Grass seeds were sown months ago, when groundskeepers began preparing the surface of the courts. Wimbledon seeds were sown just a few days ago, as players settled into the ranking slots.
What does this mean? Players’ history at Wimbledon and aptitude for grass-court tennis don’t count for much these days. Taking past grass performance out of the equation to presage future success—as has been the case post-COVID-19—augurs more upsets. It means that Novak Djokovic’s seven Wimbledon titles (and over 100 match wins) don’t count for much. Alexander Zverev, winner of the previous major, will be the No. 2 seed despite the inconvenient fact that his best Wimbledon showing is a fourth-round cameo.
