Wimbledon 2023 ULTIMATE GUIDE: Aussie Alex de Minaur flagged as grass court 'contender'
Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge has tagged Alex de Minaur as the country's fighting chance at Wimbledon.
With last year's runner-up Nick Kyrgios heading into the slam with limited match play in his return from knee surgery, Woodbridge outlined de Minaur's run as Australia's "main hope".
De Minaur put on a strong showing at last week's Queen's Club Championships, defeating world No.6 Holger Rune in the semi finals.
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Alex De Minaur looks on against Holger Rune during their men's semi final match at The Queen's Club Championships. Julian Finney via Getty Images
In winning 6-3, 7-6 (2), de Minaur saved three break points and broke Rune's serve twice.
"For a modern player, he is a fairly natural grass courter," Woodbridge told Nine's Wide World of Sports.
"He had a great week at the Queen's Cup Championships. He lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final [on Sunday].
"He's always brought good results on this surface and I think confidence-wise, that has done him the world of good.
"He's almost up to his career-best ranking of 15."
In his four appearances at the All England Club since 2018, de Minaur has only gone as far as the fourth round - a feat he achieved in 2022.
Alex De Minaur roars after a big point against Jack Draper. Getty
With Wimbledon dropping its men's singles draw on Friday, the stage is set for a potential rematch between de Minuar and Alcaraz in the fourth round.
"If he can get the right draw, a semi final looms for him because he's that type of contender on grass," Woodbridge said.
"He was one point away from the quarters last year, and I think that he is our main hope moving into this championship."
Alex De Minaur of Australia poses with his runners-up trophy after defeat to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at The Queen's Club. Getty
Watch Wimbledon 2023 live and free on 9now.
When is Wimbledon?
Main draw action at the All England Club kicks off on Monday July 3, with Nine's coverage of the opening round starting at 7.30pm AEST.
Play starts on the outside courts at 8pm AEST and on the No.1 court at 10pm. Centre court play starts at 10.30pm apart from finals weekend when play starts at 11pm.
The tournament is scheduled for 14 days, concluding with the women's singles final on Saturday July 15 and men's singles final on Sunday July 16.
How to watch Wimbledon in Australia?
You can tune into Channel 9 and 90, 9Gem (channel 92) and 9Go (channel 93) to see the main matches being broadcast on free-to-air television and 9Now.
Alternatively, you can stream every match live, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport, with centre court in 4K UHD.
Who is seeded where?
Men's singles draw:
1. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
2. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
3. Daniil Medvedev
4. Casper Ruud (NOR)
5. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)
6. Holger Rune (DEN)
7. Andrey Rublev
8. Jannik Sinner (ITA)
9. Taylor Fritz (USA)
10. Frances Tiafoe (USA)
15. Alex de Minaur (AUS)
30. Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Ladies singles draw:
1. Iga Swiatek (POL)
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
4. Jessica Pegula (USA)
5. Caroline Garcia (FRA)
6. Ons Jabeur (TUN)
7. Coco Gauff (USA)
8. Maria Sakkari (GRE)
9. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
10. Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)
Who do the Aussies play in the opening round?
Jason Kubler vs Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Alex de Minaur vs Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)
Alexei Popyrin vs Dominic Stricker (SWI)
Chris O'Connell vs Hamad Medjedovic (SER)
Aleksandar Vukic vs Daniel Altmaier (GER)
Max Purcell vs Andrey Rublev
Nick Kyrgios vs David Goffin (GER)
Jordan Thompson vs Brandon Nakashima (USA)
Storm Hunter vs Xinyu Wang (CHI)
Daria Saville vs Katie Boulter (ENG)
Who won Wimbledon in 2022?
Men's singles final: Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3)
If Novak Djokovic can once again clinch the championship in 2023, he will equal Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles.
Women's singles final: Elena Rybakina defeated Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Who will win Wimbledon?
According to SportsBet, Novak Djokovic is the outright favourite for the men's title at $1.60, ahead of Carlos Alcaraz ($4.33) and Jannik Sinner ($15.00).
Aussie Nick Kyrgios is considered an outside chance at $26.00.
While in the ladies draw, Iga Swiatek is tipped to take victory at $4.00, with Aryna Sabalenka ($6.00) and Petra Kvitova ($6.00) also highly fancied.
How much prizemoney is on offer?
The total prize fund for Wimbledon this year is a little more than £44.70 million ($85.12 million AUD) — an increase of 11.2 per cent on the tournament's offering in 2022.
The winners of the singles championships will each earn £2.35 ($4.47 million), and the runners up will pocket £1.17 ($2.23 million).
First-round losers also needn't fret, they can still expect to pick up over £55,000, ($104,000).
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