Wimbledon 2024: Berrettini, Monfils, Shapovalov, Norrie and Thompson eye shocks at SW10 – BBC Sport

At any Grand Slam, there are certain names that everyone looks out for.

And for the seeded men – the top 32 players from the world rankings – there are always those they want to avoid in the early rounds.

So, when it comes to Wimbledon, who are the men who could spring early surprises?

BBC Sport looks at five unseeded players that could be a handful at SW19.

Berrettini, 28, is one of the most dangerous unseeded players in the men’s draw as he continues his return from injury.

The Italian is a former finalist at Wimbledon, having lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic in 2021, and possesses a thumping forehand and powerful serve.

Berrettini ended his 2023 season early after suffering an ankle injury at the US Open – a problem that kept him out of action for six months and dropped him down the rankings.

However, four of his eight career titles have come on grass, including two at Queen’s Club. He reached the final of the recent Stuttgart Open in the build-up to Wimbledon, losing to new British number one Jack Draper.

Regarded as one of the sport’s great entertainers, Monfils is back at Wimbledon after two years away for what could be his last appearance.

A wrist injury kept the 37-year-old out of last year’s tournament and his world ranking plummeted to 394. He considered retiring before being talked out of it by his team and wife Elina Svitolina, the former world number three and a semi-finalist at SW19 last year.

Monfils is now the oldest male player in the sport’s top 90 and last year he became the fourth-oldest to win an ATP title since 1990 with his victory at the Stockholm Open.

Known for his athleticism and stunning shot-making, Monfils won the boys’ singles title at Wimbledon in 2004 and has been as far as the last 16 in the men’s event.

It has been a tough 2024 for Cameron Norrie. He has fallen out of the world’s top 20 and been displaced as the top British man by 22-year-old Draper.

Nevertheless, Norrie is another unseeded player to be feared, with this tournament coming only two years after he reached the Wimbledon semi-finals – his best performance at a Grand Slam.

With Andy Murray a doubt for Wimbledon with injury, can 28-year-old Norrie give the British fans something to cheer about?

The powerful left-hander has been as high as eight in the world and, if he can regain his top form, will be one to watch.

Shapovalov, 25, is another former Wimbledon semi-finalist who finds himself well down the rankings after an injury-hit 12 months.

He reached the fourth round last year but was severely hampered by a knee injury, eventually limping off court after his loss to Roman Safiullin.

Shapovalov did not play again in 2023, but he has secured notable wins this year over Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Miami Open and Frances Tiafoe in the second round of the French Open.

The left-hander, renowned for his attacking, aggressive style of play, beat Murray and eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut on his way to the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2021 before losing to Djokovic.

A former world number 10, Shapovalov is currently ranked 120th, but he qualified for Wimbledon this year with his protected ranking of 27th.

Thompson comes to Wimbledon in fine form, having reached the semi-finals at Queen’s – his first appearance in the final four of an ATP 500 event.

He beat two of the world’s top 15 in Denmark’s Holger Rune and American Taylor Fritz and was also leading against Murray when the Briton had to pull out because of injury.

Thompson helped Australia to the Davis Cup final in 2022 and 2023 and has reached the final of two ATP Tour 250 events on grass. He also won the first singles title of his career this year in Mexico, on a hard court, beating Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud in doing so.

The 30-year-old is no stranger to causing a Wimbledon shock. In 2021 he defeated Norwegian 12th seed Ruud in five sets and followed that with a win over former world number four Kei Nishikori on his way to the third round.

There has been some form of seeding at Wimbledon since 1927.

In all that time, only two unseeded men have become singles champions – Germany’s Boris Becker, aged 17, in 1985 and Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic, who was ranked 125th in the world and competing as a wildcard when he triumphed in 2001.

Eleven unseeded players have reached the men’s final, with Australia’s Nick Kyrgios the last to do so two years ago.

You only have to look back 12 months to see recent evidence a Wimbledon singles champion could come from beyond the favourites – Marketa Vondrousova became the first and so far only unseeded player to win the women’s title.