Wimbledon day one: Andy Murray marks return with dramatic late-night victory
Tennis returned to Wimbledon for the first time since 2019 on Monday and Andy Murray rolled back the years to see off 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in front of a raucous Centre Court crowd.
It was a different Championships to normal but there was still drama aplenty at the All England Club, with third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas one of a number to fall in both the men’s and women’s draws.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at events on day one:
Tweet of the day
Centre Court in all its glory 😍#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JEuyp6ZQyR
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 28, 2021
Quote of the day
Picture of the day
Shot of the day
A tweener volley on Day 1?! You're spoiling us, @Gael_Monfils 🤩#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/sm4Uf2kI0Y
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2021
Gael Monfils has work to do in his first-round tie with Christopher O’Connell after it was suspended on Monday night but he still found time to produce a cheeky between-the-legs shot on Court 12.
Stat of the day
It took Novak Djokovic only 46 seconds to win a game on his serve during a four set victory against Britain’s Jack Draper.
Thank you!
An opening day on Centre Court with a difference…
A special moment as we say thank you to those who have played such an important role in the response to COVID-19#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/16dW1kQ2nr
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2021
After the coronavirus pandemic forced Wimbledon to be cancelled in 2020, this year’s tournament is dedicated to saying ‘thank you’ to key workers and others who have gone above and beyond. The Royal Box will feature a series of special guests on a daily basis, while 100 Centre Court and Court One tickets daily have been given to staff from various groups ranging from the NHS to Transport to London to teachers, music groups and others.
Celebrity corner
Fallen seeds
Men: Stefanos Tsitsipas (3), Jannik Sinner (19), Nikoloz Basilashvili (24), Reilly Opelka (27), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (30)
Women: Petra Kvitova (10), Veronika Kudermetova (29)
Brit watch
Murray was one of three British players to make the second round after Liam Broady and Katie Boulter also recorded memorable wins on the opening day of the Championships.
All aboard the Fed Express
Eight-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer gets his campaign under way against Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday in the second match on Centre Court. It will be his first match in SW19 since he lost to Novak Djokovic after four hours and 57 minutes in the longest singles final at the All England Club.
Before the Swiss great takes to the court, women’s number one Ash Barty faces Carla Suarez Navarro, while Serena Williams begins her latest pursuit of Margaret Court’s total of 24 grand slam singles titles in the final Centre Court match of the day against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
On Court One, three Germans are set to feature on the same day England take on Germany in the last-16 of Euro 2020 across the other side of London at Wembley, with Jan-Lennard Struff looking to take out second seed Daniil Medvedev, while British players Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie will hope to follow Murray into the second round.
