The draw condemns Sinner and Djokovic to an early confrontation with Jódar as referee

The most anticipated final was aborted from the beginning. The Wimbledon draw led the two big favorites along the same path, the current champion and world No. 1, the Italian Jannik Sinnerand the seven-time Serbian winner Novak Djokovic.

Only one of them could survive until Sunday, July 12. Their fate is to meet in the semi-finals, as can happen again on the grass of the All England Club. This is what happened at Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2025, with both successes for the transalpine, as well as at this season’s Australian Open, in which ‘Nole’ took revenge.

To make a twelfth duel between them a reality, fourth at Wimbledon, they must first overcome obstacles that include the Spanish Rafa Jodar, who could be one of the referees in that fight between Sinner and Djokovic.

The Spaniard, out of Queen’s and Eastbourne due to an abdominal injury, will make his debut in this Grand Slam against the British Felix Gill, with Denis Shapovalov and Pablo Carreno as possible rivals in the second round.

Jódar is on Sinner’s route, who opens against the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, followed by the Portuguese Nuno Borges or the American Tristan Boyer. In third, the Peruvian Ignacio Buse or perhaps an American, Jenson Brooksby or Emiliano Nava.

In eighths a hypothetical Sinner-Jódar (the Italian Luciano Darderi is the other seed in this section), with the American Tommy Paul or the Russian Daniil Medvedev as contenders for the quarterfinals.

The Wimbledon 2026 men’s drawWIMBLEDON

Sinner, who will open the center this Monday, June 29, the day in which the top part of the draw will be played, would face Djokovic in the semis, with the Canadian’s permission. Felix Auger-Aliassime. And let’s see who reaches the final from below, if the Roland Garros champion, the German Alexander Zverevwho has never gone beyond rooms in London, or a Taylor Fritz, who suddenly finds himself with the British Jack Draper at his premiere, or Ben Shelton.

Djokovicc begins with the Chinese Yibing Wu. In second, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the Frenchman Hugo Gaston. In third, the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. Eighth with the Brazilian Joao Fonseca or the Russian Andrey Rublev. quarters against Felix Auger-Aliassime and ‘semis’ with Sinner.