It is nearly that time again when the smell of freshly cut grass wafts gently through the air in south west London and local businesses around SW19 do a roaring trade in strawberries and cream. Wimbledon is fast approaching, with a stage being readied at the most iconic of Grand Slam events.
Plenty of familiar faces will be descending on British shores in pursuit of singles, doubles and mixed doubles crowns, with some iconic figures in the men’s game seeking to re-write the history books once again.
Wimbledon odds 2022 are dominated by the imposing figure of 11/10 favourite Novak Djokovic, although eternal rival Rafael Nadal is snapping at his heels at 6/1 and the likes of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev can never be written off.
Somebody will hoist a famous trophy aloft in the middle of Centre Court on July 10, but could the ultimate victor enjoy a faultless run to that crown and become just the sixth man to achieve such a feat since the abolition of the Challenge Round in 1922?
Which male champions have won Wimbledon without dropping a set?
Donald Budge – 1938
Budge enjoyed a year to remember in 1938 as he completed a clean sweep of all four major honours. The third instalment of that remarkable run saw him – as top seed – race through Wimbledon by overcoming Kenneth Gandar-Dower, Henry Billington, George Lyttleton Rogers and R Shayes in rounds one to four. Frantisek Cejnar was seen off in the quarter-finals, Franjo Puncec in the semis and British hopeful Bunny Austin 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 in the final.
Eighty years ago today, Don Budge became the first player to complete the Grand Slam, winning all four majors in one season.
Here he is capturing the 1938 #Wimbledon title during that history-making run... pic.twitter.com/vkDFpMYMgL
Tony Trabert – 1955
Another top-seeded American who proved far too strong in the early stages for Mal Anderson, Trevor Fancutt, Hugh Stewart and Naresh Kumar. Jaroslav Drobny was edged out in the last eight, before seeing off Budge Patty and Kurt Nielsen to get his hands on the crown.
Chuck McKinley – 1963
With those who were now professionals missing from Wimbledon, McKinley made the most of his opportunity as he swept aside Cliff Drysdale, Anthony Lane, Arthur Ashe, Jaidip Mukerjea, Bobby Wilson and Wilhelm Bungert. Australian star Fred Stolle was overcome in the final 9-7, 6-1, 6-4.
Bjorn Borg – 1976
The first of Borg’s five Wimbledon victories saw him prevail without dropping a set. He reached the quarter-finals by seeing off David Lloyd, Marty Riessen, Colin Dibley and Brian Gottfried. Once into the business end of the event, the iconic Swede blazed his way beyond Guillermo Vilas, Roscoe Tanner and Ilie Nastase.
Roger Federer - 2017
After 41 years without a perfect victor, it came as little surprise to find that Federer was the man to send records tumbling once more. The Swiss superstar dropped just 74 games in total, although his cause was aided when Alexandr Dolgopolov retired injured in the first round. From there, Federer overcame Dusan Lajovic. Mikhail Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych to reach the final. Marin Cilic was then crushed 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.
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Roger Federer wins his 8th Wimbledon title. pic.twitter.com/G0tug2OfWi
Can anybody emulate those efforts in 2022? The modern game is so competitive that such a feat is becoming ever-harder to achieve, but there will be enough quality on show to make anything possible.
