WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray both were placed in the Wimbledon bracket during Friday's draw despite coming off recent operations.
That's no guarantee either 37-year-old past champion at the All England Club will actually compete at the event that begins Monday. But Djokovic, at least, has looked in practice sessions this week as though he is ready to go, less than a month after having surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee. He has won seven of his men's-record 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon.
Murray, a two-time trophy winner at the grass-court tournament, made clear on Thursday that he would wait until the last moment to decide whether or not to play and was likelier to do so in doubles — where he and his older brother, Jamie, were awarded a wild-card entry — than in singles. He had a cyst removed from his spinal cord last weekend.
The unseeded Murray's first-round singles match against Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic will be scheduled for Tuesday, giving the Scot an extra day to try to be ready. It was in a match against Machac at the Miami Open in March that Murray tore ligaments in his left ankle, one of a series of injuries he’s dealt with in the latter stages of his career. Murray says he plans to retire after, he hopes, participating in Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, which begin next month.
Djokovic is also slated to begin on Tuesday, going up against qualifier Vit Kopriva of the Czech Republic.
The men's quarterfinals could be No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner vs. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 8 Casper Ruud on the top half of the bracket, with No. 2 Djokovic vs. No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, and No. 4 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 6 Andrey Rublev on the bottom half.
That sets up a possible semifinal between Sinner, who is 22, and Alcaraz, 21. They are already developing quite a rivalry; Alcaraz beat Sinner in the semifinals at the French Open this month en route to the title there.
There was a bit of confusion during the women's draw — overseen by new tournament referee Denise Parnell — when several names were placed on the wrong lines and needed to be reshuffled.
Top-seeded Iga Swiatek has never been past the quarterfinals at the All England Club and was given a path that could be filled with past Grand Slam champions.
Her opening opponent will be 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, who eliminated Coco Gauff in the first round at Wimbledon a year ago — less than three months before Gauff would go on to win the U.S. Open. Swiatek could face 2018 Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber in the third round, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth, and defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals. Ostapenko is 4-0 against Swiatek over their careers.
The other potential women’s quarterfinals are 2022 winner Elena Rybakina vs. No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula on the top half of the bracket with Swiatek-Vondrousova, and No. 2 Gauff vs. No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, and No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 8 Zheng Qinwen on the bottom half.
Gauff's initial opponent will be another American, Caroline Dolehide. Other first-round women's matchups include 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu against No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka against Diane Parry, and two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka against 2017 U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens.
In the men's bracket, Alcaraz will open his title defense against Mark Lajal, who will be making his Grand Slam main-draw debut after earning a spot through qualifying. Sinner starts against Yannick Hanfmann, who is 0-2 in Slam matches, and could meet 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
FILE - Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova celebrates with the trophy after beating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in the women's singles final on day thirteen of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Saturday, July 15, 2023. This year's Wimbledon tournament begins on Monday, July 1.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Andy Murray of Britain plays a return to Jordan Thompson of Australia during their men's singles match on day five of The Queen's Club tennis tournament, in London, Wednesday, June 19, 2024. Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray still had not decided as of Thursday whether he will be able to compete at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament that begins next week and he is likelier to enter doubles than singles if he can play at all after recent surgery to remove a cyst on his spinal cord. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
Novak Djokovic during a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, on Tuesday June 25, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Serbia's Novak Djokovic practices during a training session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, in London, Monday June 24, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)
NHL free agency opens Monday, less than a week since Commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers.
The offseason comes at you fast, and with all of it packed into a short period of time and more extra money to spend since before the pandemic, general managers are not quite sure what's to come when the free agent frenzy gets underway.
“It's going to be unpredictable, really," San Jose general manager Mike Grier said Saturday on NHL Network. “It’ll be interesting. Every team’s trying to get better, and there’s only so many seats at the table.”
Sixteen seats at the playoff table, but nearly all of the league's 32 teams will make a signing of some sort, and hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be committed to players this week. This summer marks the first big salary cap increase since 2019 — a $4.5 million bump to $88 million — and there is no shortage of top players who will cash in as part of a free agent class headlined by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Cup champion Patrick Kane.
More trades are also in the offing, after Detroit GM Steve Yzerman called some of the activity at the draft over the weekend “eye opening” and moves he didn't see coming.
“Every team’s got a little bit more cap space,” Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille said. "And we’re seeing where things are going to be (going up) in the next two or three years. We expect some movement, and it should be exciting.”
So much that at least a couple of teams' front offices are staying in Las Vegas following the draft to handle free agency from there. That includes the Washington Capitals, who have been one of the busiest teams lately, trading for center Pierre-Luc Dubois and goaltender Logan Thompson among a bevy of moves.
“We’re retooling and adding prospects and competing,” GM Brian MacLellan said, adding he “maybe” has some more up his sleeve by way of trade or free agency, particularly to change up his defense. “We’re going to shop around and see what we can find.”
Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, fresh off helping the Panthers win their first title in franchise history, are among the experienced defensemen available, along with Brady Skjei, three-time Cup winner Alec Martinez and Sean Walker, a trade deadline pickup by Colorado. Brett Pesce, a longtime teammate of Skjei's with Carolina, has been linked to New Jersey after the Devils cleared room for him.
The pool of forward talent available is stronger, even if Sam Reinhart stays with Florida following his 57-goal season and Jake Guentzel signs with the Lightning after they acquired the high-scoring winger's rights. Kane alone, even at age 35, could have a half-dozen or more suitors after being nearly a point-a-game producer last season for Detroit, and a reunion with New York Rangers cannot be ruled out among his many options.
Similar interest should materialize for Marchessault, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights who is coming off scoring a career-best 42 goals. There may not be room left for him after the team added $6.7 million-a-year center Tomas Hertl and $7.35 million defenseman Noah Hanifin in March, though GM Kelly McCrimmon was unwilling in the big picture to speculate about how free agency will unfold.
“It’s not completely in any club’s control,” McCrimmon said. “We have a real good handle on what that market is, what that landscape is, what it looks like and we’ll make our decisions accordingly. But it takes two parties to come to an agreement, and free agency is free agency. You’re never quite sure. We’ll see what plays out.”
The goaltending market has been playing out for some time now, with the Devils acquiring Jacob Markstrom, the Kings getting Darcy Kuemper and Boston sending '23 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo and more. Plenty more teams need help in net, including Detroit and Toronto.
The Maple Leafs, joining the Capitals remaining in Vegas for the free agent festivities, are willing to roll the dice that they can find a solution.
“How concerned am I of the goalie market? Well, we’ll see what the goalie market is,” GM Brad Treliving said. “We’ve been poking around in it, and we know we’ve got to shore that up on our end but we’re confident that we can.”
AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow and freelancer writer W.G. Ramirez in Las Vegas contributed.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos moves the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, March 23, 2024, in Los Angeles. Stamkos is still on course to become a free agent even after the Lightning cleared significant salary cap space with trades made at the NHL draft. General manager Julien BriseBois and agent Don Meehan independently confirmed their stances have not changed with respect to Stamkos signing a new contract with the club before free agency opens Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Detroit Red Wings right wing Patrick Kane (88) skates with the puck as Buffalo Sabres' Owen Power (25) defends with goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) in the second period of an NHL hockey game April 7, 2024, in Detroit. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, 2023 playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault and three-time Stanley Cup champion Kane. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
FILE - Vegas Golden Knights' Jonathan Marchessault controls the puck in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be committed to free agents, including a strong crop of forwards led by longtime Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos, three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Kane and 2023 playoff MVP Marchessault. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
