By dark horse, I mean a player who has a genuine chance at winning the title and is ranked outside of the top sixteen seeds.
Dark horses rarely win men’s slams nowadays and even without the big 3 dominating, it still feels like the winner will come from the favorites I looked at in this post.
Other than FAA, the players I’ve picked are really quite long shots and not strong dark horse contenders. However, they are the best we have for now.
1. FAA. Seeded 17, he’s been getting back into form lately. He’s got some experience going deep at slams (USO SF) and has played some big matches at slams going the distance. His big serve and aggressive game also work well on grass, helping him reach the Wimbledon QF in 2021 and two Stuttgart finals.
2. Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian is seeded 25th. He’s just made the Queen’s final and is one of the game’s biggest talents with great touch and flair. He has had some big matches in his career but is prone to letting winning leads slip by him. Personally, I don’t think he has a great chance at winning the title due to this.
3. Jack Draper. The 28th seed won the title in Stuttgart and beat Alcaraz at Queens. His big serve and aggressive game make him a strong contender to go deep. But actually win? He’s not done anything at the higher end of the game (slams, 1000s) and that inexperience could hinder him. But he also has nothing to lose and doesn’t have anything to prove.
4. Alexander Bublik. The unseeded 2023 Halle champ has some nice grass court credentials. He’s a very talented player however he cannot be relied upon to deliver on his promise. I seriously doubt he’d win, but he has all the tools.
What do you think about these guys’ chances? Give your opinion in the comments. And if you want to chat tennis or writing, email me at christian@thetennisreview.com.
thetennisreview 
Leave a comment