As tradition dictates at Wimbledon, the champion of the previous edition, Novak Djokovic, will play the first match on the center court this Monday, starting at 07:30 (Ecuadorian time) against the South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.
After the Serb’s entry into the fray, the British public will be able to see two of their idols, the young Emma Raducanu and the veteran Andy Murray.
The young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (19 years old), who is participating for the second time in the London Grand Slam, will debut on court No.1 against the German Jan-Lennard Struff.
There will be neither Russians, nor Belarusians, nor points to be shared at Wimbledon, but there will be Rafael Nadal, who returns to the tournament three years later to try to stay in the fight to win the Grand Slam.
Conquering the four Grands in one year, something that only Rod Laver and Don Budge have achieved in the history of this sport, is the glorious horizon for Nadal, who first has to focus on a different Wimbledon, with the refusal of the ATP and WTA to distribute points.
The Balearic appears at the All England Club in the only year of his career in which he has won Australia and Paris at this point, but without the favourite. He hasn’t won in London for twelve years, he hasn’t reached the final for eleven years and his preparation for the most difficult surface of all has been scant. He only had a couple of exhibition games in Hurlingham, several days of exercises in Mallorca and a week of training in London.
That’s Nadal’s service record on grass.
Djokovic has not competed since the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and, as he has done since 2017, has not played previous tournaments on grass, but his lightness and versatility on grass has not been affected. He arrived in London eight days in advance and has exercised in each of them with a freshness on the surface that places him as the top favorite.
Only Matteo Berrettini can dispute his hegemony on grass, but without the cache of having a great name to his name. The Italian shines with a 31-3 on this type of court since 2019 and has chained nine wins in a row after recovering from an operation on his hand that has earned him the titles in Stuttgart and Queen’s. Only Djokovic and Federer have beaten him on grass since Halle 2019 and now he has the experience of having played a Grand Slam final, lost here to the Serb a year ago. The one from Rome avoids Djokovic until the final, in another incentive to trust his chances of repeating and/or improving what was achieved last season.
This is the program of the main matches of the first day of Wimbledon, on Monday, June 27:
Center Court (from 07:30)
Novak Djokovic (SRB/Seeded 1) vs. Soonwoo Kwon (KOR)
Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) vs. Emma Raducanu (GBR/10)
Andy Murray (GBR) vs. James Duckworth (AUS)
Court N.1 (from 07:00)
Mirjam Björklund (SWE) vs. Ons Jabeur (TUN/3)
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP/5)
Angelique Kerber (GER/15) vs. Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)
Court N.2 (from 05:00)
Cameron Norrie (GBR/9) vs. Pablo Andujar (ESP)
Bernarda Pera (USA) vs. Anett Kontaveit (EST/2)
Jannik Sinner (ITA/10) vs. Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
Maria Sakkari (GRE/5)vs. Zoe Hives (AUS)
Court N.3 (from 05:00)
Alejandro Davidovich (ESP) vs. Hubert Hurkacz (POL/7)
Danielle Collins (USA/7) vs. Marie Bouzkova (CZE)
Court N.12 (from 05:00)
Casper Ruud (NOR/3) vs. Albert Ramos (ESP)
Kaja Juvan (SLO) vs. Beatriz Haddad (BRA/23)
Belinda Bencic (SUI/14) vs. Qiang Wang (CHN)
Steve Johnson (USA) vs. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL/18)
Court N.18 (from 05:00)
(2nd inning) Enzo Couacaud (FRA) vs. John Isner (USA/20)
Court N.4 (from 05:00)
Tommy Paul (USA/30) vs. Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
Camila Osorio (COL) vs. Elise Mertens (BEL/24)
Martina Trevisan (ITA/22) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA)
Carlos Taberner (ESP) vs. Reilly Opelka (USA/15)
Court N.6 (from 05:00)
(4th inning) Taro Daniel (JPN) vs. Sebastian Baez (ARG/31)
Court N.7 (from 05:00)
Anhelina Kalinina (UKR/29) vs. Anna Bondar (HUN)
Oscar Otte (GER/32) vs. Peter Gojowczyk (GER)
Court N.8 (from 05:00)
(2nd inning) Aleksandra Krunic (SRB) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU/26)
Court N.10 (from 05:00)
Ylena In-Albon (SUI) vs. Alison Riske (USA/28)
Court N.14 (from 05:00)
(2nd inning) John Millman (AUS) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB/25)
(4th inning) Océane Dodin (FRA) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT/12)
Court N.15 (from 05:00)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO/22) vs. Lukas Rosol (CZE)
Kaia Kanepi (EST/31) vs. Diane Parry (FRA)
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) vs. Pablo Carreno (ESP/16)
Shuai Zhang (CHN/33) vs. Misaki Doi (JPN)
Court N.17 (from 05:00)
Frances Tiafoe (USA/23) vs. Andrea Vavassori (ITA)
David Goffin (BEL) vs. Radu Albot (MDA)
(D)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
