At the peak of his early prime, Tiger Woods won nine of the 20 tournaments he entered in 2000. He won three majors and finished second in four other tournaments. It was conceivably the best year of golf we’ve ever seen. Entering the Open Championship at St. Andrews, he was a +150 betting favorite. That’s equivalent to saying he had a 40% chance and the other 157 golfers in the field had a combined 60% chance. The following spring at the Masters, against a much smaller field (93 other golfers), he was again at +150. (Again, he won, completing his “Tiger Slam.”)
Even at his peak, the betting odds implied that in the ultimate battle of Tiger versus the field, the field still had a better shot.
Novak Djokovic, at age 36, having battled injury and iffy form for a solid chunk of 2023, enters Wimbledon at -175. Implied odds: a 64% title chance for him and, therefore, a combined 36% chance for the other 127 players in the field. Djokovic has won both of 2023’s Slams and the past three (and six of the past eight) he has entered. He’s got 23 Slam titles in all, and he would have been favored in both of the Slams he missed for refusing COVID vaccination.
The men’s tour is in a pretty fun place right now, with a trio of thriving 21-and-under stars — Carlos Alcaraz (20), Jannik Sinner (21) and Holger Rune (20) — adding skills by the day, plus plenty of 25-and-under players developing as well. Two 25-year-old Americans are currently in the top 10 (Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe), and even without Roger Federer (retired) and Rafael Nadal (injured and almost retired), there’s enough depth to create loads of fun mid- and late-round matchups. But when it comes to figuring out who’s going to actually lift the trophy at the end of this fortnight, it feels the answer is as preordained as it’s ever been.
The men’s tour might lack title drama at the moment, but the women’s tour has established almost perfect balance — it boasts both three clear stars (who have combined to win the past five Slams) and a large batch of players good enough to take down any of the heavies on the right day.
The title itself, however, is only part of a Slam journey. Here are 50 men and women capable of standing out during Wimbledon. We’ll separate them…
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