Hello. Wimbledon 2019, 20 years after his first appearance in the main draw, and Roger Federer is still going strong. In 1999, when he was but a mere teenager, he exited in the first round. Since then, however, he’s won this tournament eight times, the last success coming in 2017, and at this stage it feels a little pointless talking about when he plans to retire. The Swiss turns 38 next month, but there remain precious few opponents who can get close to him when he’s in the mood. Fading into obscurity isn’t Federer’s style. Bumped up to No2 seed at the expense of a rather disgruntled Rafael Nadal, his dreamy prowess on grass remains thoroughly intact, as demonstrated by another win in Halle last month, and nothing less than a ninth title here will do.
Naturally Federer’s been given a slot on Centre Court. He’s up second, after defending women’s champion Angelique Kerber faces fellow German Tatjana Maria, and will not expected to be unduly inconvenienced by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris, the world No86. Whereas Harris is making his Wimbledon debut, Federer’s after his 96th win at SW19 and his 182nd career win on this surface. It’s likely to be an exhibition. You know the type. We’ve seen them many times before.
The punters on Centre Court will be delighted if they get a Federer masterclass, though. Indeed they’re bound to get their money’s worth today. The action opens with Kerber, who won her first Wimbledon last year, taking on Maria. Kerber, the fifth seed, did well at Eastbourne last week, losing to Karolina Pliskova in the final, and has the pedigree to go far.
Then there’s Serena Williams, supposedly feeling strong again despite being dogged by a knee injury all year, apparently destined to join Andy Murray in the mixed doubles. No doubt Murray will be keeping an eye on the American’s movement today. She meets Italy’s Giulia Gatto-Monticone. It should be straightforward. Should be. But Williams is carrying quite a bit of rust after a tough few months and could be vulnerable in the first week. Catch her cold and she could suffer a similar fate to big sister Venus, who was stunned by the sensational Cori Gauff last night.
Moving on, in a victory for equality on these lawns four of the six matches on the main courts feature women. Court 1 opens with Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, the French Open champion and new world No1, hoping not to suffer a Roland Garros comedown when she faces China’s Saisai Zheng, before the patriotic fervour ramps up for the entrance of Britain’s Johanna Konta, up against Romania’s Ana Bogdan.
Once that’s all done and dusted Nadal will begin his tournament. Honestly. First he loses the No2 seeding to Federer (world No3, lest we forget), then he misses out on a Centre Court place in the first round. But the good news for the Spaniard, who’s two behind Federer’s record of 20 majors, the courts were playing slowly yesterday. That should suit him when he faces Japan’s Yuichi Sugita later.
However, being pushed down to third seed has left Nadal with a tough draw. If he makes it through then his second-round opponent could well be Nick Kyrgios, assuming the Australian renegade gets past a solid compatriot in Jordan Thompson in the first match on Court 3 today.
Speaking of rebellious spirits Britain’s Dan Evans, who’s had a very good summer so far, is first on Court 18 against Argentina’s Federico Delbonis. And there are plenty of home hopefuls in action elsewhere. Jay Clarke could play Federer in the next round if he beats the American qualifier Noah Rubin. Hull hero Paul Jubb plays Portugual’s Joao Sousa. James Ward, fit again, plays 18th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili. Katie Swan, who got to the second round last year, plays Laura Siegmund in the second match on Court 12. And Harriet Dart meets the USA’s Christina McHale in the opener on Court 14.
Plenty to be getting on with, then – and I haven’t even mentioned that Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion, is back after a long spell out. Phew. It’s going to be a busy day.
Play begins at: 11am BST on the outside courts, 1pm BST on the show courts.