Djokovic and Swiatek lead the way at a Wimbledon full of home hopes

The last time that none of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray occupied either of the top two ranking spots, its current inhabitants were seven and six years old respectively.

It would have been reasonable to assume that such a scenario would suggest a significant change at the top of the sport but Djokovic and Nadal are the main protagonists at Wimbledon for another year. Despite where they sit in the rankings, they are somehow also the top two seeds in the absence of a banned Daniil Medvedev, the world No 1, and an injured Alexander Zverev.

Almost every grand slam tournament over the past few years has been an important moment in tennis’s history books as the greatest men’s players live out their final years and try to push their tallies of grand slam titles as far as they go. But this moment feels even more urgent than the others.

A year ago, Djokovic strolled to a Wimbledon title that drew him level with Nadal and Federer on 20 grand-slam titles and marked his third grand-slam championship of the year. To many it seemed inevitable that he would pass his great rivals as the sole record holder. Instead, Djokovic lost the US Open final in September, was deported from Australia in January and he could not handle Nadal’s stratospheric level in their quarter-final in Paris. Now Nadal has 22 major titles with some daylight between them.

With vaccination still required to enter the US, Djokovic made it clear on Saturday that any change that allows him to compete at the US Open will not be from his end. And so, as things stand, the next two weeks could define his season. Should he lose at Wimbledon and then remain at home for the US Open, this year would go down as the nadir of his career. Or else, he