should make him a threat at the All England Club.
___
JOHN ISNER
Seeded: 9
Ranked: 12
Country: United States
Age: 34
2019 Match Record: 15-7
2019 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 14
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 0 - Best: SF, Wimbledon (2018)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-SF, 2017-2nd, 2016-3rd, 2015-3rd, 2014-3rd
Aces: Has won 94.4% of service games on grass over his career. … Won the longest match in tournament - and tennis - history (70-68 in the fifth set in 2010’s first round) and lost the second-longest match in Wimbledon history (26-24 in the fifth set in last year’s semifinals).
Topspin: A foot injury kept him out of the French Open, so unclear how fit he’ll be at the All England Club, where he’d never been past the third round in 9 previous appearances.
___
MARIN CILIC
Seeded: 13
Ranked: 18
Country: Croatia
Age: 30
2019 Match Record: 10-9
2019 Singles Titles: 0
Career Singles Titles: 18
Grand Slam Singles Titles: 1 - U.S. Open (2014)
Last 5 Wimbledons: 2018-2nd, 2017-RU, 2016-QF, 2015-QF, 2014-QF
Aces: Working with Wayne Ferreira for coaching during the grass-court season. … Last man to become a first-time major champion, five years ago.
Topspin: With his serve and big-stage success, should be able to make a deep run if he is feeling healthy.
___
More AP tennis coverage: https://www.apnews.com/apf-Tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.