Wimbledon 2022 Preview and Draw Analysis: Balanced Men, Bunched-Up Women

The Wimbledon 2022 preview of the men’s draw has unfolded to reveal a balanced picture for the men, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on opposite sides and top contenders sprinkled evenly throughout the brackets. The same is not true of the women, who have certain pockets of the draw which are more loaded with grass-court talent than others.

After a run of tournaments that saw Nadal and Djokovic potentially meeting before the final, it’s a refreshing change to have the GOATs well out of each others’ hair for the first time since the 2021 Australian Open. On paper, the top-seeded Djokovic has the easier mid-round draw of the two. Nole’s big test would be a potential meeting with emerging tennis powerhouse Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Nadal has an intriguing and talented band of grass-court merrymen in his quarter, including Felix Auger-Aliassime, Marin Cilic, Dan Evans and Taylor Fritz, who beat the legend to win Indian Wells this year.

Rafael Nadal News

It’s been an eventful 2022 for the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has captured two of those prized trophies this year. Nadal has battled his foot problem and undergone surgery just prior to this Wimbledon. He has announced his wife is pregnant with their first child. He beat Djokovic at Roland Garros. And after some uncertainty, Nadal ultimately decided to play Wimbledon, as it is he, not Djokovic this time, who vies for the calendar Grand Slam.

Let’s begin this analysis with a look at the Nadal quarter of Wimbledon 2022. If Rafa gets past Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in the first round, he could potentially meet grass-court guru Sam Querrey in a re-match of the 2019 Wimbledon quarterfinal. Despite Querrey’s brilliant grass court record of 77-45, Nadal made mincemeat of him with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 victory. Enough said. Rafa really doesn’t get tested potentially until the fourth round when he could face Cilic, who has blazed back to his old form and has amassed a grass-court…