NOVAK EYES CALENDAR SLAM – Novak Djokovic is the first man to win four consecutive Grand Slam singles titles since Rod Laver won a calendar Grand Slam in 1969 (also in 1962). Now the World No. 1 is halfway to matching Laver’s feat from 47 years ago. The 29-year-old Serb became the eighth man to win a career Grand Slam as he lifted the Roland Garros trophy on June 5 in his 12^th appearance in Paris. Djokovic enters Wimbledon on a 28-match Grand Slam tournament winning streak. He’s trying to become the first man to win five Grand Slam events in a row since Don Budge won a record six straight from 1937 Wimbledon to 1938 US Championships. 

BIG FOUR DOMINATION –The Big 4 of Djokovic, Murray, Federer, and Nadal have combined to win 41 of the past 45 Grand Slam titles, with the only exceptions being the 2009 US Open  (del Potro), 2014 Australian Open and 2015 Roland Garros (Wawrinka) and 2014 US Open (Cilic). During the current stretch, Nadal has won 14 titles, Federer 13, Djokovic 12 and Murray two. The last Wimbledon champion other than one of the Big Four was then-No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. The foursome also have accounted for 52 of the past 56 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles (since ’10 Monte-Carlo).

TOP FOUR SEEDS TITLE HOLDERS – The last time a player seeded outside of the Top 4 won the Wimbledon title was in 2001 when No. 125^th-ranked Goran Ivanisevic took advantage of a wild card opportunity to defeat Patrick Rafter in a five-set Monday final. This is the longest current stretch of Top 4 titles of any Grand Slam tournament. Since 2002, when No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt won the title, four other players have won the Wimbledon crown – Federer (seven times), Djokovic (three times), Nadal (twice) and Andy Murray (once).  In fact, only seven players in the Open Era (since 1968) not seeded among the Top 4 have won the title.

TOP SEED/REIGNING CHAMP – Djokovic is the No. 1 seed for the fifth straight year at Wimbledon. Last year, he defeated Federer in four sets to win his third title at the All England Club. The 29-year-old Serb also won the Wimbledon crown in 2011 and 2014. Djokovic has a 52-8 record at the All England Club and has advanced to the semi-finals or better the past six years. He also was runner-up in 2013. He is coming off his first title at Roland Garros (d. Murray). Djokovic is the first player seeded No. 1 for five consecutive years at Wimbledon since Federer from 2004-08. At the start of the tournament, Djokovic has been No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings for 104 consecutive weeks, 205 overall. He has held No. 1 every week since July 7, 2014.

ROLAND GARROS-WIMBLEDON SWEEP – Djokovic is the first player to win Australian Open and Roland Garros titles in the same year since Jim Courier in 1992. He will attempt to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in the same year. The others to accomplish the feat are: Rod Laver in 1969, Bjorn Borg in 1978-79-80, Nadal in 2008 and 2010 and Federer in 2009.

WEEKS AT NO. 1 – Djokovic is fifth on the overall weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and fourth on the consecutive weeks at No. 1 list.

THE KING OF GRASS – Federer has an Open Era record 15 grass court titles (15-6 in finals) and the best winning percentage on grass with a career record of 147-22 (.870). He’s won at least one grass court title in 11 of the past 14 years (except 2010-11, ‘16). In 2007, he became the second player (Bjorn Borg) in the Open Era to capture five consecutive Wimbledon titles. Federer’s 40-match unbeaten streak at Wimbledon ended to Nadal in 2008. Borg won a record 41 matches in a row at the All England Club (five titles from 1976-80 before losing in ‘81 final to McEnroe). Prior to Federer’s winning streak, he had a 16-11 career record on grass from 1999-2002. Since 2003, he is 131-11 on grass. He comes into Wimbledon with a 16-6 match record on the season (5-2 on grass) and without at least one ATP World Tour title for the first time since 2000. The 34-year-old Swiss native’s best result is a runner-up in the opening week of the season in Brisbane (l. to Raonic). In 2012, Federer won his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title, defeating Murray. Federer tied Pete Sampras and William Renshaw for the most singles titles at the All England Club. At 30, Federer became the oldest singles champion since Arthur Ashe (31) in 1975. Federer is making his 18^th straight appearance at Wimbledon and he’s reached the quarter-finals or better in 12 of the past 13 years. This is the 14^th straight year he’s a Top 4 seed.

MURRAY ON A ROLL – Murray comes into Wimbledon with a 33-6 match record on the season and he’s won 16 of his past 17 matches, winning ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome (d. Djokovic), reaching the final at Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic), his 10^th in a Grand Slam tournament, and capturing a record fifth title at Queen’s Club (d. Raonic). The 2013 Wimbledon champion compiled an 18-3 match record on clay. Since the beginning of 2011, Murray has advanced to the quarter-finals or better in 20 of his past 21 Grand Slam tournaments (’15 US Open, 4R) played (DNP ’13 Roland Garros). This is the second time Murray comes into Wimbledon as the No. 2 seed. Three years ago, Murray came in as the No. 2 seed, the highest by a British man since Bunny Austin was No. 1 in 1939. He defeated Djokovic in the final to become the first British man to win the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936.

LOPEZ ACTIVE SLAM STREAK LEADER – Federer’s record of 65 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played ended with his withdrawal at Roland Garros. Federer’s streak began at the 2000 Australian Open. There are seven other players in the Top 10 longest consecutive Grand Slam tournaments played, led by current leader Feliciano Lopez (58). The other active players with 50+ current streaks: Fernando Verdasco (53) and Tomas Berdych (52).  Here is a look at the Top 10 longest streaks in the Open Era and active players in draw.

+ denotes active streak including Wimbledon

NEXT GENERATION FINALISTS – Three teenagers have reached ATP World Tour finals this season: Borna Coric (in Chennai, Marrakech), Taylor Fritz (Memphis) and Alexander Zverev (Nice, Halle). Nick Kyrgios won his maiden ATP World Tour title in Marseille in February.

ZVEREV ON THE RISE – No. 24 seed Alexander Zverev, at 19 years, 2 months, is the youngest of the 32 seeds in the main draw. Zverev has compiled a 27-15 match record this season, reaching two finals (Nice, Halle) and two other semi-finals (Montpellier, Munich). He posted his first career Top 10 win over No. 3 Federer in the semi-finals of Halle. He is the youngest seed at Wimbledon since No. 4 Nadal and No. 27 Richard Gasquet in 2005.

THIEM WINS LEADER – The youngest member of the Top 10 Emirates ATP Rankings is 22-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem, who leads the ATP World Tour with 47 match wins. The No. 8-ranked Thiem is the only player to win titles on all three surfaces this season (clay, grass, hard). His four titles is the second-most on the ATP World Tour behind Djokovic (six).

DEL POTRO RETURNS – Former World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro returns to Wimbledon for the first time since 2013 when he reached the semi-finals (l. to Djokovic in five sets). The 27-year-old Argentine has an 11-7 match record on the season and is No. 164 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. His career record at the All England Club is 14-6.

HEALTHY FIELD  – As of June 24, there were three main draw withdrawals from the 104 direct acceptances: Thanasi Kokkinakis (shoulder), Rafael Nadal (wrist) and Tommy Robredo (elbow).

30-OVER CHAMPIONS – Federer, who won Wimbledon in 2012 at 30 years, 335 days, is looking to become the fifth player in the Open Era to win two or more Grand Slams titles after turning 30. Andre Agassi was the last man to achieve the feat, winning the Australian Open in 2001 and in 2003 (at 32 years, 272 days). There are a Wimbledon record 49 players aged 30 or over in the main draw. Here are the players to win at least two Slam singles titles after turning 30:

LEAD-UP UP TO WIMBLEDON TITLE – In seven of the past 14 years, the Wimbledon champion came into the tournament having won a title in one of the pre-Wimbledon ATP World Tour grass court events: Andy Murray (2013 Queen’s), Rafael Nadal (2008 Queen’s), Roger Federer (2003-06 Halle) and Lleyton Hewitt (2002 Queen’s). In the Open Era (since 1968), only seven different players (14 times) have won the Wimbledon title without playing a warm-up tournament on grass, including Djokovic in 2011 and in the past two years. Bjorn Borg won all five of his Wimbledon titles straight off his Roland Garros success.

GRAND SLAM MATCH WINS LEADERS – Federer is the all-time match wins leader (302) in Grand Slam history while Djokovic is No. 5 with 221 wins and Nadal is No. 8 with 200 wins.

FRENCHMEN LEAD DOUBLES DRAW – The top seeds are the French duo of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who are No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings. Herbert and Mahut come in with a 23-4 match record on the season. They are coming off a repeat title effort at The Queen’s Club. They won the first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. The No. 2 seeds are three-time (2007, ’11, ’13) Wimbledon doubles champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who are making their 18^th straight appearance (66-14 record). They are also four-time finalists (2005, ’07, ’09, ‘14). The Bryans lead the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings – The defending champions are No. 4 seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. They captured their first Grand Slam crown together (d. J. Murray/Peers). Here is a look at Top 8 seeded teams:

1) Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut

2) Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan

3) Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares

4) Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau

5) Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo

6) Rohan Bopanna & Florin Mergea

7) Lukasz Kubot & Alexander Peya

8) Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock

22 DIFFERENT CHAMPIONS – In the past 11 Grand Slam tournaments, there have been 11 different teams and 22 different players win a title. Here is a look at the different winners going back to 2013 US Open:

2016 Roland Garros – Feliciano Lopez & Marc Lopez

2016 Australian Open – Jamie Murray & Bruno Soares           

2015 US Open – Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Nicolas Mahut

2015 Wimbledon – Jean-Julien Rojer & Horia Tecau

2015 Roland Garros – Ivan Dodig & Marcelo Melo

2015 Australian Open – Simone Bolelli & Fabrio Fognini                   

2014 US Open – Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan

2014 Wimbledon – Vasek Pospisil & Jack Sock

2014 Roland Garros – Julien Benneteau & E. Roger-Vasselin

2014 Australian Open – Lukasz Kubot & Robert Lindstedt

2013 US Open – Leander Paes & Radek Stepanek

In Case You Missed It

Steve Johnson claimed his maiden ATP World Tour title at the Aegon Open Nottingham. Read

Daniel Nestor earned his 89^th tour-level doubles title with the help of new partner Dominic Inglot. Read

Roger Federer sees Wimbledon as a potential turning point for his 2016 season. Read

Nick Kyrgios believes he’ll have his work cut out for him at Wimbledon. Read

Kei Nishikori will attempt to make the best out of a short run-up to SW19. Read

Milestone Watch

A look at the players approaching career milestones:

– Fernando Verdasco is three singles match wins away from 450 in his career

– Julien Benneteau is five away from 250 singles match wins

– Julian Knowle is four doubles match wins away from No. 400

– Three more doubles match wins and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi will hit No. 250

– Marc Lopez needs six more doubles match wins to reach No. 250

Rankings Movers

+12 Andreas Seppi (45)

+9 Steve Johnson (29)

+8 Dudi Sela (63)

+4 Daniel Evans (91)

+3 Dustin Brown (85)

+3 Damir Dzumhur (87)

Birthdays

29 June – Adrian Mannarino (28)

30 June – Dusan Lajovic (26)

10 July – Jiri Vesely (23)

Current and former ATP World Tour players helped formally launch the Marin Cilic Foundation on Saturday in London.

World No. 11 David Goffin and fellow Croatian and occasional doubles partner Marin Draganja, along with retired greats Tim Henman, Cilic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic, Ivan Ljubicic, Thomas Johansson and Rainer Schuettler attended the gala. The evening featured a dinner and entertainment from the famous mentalist Danny Blue.

The foundation has been a top priority for the 27-year-old Cilic, who’s won 14 tour-level titles during his 12-year career.

“I was very fortunate in my own life with my own achievements and with my own success… I want to give something back and also give some opportunities for some people and some kids that don’t have as many possibilities to pursue their dreams,” he said.

Cilic, who started the foundation earlier this year, plans to use it to support projects around the world. He has a special focus on giving young people in his native Croatia improved access to education. In Croatia and elsewhere, students in high school often don’t have the ability to attend universities. “The main focus is to try to help kids as much as we can,” Cilic said.

Henman, who rose to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings during his playing career, said he was happy to support Cilic. “I think when you can appreciate the opportunities that the game has given each and every one of us, then you realise that there’s a lot of other people that are less fortunate,” he said.

Cilic’s countryman Ljubicic, who helps coach Roger Federer now, said players from Croatia can especially empathise with those less fortunate.

“Everybody from our region, we all started with small steps. I would say in a really humble way, we started from really zero, from nothing,” he said. “You always remember those first steps and looking back, of course you want to give back something, and Marin is no different. I am really glad and happy to be invited and to support him in this important moment, and I am sure it’s the beginning of something beautiful and big.”

For whatever reason, Stan Wawrinka has struggled to bring his best tennis to Wimbledon. The Swiss star has fallen in the first round in two of the past four years and has never advanced farther than the quarter-finals at the All England Club.

But Wawrinka, who will be making his 12^th appearance at the Grand Slam, thinks this year could be different. He’s spent the past few weeks working with 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek. The Lausanne native also will draw from quarter-final runs the past two seasons at SW19.

“I feel quite good. Had a lot of time on the grass. Quite happy with the way I’m playing so far. I think I’m ready for the tournament,” Wawrinka said during his pre-tournament press conference.

The Swiss No. 2 has been close to breaking into the final four at Wimbledon. In 2014, he fell to seven-time champion Roger Federer in four sets. Last year, Wawrinka was a set away from reaching the semi-finals before Frenchman Richard Gasquet came back and won 11-9 in the fifth set.

“I think the last few years I started to play my best tennis on grass,” Wawrinka said. “I know I can play my best game. Hopefully I can do something big this year.”

Wawrinka’s grass-court season got off to a slow start earlier this month with a straight-sets defeat to Fernando Verdasco at The Queen’s Club in London. But the first-round exit also gave the 31 year old plenty of time to work with Krajicek and full-time coach Magnus Norman on the practice courts.

Wawrinka, who’s been working with Krajicek since 10 June, said the relationship has been going well so far. “Richard has a lot of experience as a player. He won here. He used to be an amazing tennis player, really aggressive on the court, serve and volley a lot,” Wawrinka said. “We also had quite a lot of talk [about] the way you can play on grass, many little things, the tactic, what’s good to do on grass, how you need to be ready mentally and always tough.”

Wawrinka, the fourth seed, will open against 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, a member of the Next Generation who will be making his Wimbledon main draw debut. The American pushed Federer to three sets before losing on the grass in Stuttgart.

If Wawrinka advances, he could face Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who plays Frenchman Stephane Robert in the first round. “I think it’s really good for him and for tennis that he’s back on the tour,” Wawrinka said of del Potro, who reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart. “He’s going to be dangerous. He played a great tournament in Stuttgart on grass. If he’s fit, he’s a tough player to beat.”

The new ATP Player Council, as voted by players, was announced on Saturday evening at the general player meeting at Wimbledon.

The Council, elected for a two-year term, includes the world’s top two ranked singles players Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, as well as the likes of Gilles Simon, Kevin Anderson, Rajeev Ram and Sergiy Stakhovsky.

World No. 1 doubles player Jamie Murray is also elected, alongside his doubles partner Bruno Soares, meaning it will be the first time that two brothers are to serve on the Council at the same time.

Members elected by their peers to serve on the ATP Player Council through June 2018 are:

* 1-50 Singles: Kevin Anderson, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Gilles Simon
* 51-100 Singles: Yen-Hsun Lu, Rajeev Ram
* 1-100 Doubles: Jamie Murray, Bruno Soares
* At-Large: Marcelo Melo, Sergiy Stakhovsky
* Alumni: Colin Dowdeswell
* Coach: Claudio Pistolesi

The new ATP Player Council will have its first meeting in New York prior to the US Open, where the President and Vice President will be elected.

Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “Congratulations to all those that have been elected to the new Council. It’s great news to have such a strong group of players involved as we look to take the ATP World Tour to new heights in years ahead. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing Council members, led by Eric Butorac as President, for all their hard work and dedication over the past two years.”

Djokovic said: “I am humbled to be elected by my colleagues to be on the Players Council. It is a big responsibility and I know how much all of us players care for our sport to thrive and grow. I see this as an opportunity and I hope to fulfil the expectations of my colleagues.”

Andy Murray said: “It’s the first time I’m getting involved in something like this and I’m looking forward to getting started with the rest of the guys on the Council. We’ve seen a lot of growth on the ATP World Tour in recent years and hopefully we can continue that.”

Bruno Soares said: “I’m very happy to be elected for a second time. These past two years were a great experience. We were able to learn a lot and see the sport from a different perspective. I hope I can keep contributing. The players have been very committed to helping to improve our sport, and I’m happy to be a part of that.”

Jamie Murray said: “I’m excited and looking forward to working hard and putting across our points of view and get some good things done for the Tour over the next two years. I’ve been around the Tour for a while now, and thought it was time to put my name forward. I think it’s important the top players get involved and it makes the voice of the Council stronger.”

Sergiy Stakhovsky said: “I really appreciate the support of the players and hopefully we can continue some of the things we’ve achieved with previous Councils. I think it’s important for us to have a very strong Council and it’s great that we have Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic coming on. I believe there’s greater things ahead of us, not only with this Council but in the future with the new generations coming up.”

The ATP Player Council meets several times a year and makes recommendations to ATP Management and the ATP Board of Directors through the three Player Board representatives, whom the Council elects.

Earlier this week, Justin Gimelstob was re-elected by the outgoing Player Council as Player Board representative from the Americas Group region. Gimelstob will serve another three-year term starting January 1, 2017. The ATP Board of Directors comprises three Player Representatives, three Tournament Representatives, and ATP Executive Chairman and President Kermode.