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5 storylines to watch at Wimbledon 2016

Can anyone unseat Novak Djokovic? How healthy is Roger Federer? Is Garbine Muguruza tennis’ next big thing? This year’s Wimbledon field provides plenty of compelling storylines for fans to salivate over.

Here’s what to watch for when the action begins Monday in London.

Djokovic’s Dominance

Fresh off a French Open win, Djokovic now turns his attention to another elusive feat: a Grand Slam. He’s halfway there and enters the All England Club with a 28-match win streak at Slam events under his belt. Djokovic looked as dominant as ever in Paris, dropping just two sets throughout the whole tournament.

Djokovic and Federer will miss out on a third consecutive final showdown because they were both drawn into the top half of the bracket. Tennis fans can hope for a semifinal battle akin to the two’s previous London meetups as Djokovic tries to continue his march toward history.

Not only would a win put Djokovic one tournament away from the calendar-year Grand Slam, the upcoming Olympics give the Serb a shot at the Golden Slam, something only Steffi Graff has achieved.

Roger’s Return

Federer is making his return from a back injury that kept him out of his first Grand Slam event since 1999. The 34-year-old fell in the semifinals of two grass court tuneups, but said he’s been feeling “better and better.” With no tournament wins to his name this year, Federer is hoping to regain some of the magic of his 2015 surge, when he won six titles and reached the final at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Roger Federer is a seven-time Wimbledon champion (AFP)
Roger Federer is a seven-time Wimbledon champion (AFP)

With Djokovic continuing to look stronger and stronger, Wimbledon might serve as Federer’s last chance to make a real push for his 18th major singles title. The seven-time Wimbledon champion loves the grass and, with the injuries he’s piled up, it’s unclear for how much longer his body will hold up.

Serena’s Search

Serena Williams has been sitting on 21 major singles titles, one short of Graff’s Open-era record, for nearly a year now. Her Grand Slam bid in 2015 ended with a stunning semifinal loss to Roberta Vinci at the U.S. Open last August and the world No. 1 has since faltered in the final match of the year’s opening two Slam events.

Williams recently admitted she was so “pissed” about her loss to Garbine Muguruza at Roland Garros that she left her rackets in Paris. Less than a month after that defeat, Williams is “super confident” and itching for another shot at history.

The defending Wimbledon champion, who played no tuneup grass tournaments, has a challenging draw, as she’s set for a quarterfinal showdown with Vinci. And the road to No. 22 could likely end with a match against Muguruza in the final.

Muguruza’s Moment

Speaking of the Spaniard, Muguruza is out to prove that she’s the game’s next star. She played Williams perfectly in Paris, comfortably handling her serve and delivering forceful groundstrokes.

Muguruza now boasts two wins over the world No.1 and is looking to avenge her loss in last year’s Wimbledon final. Muguruza struggled in her first grass outing, crashing out in the first round at her home Mallorca Open. If she can find some consistency on the faster surface, we could be seeing the beginning of a fierce rivalry.

What about the dark horses?

On the men’s side, watch out for eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem and sixth-seeded Milos Raonic.

Thiem moved up to world No. 8 this week after a Wimbledon warm-up victory at Stuttgart, and has won four titles on three different surfaces this year. The 22-year-old reached his first Slam semifinal in Paris, falling to Djokovic, and is primed for a bigger breakthrough.

Meanwhile, Raonic lost to world No. 2 Andy Murray in the final of the Queen’s Club tuneup and added John McEnroe to his coaching staff after Roland Garros. He could meet Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

For the women, don’t be surprised if Madison Keys makes a run. The 21-year-old, who recently became the first American to achieve a top-10 ranking since Serena did so in 1999, reached the quarterfinals last year and is coming off a grass-court win.