PREVIEW Wimbledon ATP & WTA Day Four: Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner headline as Jack Draper in Centre Court exile

Thursday, 03 July 2025 at 10:31

It is Day Four of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships and the theme this week has been shocks. Can there be anymore this week as we have three of the world's best in action and plenty more talking points. The schedule is now set, our preview looks ahead.

First up perhaps in a slot he will relish as he is often trying to beat the curfew is Novak Djokovic with the legendary seven-time champion coming towards the end of his career.

Whilst he is far from done yet in his own head, his age of course shows that he likely is coming towards the conclusion. But so is his opponent realistically as has been the chatter this week.

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Dan Evans has had a chequered career. He has bounced back after a drugs ban threatened to ruin his career. He won Washington then gave up the points the year after as he wanted to partner Andy Murray. A factor he hasn't recovered from.

But against Jay Clarke, it was superb tennis from the 35-year-old who it has been mused is also likely playing in one of his final Wimbledon's. He wanted to play Djokovic and is the type of bullish, fearless character who will not shrink in front of the pressure.

This could be danger for Djokovic and a buoyed British crowd getting behind a familiar face could be a cauldron atmosphere early on. Evans won their only ever tie too. He beat Djokovic in Monte-Carlo back in 2021 6-4, 7-5.

Swiatek takes Centre Court return - but is there better options elsewhere?

Then it is the turn of Iga Swiatek, eighth seed this year and a bit of a strange choice of a match perhaps given what is on Court One on Thursday.

Mirra Andreeva opens up Court One on Thursday and is seen as the future star of the sport at the age of 18. Commentators mused it was Alexandra Eala who would lead the next generation before she was beaten by Barbora Krejcikova.

Andreeva at the same age has reached multiple latter stages of Grand Slams and won multiple big titles this year. She aims to take advantage of the seed slump in facing Lucia Bronzetti. Albeit given the danger that Cocciaretto had against Pegula, could the Italian curse reign again.

The other tie perhaps snubbed sees Maria Sakkari who returns to the second round of a Grand Slam after having issues even getting out of the first most of last year. She is starting to play better but faces a real grass court specialist in one of the games of the day in Elena Rybakina.

Perhaps flying under the radar as she often does the Kazakh could be seen as the bonafide pick flying under the top names for the title again. A real top tie with two tenacious players second up on Court One. So Swiatek perhaps getting top court billing against McNally is perhaps a bit interesting.

But she is still a huge name and one that as eighth seed is a bit odd to see her so low. After not loving grass before, she could be forced to by reaching the latter stages.

Sinner gets Centre Court billing finally

But perhaps the main player to finally get Centre Court billing is a certain Jannik Sinner. The Italian will face Aleksandar Vukic on Thursday.

He was effortlessly good against Luca Nardi unlike Carlos Alcaraz so far. Also with some games running dangerously close to curfew, they likely see it as a great chance to put a player on who could win in three.

Often when that happens though, it doesn't. So be careful what you wish for.

Is Jack Draper unfairly treated?

Draper standout Brit on Thursday

Speaking of Andreeva and Rybakina on Court 1, there is also the matter of Jack Draper. Many have had a bone to pick with the All England Lawn & Tennis Club about the scheduling and perhaps rightfully so.

Draper has yet to play on Centre Court despite being Britain's top tennis star. Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter have previously both got the honour. Draper also takes on Marin Cilic, a former Grand Slam champion in one of the games of the day.

Seen as the poster boy of this event, it can be said that Draper perhaps has been shunted out of the spotlight with players such as Raducanu preferred from a spotlight perspective. It is Jannik Sinner though in this case who is preferred against a player who has yet to get well into the top 50.

So Draper will aim to make the organisers eat humble pie with his display as he takes on Cilic who continues to pop back up despite injury issues at times over the past two years.

Navarro, Shelton and De Minaur elsewhere

Such has been the seed cull that many of the other matches on Thursday are perhaps not as thrilling as the ones on the opening few courts. Alex de Minaur is one of only a few Aussie's left. He opens against Arthur Cazaux on Court 2.

Barbora Krejcikova continues her defence as she faces Caroline Dolehide on the same court that houses then two American's as Sofia Kenin and Ben Shelton face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and Rinky Hijikata respectively.

Elsewhere Emma Navarro and Daria Kasatkina survived the seed cull. They play on Court Three as the former faces Veronika Kudermetova. Kasatkina takes on Irina-Camelia Begu for a spot in the third round. Grigor Dimitrov also faces French entertainer Corentin Moutet.

Emma Navarro - one of only a few seeds left.

Also amid all of the doubles is Clara Tauson v Anna Kalinskaya on the same court also as Tomas Machac and also Jakub Mensik v Marcos Giron.

Another interesting day awaits at SW19 and with the seed cull rampant, will there be anymore victims in regards to the top names?

The answer is probably yes but with Djokovic, Sinner and Swiatek all in action one of those three losing would be even more seismic and as the tournament struggles to hold on to the big names, a second week without many of them is a nightmare for organisers.

Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief

Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.

Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.

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