With barely anything still going on, it’s time to wrap up the blog. What a fascinating day it’s been. It will be remembered in the main for Cori Gauff’s astonishing victory over Venus Williams, who must have felt like she was taking part in a changing of the guard as she fell to her 15-year-old opponent. But it wasn’t all good for the youngsters. While Felix Auger Aliassime secured his first ever grand slam win with a victory over Vasek Pospisil, there were unhappy exits for Naomi Osaka, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Experience still counts, as Novak Djokovic demonstrated with a calm victory over Phillipp Kohlschreiber. Thanks for reading and emailing. I’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll be joined by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams. See you then. Bye.
Victoria Azarenka, the former world No1, is through to the second round after seeing off Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-4 on Court 12. She plays Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic next.
1 July 2019: a day that’s likely to carry heavy relevance in the history books.
1 July 2019: the day Cori Gauff won her first ever match at a grand slam.
1 July 2019: the day Felix Auger Aliassime won his first ever match at a grand slam.
Grigor Dimitrov has shown exactly why he was plonked on Court 15. A former semi-finalist here, the ATP World Tour Finals champion in 2017, the world No49 is nothing more than an afterthought at a grand slam at the moment. If you’re on Court 15 it’s a sign of irrelevance. Unfortunately you just can’t rely on Dimitrov. He’s lovely to watch at times, but there’s no substance to him and he’s done very well to contrive to lose this one, going down 2-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 to Corentin Moutet, a French qualifier who plays Felix Auger Aliassime in the second round. Elsewhere David Goffin, the 21st seed, has beaten Bradley Klahn 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
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Kyle Edmund beats Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Medical timeout over for Jaume Munar, Kyle Edmund’s able to have another go at serving for the match. And he makes sure there’s no funny business this time. He earns two match points and finishes off his Spanish opponent with an ace. A good performance from the British No1 means he’ll play the fiery and unpredictable Fernando Verdasco in the second round.
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Jaume Munar holds. Kyle Edmund will serve for it again at 6-4, 6-4, 5-4. He’ll have to wait, though. Munar has the trainer on because of a finger problem and is having a medical timeout.
Jelena Ostapenko’s French Open triumph in 2017 might end up going down as one of the weirdest slam wins of all time. The Latvian, unseeded here, has gone out in the first round after losing 6-2, 6-2 to Hsieh Su-wei, the 28th seed.
Serving for the match, Kyle Edmund squanders a match point before netting a forehand to gift a break to Jaume Munar. It’s not over yet. Edmund’s lead is cut to 6-4, 6-4, 5-3. Munar will serve.
Another retirement. This time it’s Gael Monfils, the 16th seed, who was trailing his fellow Frenchman 6-7, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-0 when he called it a day.
Cori Gauff’s dad was so happy he ripped his baseball cap off his head. Dads, eh? His daughter’s look at the end was quite something. That bottom lip sure was trembling. To put it into context Venus Williams won four of her seven grand slams before Gauff was born.
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In other news Caroline Wozniacki is through to the second round after Sara Sorribes Tormo retires injured in the first set on Court 2. Woznacki was 4-0 down, but she was leading 5-4 by the time Sorribes Tormo called it quits.
Cori Gauff beats Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4!
Serving for the match, Gauff begins by sending a backhand wide. She wins the next point, though, and follows it up with a cool ace for 30-15. Then Williams nets a forehand return, giving up two match points. This has been an incredible performance from Gauff. Yet Williams saves the first with a huge forehand. Gauff challenges it unsuccessfully. Then Williams crunches a backhand down the line for deuce. What a shot. The next one’s not so smart, though, a forehand into the net giving Gauff another match point. Again, though, Williams saves it, this time with a forehand into the corner. Stranded behind the baseline, there’s a gasp as Gauff slips. She doesn’t appear to have suffered any damage, but it’s not long before an error hands Williams a break point. Amazingly, though, Gauff goes for an 108mph second serve and Williams hits a forehand return wide. A fourth chance arrives for Gauff. This time there’s no reprieve for Williams, who nets her final forehand. Gauff can’t believe it. She walks to the net to shake hands with her idol, who greets her with a big, generous smile. Then Gauff lets a few tears roll down her cheeks. In her box her parents are ecstatic. Their daughter’s 15! She’s just knocked the great Venus Williams out of Wimbledon!
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Oh my! Coco Gauff shakes off the disappointment of dropping her serve by earning a break point with some expert hustling that draws an error from Venus Williams, who then proceeds to clip a volley wide! Gauff breaks to lead 6-4, 5-4 and will serve for the match.
Victoria Azarenka, not the unseeded player you want in a first-round draw, takes the first set 6-4 against Alize Cornet on Court 12. On Court 18, Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, is a set down to Hsieh Su-wei.
Jaume Munar’s fizzling out. He plonks an overhead into the net and Kyle Edmund breaks to lead 6-4, 6-4, 3-0. Nice and simple for the British No1. If only the same was true for Grigor Dimitrov, though. The former future Roger Federer’s lowly ranking is demonstrated by his spot on Court 15 and he’s busy making life difficult for himself at the moment. He was two sets up against French qualifier Corentin Moutet, but now he’s a break down in the fourth. Oh Grigor.
The youngster finally wobbles. Coco Gauff double-faults on break point and Venus Williams is back in it at 4-4 in the second set.
Kyle Edmund is a set away from round two. He leads 6-4, 6-4 against the entertaining but flawed Jaume Munar.
The joint second fastest serve of the day has been hit by Coco Gauff. She’s 15. It registered at 116mph. Since you’re asking Venus Williams, her opponent here, is level with Naomi Osaka at the top of the board on 118mph. But here’s a reminder that fasting serving doesn’t always mean accurate serving. A few untimely double faults from Williams are enough for the eerily composed Gauff to earn what could be a pivotal break. The youngster leads 6-4, 3-2.
Caroline Wozniacki, the 14th seed, has made a slow start against Sara Sorribes Tormo on Cout 2. She trails 0-4 against the unseeded Spaniard. Elsewhere Daria Kasatkina, the 29th seed, is out after losing 6-3, 6-1 to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic.
It increasingly looks like Andy Murray and Serena Williams are going to partner up in the mixed doubles. Let’s hope she doesn’t end up withdrawing, though. That’s what happened to John McEnroe when he came out of retirement to partnet with Steffi Graf in 1999. She ended up going deep in the singles, reaching the final, and pulled out of their mixed doubles semi-final.
The kid’s serious. Serving for the set, Coco Gauff zings an ace down the middle to lead 40-15. Two set points. She only needs one. Venus Williams, the former champion, nets a backhand and we are one set away from one hell of a story.
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Venus Williams lashes a few thudding forehands away to stay in the first set. Coco Guaff will serve for it at 5-4. How are her nerves? Jangling, I assume.
Such composure from Coco Gauff, easy power in her groundstrokes enough for her to consolidate the break and lead 4-2 against Venus Williams. The 15-year-old’s enjoying her Wimbledon debut at the moment.
While all that was going on Coco Gauff broke Venus Williams, who dropped her serve when she fired wide. Gauff, at 15 the youngest ever qualifier into the main draw here, leads 3-2 against her fellow American on Court 1.
Kyle Edmund finally decides he might as well take a set point. After plenty of faffing around he converts at the 10th time of asking to win the first set 6-4 against the sprightly Jaume Munar on Centre Court. It’s an entertaining match and it wouldn’t be hugely surprising if Munar nicks a set.
Another seed bites the dust: Dusan Lajovic is out, beaten in four by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. On Court 2 Caroline Wozniacki has arrived. The 14th seed takes on Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Does Kyle Edmund want to win the first set on Centre Court? I’ve lost track of how many set points he’s blown now. He needs to be careful here.
Daniil Medvedev, the 11th seed, will play Alex Popyrin in the second round after beating Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 7-6, 7-6. That should be tasty. Meanwhile Milos Raonic has seen off Pranjesh Gunneswaran, beating the Indian 7-6, 6-4, 6-2, while Venus Williams and Coco Gauff are underway on Court 1.
Thomas Fabbiano beats Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3
Serving to stay in the match, Tsitsipas lets the game run to 30-40, at which point he balloons a forehand long. Thomas Fabbiano gets there in the end, as I always knew he would. The world No89 has beaten the sixth seed, who hastily follows his bitter rival Alexander Zverev out the SW19 exit. This side of the draw suddenly looks rather open.
Right, Stefanos Tsitsipas might be about to lose. As, er, I predicted. Thomas Fabbiano leads 5-3 in the fifth set on Court 2. Tsitsipas is serving.
Naomi Osaka was so upset about her defeat to Yulia Putintseva that she had to cut her press conference short. Here’s an excerpt:
Q. Has it been difficult to get used to the new level of fame that you have? You’ve pretty much become a global superstar over the past few months.
NAOMI OSAKA: Can I leave? I feel like I’m about to cry.
From 0-2 down to 4-3 up. Things are going encouragingly for Kyle Edmund on a subdued Centre Court, where he leads by a break in the early knockings against Jaume Munar. You sense the crowd are yet to to fully take to young Kyle. They don’t get him yet. He’ll probably need to go on a run to make a name for himself here.
Jiri Vesely beats Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5!
Okay, this one is legit. Down goes Alexander Zverev, a pretty lazy, conviction-free volley into the net summing up his afternoon. The sixth seed’s quest to make an impact at a grand slam goes on. He’s been well beaten by Jiri Vesely, a Czech qualifier who’s right to look very pleased with himself given all his recent bad luck with injuries.
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If you’re willing to believe anything I ever say again, trust me when I tell you Milos Raonic is now two sets up against Pranjesh Gunnerswaran. Meanwhile Guido Pella has beaten Marius Copil 7-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
I did wonder why they were showing endless highlights of Tsitsipas’s best shots on the Court 2 feed. Then I realised it was a fifth set. In my defence I’m sleep deprived. I should probably get a coffee.
Ignore that! I got distracted by Matthew Engel and misread the score. Stefanos Tstipas is not out. He’s into a fifth set with Thomas Fabbiano after winning the fourth-set tie-break. Sorry for prematurely penning your demise, Stefanos.
Stefanos Tsitsipas sees two set points come and go in the fourth-set tie-break. Thomas Fabbiano is quite the fighter. It’s 6-6 in the breaker.
Kyle Edmund and Jaume Munar have arrived on Centre Court. The British No1 has never played the 22-year-old Spaniard before.
Stefanos Tsitsipas holds for a tie-break. His hopes are still on the line.
Over on Court 2, Thomas Fabbiano is a game away from the second round. The Italian leads 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-5 against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will serve to stay in the tournament. Elsewhere Gael Monfils, the 16th seed, has won a first-set tie-break against fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert. And if we’re talking tie-breaks we have to mention Milos Raonic, who’s won one against India’s Pranjesh Gunneswaran on Court 12. Raonic leads by a set and a break.
Speaking of feisty competitors, the spiky Danielle Collins is through to the second round. The unseeded American’s beaten Zarina Diyas 6-3, 7-5.
Yulia Putintseva beats Naomi Osaka 7-6 (4), 6-2!
A lame attempt at a drop shot from Osaka gives Putintseva two match points. The end is nigh for the world No2. Though she saves the first match point with a big return, she’s only delaying the inevitable, a limp backhand slice into the net sealing her fate. That’s it: the Australian Open and US Open is out, her third-round defeat at the French Open followed by an even earlier exit at Wimbledon. It isn’t easy, you know, this grand slam lark. Mind you, Putintseva is a horrible first-round draw to land. The feisty Kazakh, who has plenty of tricks up her sleeve, appears to have Osaka’s number on grass.
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Alex Popyrin, the teenage Australian qualifier, has secured a very good win over Pablo Carreno Busta, a former US Open semi-finalist. Popyrin took it 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Naomi Osaka is on desperately thin ice now. She pulls a backhand wide and Yulia Putintseva breaks to lead 7-6, 5-2 on Centre Court. I should have put money on her.
Back to Centre Court, where Yulia Putintseva can spy the finishing line. She leads Naomi Osaka by a set and a break. The world No2 wasn’t kidding when she said she wasn’t comfortable on grass. Not much is going right for her at the moment, as demonstrated by the moment she dumps a backhand volley into the net to hand Putintseva a 7-6, 4-2 lead.
Alexander Zverev doesn’t learn. The sixth seed, still so unreliable in grand slams, concludes a dreadful third set by dropping his serve for a second time. Jiri Vesely, who’s had rubbish luck with injuries recently, leads 4-6, 6-, 6-2.
Jiri Vesely fights back from 0-40 to hold for a 4-6, 6-3, 5-2 against Alexander Zverev, who really needs to pull his finger out. Back on Centre Court, there’s no sign of a break in the second set between Naomi Osaka and Yulia Putintseva, who continues to cause the world No2 problems.
Ivo Karlovic keeps on going. The Croatian ace machine has beaten Andrea Arnaboldi 6-4, 6-4, 7-6.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Andy Murray’s doubles partner, calmed fears about his fitness after losing to Kevin Anderson earlier.
Q. Were you worried yesterday you wouldn’t be able to play?
PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: I didn’t know the pain I was feeling, so I was -- yes, you start, when you’re in pain and you’re having a Grand Slam, like, the next day, you start imagining bad things. But I’m more positive now that I played my match. Maybe not the best match I could play, but I was playing. My quad feels good, so, yeah, I hope it’s going to be all right. I think it’s gonna be all right.
Q. We saw you had the strapping on. Could you feel the pain at all while you were playing today?
PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: No, it was all right. Really was all right. He was just better today. He played the better match. It was all right. Yeah, for sure when I entered the court, having stopped the practice yesterday after half an hour, I was, yeah, a little bit scared, I would say, but as the match went, I played and, yeah, so from that point it’s positive.
Q. Did you speak to Andy yesterday after...
PIERRE-HUGUES HERBERT: No (smiling). No, no, no. As soon as I did the medical tests and it was all right, I was feeling better, because I was really scared of the tests. But I don’t want to imagine me having to say anything to Andy about an injury or anything. So, no.
There’ll be no repeat of Marketa Vondrousova’s French Open exploits. A finalist at Roland Garros, the 16th seed is out in the first round here after losing 6-4, 6-4 to the USA’s Madison Brengle. At least she’s free to play mixed doubles if she gets a message from Andy Murray.
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A more surprising shock is on the cards on Court 2. Thomas Fabbiano, the world No89, forges ahead to lead 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 against Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose bitter rival Alexander Zverev also finds himself in a spot of bother on Court 1, where Jiri Vesely leads 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 against the sixth seed.
An unsurprising shock on the cards on Centre Court. Yulia Putintseva, always an awkward opponent, has fought back from a break down to take the first set on a tie-break against Naomi Osaka, the world No2.
Alexander Zverev isn’t known for winning in straight sets in slams, so it’s no surprise to see him drop the second set against Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely. Zverev still seems to be struggling with his focus. Vesely took it 6-3.
Stefanos Tsitsipas has gathered his thoughts and got himself back on level terms on Court 2. The Greek won the second set 6-3 against the impertinent Thomas Fabbiano. It’s still on serve in the third set, as it is in the second on Court 1, where Alexander Zverev is a set up against Jiri Vesely.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has his first ever win at a grand slam. The Canadian whizzkid charges to the net to put away a punchy volley and seal a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win over Vasek Pospisil. The 18-year-old looked very assured despite all the attention that’s been on him in the last few weeks. Coming back from a set down against an experienced opponent is a sign of a strong character. He believes in himself.
Anastasija Sevastova is through to the second round. She’s thrashed American qualifier Kristie Ahn 6-3, 6-4.
Robin Haase, one of the four players who resigned from the ATP player council over the weekend, has put off-court distractions to one side and reached the second round with a 6-1 6-3, 6-1 win over Jozef Kovalik. Speaking of which, here’s what Kevin Anderson, the vice-chair of the council, said after his win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Q. In recent weeks a lot of people said many things about the players council. Do you think they need more transparency with the council? Do you think players have more power when it comes to making the main decisions?
KEVIN ANDERSON: There’s a lot that’s going on outside of the scenes, outside of the tennis court. Obviously I’m involved with a lot of it, being on the council.
I think the main thing is really not to get too caught up in some of the negative stuff. I’m really proud of everything we’ve been able to achieve. I think tennis as a global sport has continued to reach new heights. Player prize money has gone up a lot. I think more guys are able to make a living playing tennis.
By no means are we done. We want to make tennis as an attractive sport to as many people as possible. That’s what’s been focused on.
There’s been a lot of outside topics, I guess, or things that we’ve had to deal with that we’re still dealing with. It’s been a bit of a tough process, to be honest with you.
I think, as always, the more we can stay together, especially as players, the more we’ll be able to achieve at the end of the day.
Q. Do you think there should be more transparency, letting people know what’s going on?
KEVIN ANDERSON: I think yes and no. I still think that’s something we can do better. I still think communication can be better. Obviously it’s tough. There’s a lot of information that goes on. I think sometimes management have a difficult time finding a balance between giving players enough information but also understanding and sometimes maybe just giving -- I mean, we’re three days outside of Wimbledon. I feel like they’re sometimes hesitant to give us that information. Sometimes players want maybe too much information. I think we’re still trying to find that balance.
Q. Last year you spent six-plus hours locked in a deadlock with John Isner. Last Friday you spent seven hours locked in a deadlock with John Isner. Does the council need a tiebreaker system also? How much does it take out of you on the eve of a slam to be having these long things? Three of the people on your half of the equation already quit. What sort of toll does it have on you?
KEVIN ANDERSON: I’ve been on the council now for seven years. I remember years ago already having those feelings. I’ve tried to be very vocal. I think that’s been probably one of the more frustrating parts from my side: I don’t feel like I’ve been able to communicate or find a way with management yet to try and speed along the process.
I feel like it’s amazing how different I’m hearing some of the older guys, especially in the ‘90s, from what I’ve heard, the top guys weren’t nearly as interested in some of the matters that the players are right now. I think it’s great that the players want so much information.
I think it’s a very -- what I was saying earlier, there’s a very delicate balance between also trusting our board reps and having them make the best decisions for us. Because we are so involved, these meetings are taking longer.
I do feel like one of the highlights from our last meeting was I think moving forward there will be a slightly different not necessarily structure, but the way we go about the meetings, the way we discuss, have the dialogue. I don’t know what that looks like yet. Those are some of the messages I received from our management.
I really hope that’s the case because it definitely takes a pretty long toll on me, starting at 5:00 and getting home at 11:30 just a few days before. Yeah, I mean, just not used to sitting around for long periods of time. Sometimes the discussions can get quite intense, as well.
I definitely feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement there.
Karen Khachanov made a bit of a meal of it, but the powerful young Russian is through to the second round after beating Soonwon Kown 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. As for other young guns, Felix Auger-Aliassime is bidding to win in four sets against Vasek Pospisil, Alexander Zverev has won the first set 6-4 against Jiri Vesely (a dangerous qualifier) and Stefanos Tsitsipas remains a set down against Thomas Fabbiano. And do keep an eye on young Alex Popyrin. The Australian qualifier, who made the third round at the Australian Open, has just taken the first set on a tie-break against Pablo Carreno Busta.
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Er, as I was saying. Naomi Osaka wastes no time breaking Yulia Putintseva, taking advantage of some dismal serving to stomp into a 2-1 lead.
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In the second match on Centre Court Naomi Osaka faces Yulia Putintseva. Osaka’s form has been scratchy recently. She struggled at the French Open, going out in the third round, and lost to Putintseva on the grass of Birmingham last month. Don’t be surprised if the world No2 goes out here.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is shaking his head and trying to contain his frustration. It isn’t going his way at the moment on Court 2. The young Greek can do nothing to stop Thomas Fabbiano from breaking for a 5-4 lead on the first set, before serving it out comfortably. Fabbiano, ranked 89th in the world, is playing very well.
Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, the 12th seed, leads 6-3, 2-0 against the American qualifier Kristie Ahn. And in more bad news for American hopes Jessica Pegula has lost 6-4, 6-4 to Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu on Court 6.
Felix Auger-Aliassime clenches his fist after watching a Vasek Pospisil forehand drift into the net. The youngster leads 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on Court 12. It’s bizarre to think he’s never won a grand slam match before. He’s the 19th seed!
Novak Djokovic beats Phillipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-5, 6-3!
The defending champion looks as good as ever, lashing a forehand away to seal a doddle of a win over his German opponent. That was very smooth from Djokovic. He was broken in the first game of the match but was never in any real peril thereafter.
A five-set battle ends on Court 15 and former top-1o player Janko Tipsarevic is through,a a 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 winner over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. Back on Court 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime lands a telling blow midway through the third set, piercing returns and glorious passing shots helping him to a crucial break and a 5-7, 6-2, 4-3 lead over Vasek Pospisil.
Ernests Gulbis is out. Alas. The Latvian dandy lost 6-1, 7-6 (12), 6-2 to Leo Mayer.
Plenty of budding wonderkids about today. On Court 18 Karen Khachanov has been dragged into a fourth set by Soonwoo Kwon. Khachanov, the 10th seed, leads 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 1-1. As for Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fascinating young Greek is down an early break to the unseeded Italian Thomas Fabbiano.
Simona Halep produces a delightful dink at the net to seal her place in the second round with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who will be kicking herself after blowing a 5-2 lead in the second set. A good win for Halep, though, as she had to absorb a lot of heavy hitting from the other side of the net. With that one done the next match on Court 1 sees Alexander Zverev take on Jiri Vesely.
Simona Halep survives a set point and holds for 5-5 in the second set on Court 1. Aliaksandra Sasnovich will feel she should have forced a third set now.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich serves for the second set on Court 1 and dumps a backhand into the net to let Simona Halep break to love. Ouch. Halep will serve to keep the set alive at 4-5.
It’s all square on Court 12. Felix Auger-Aliassime takes the second set 6-2 against Vasek Pospisil.
Iga Swiatek made the fourth round at the French Open, but the 18-year-old Polish prodigy’s Wimbledon is over. She’s lost 6-2, 7-6 to Switzerland’s Victoria Golubic.
Novak Djokovic holds easily to lead 6-4, 7-5 on Centre Court. Move along, nothing to see here.
Novak Djokovic does one of his loud roars. That would have given anyone who’d dozed off in the lunchtime son on Centre Court quite the jolt. “Come onnnnnnnnn!” Djokovic cries, really giving it some, really stretching out that “onnnnnnnn”, after breaking to lead 6-3, 6-5 against Phillipp Kohlschreiber.
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There haven’t been too many surprising results so far, but here’s one, Magdalena Rybarikova thumping Aryna Sabalenka, the 10th seed, 6-2, 6-4. That said Rybarikova did reach the semis here in 2017.
Thanks, Gregg. And hello again. Away from Centre Court, Karolina Pliskova, a player who really should have a better record here, romps to a 6-2, 7-6 win over Lin Zhu of China. What else is happening? Well, in the all-Canadian affair on Court 12, it’s getting intriguing. Vasek Pospisil stole the first set 7-5, but Felix Auger-Aliassime is 4-1 up in the second. Meanwhile Petra Martic, seeded 24th, has recovered from a set down to defeat the Jennifer Brady 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
What a hold by Kohlschreiber! Here’s giving Centre Court a proper match to watch. He has clung on to his serve again, saving two break points and making it known to the world No 1 that he won’t be a pushover. He leads 5-4 in the second set. Raise your game Novak! Right, Jacob’s back. So, I’ll hand back over to him. Enjoy your afternoon.
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Halep is moving freely again after her fall. She needs to because Sasnovich is proving a fierce competitor. She has saved a break point to take a 2-1 lead over Halep in the second set. Both players are firing shots at each other with some incredibly loud grunts too. It’s making for a fine spectacle.
Tock! Tock! Tock! The pace of the match between Kohlschreiber and Djokovic has picked up. After Djokovic held his serve to love to level the second set at 3-3, he put pressure on the German’s serve by increasing the intensity. Remarkably, the 35-year-old responded brilliantly and raised his game, outlasting the world No 1 from the back of the court in a couple of highly entertaining rallies to get his head in front again at 4-3.
Kohlschreiber hasn’t completely folded. He’s kept his head and he’s now 3-2 up in the second set.
Simona Halep wins the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-4! The seventh seed and 2018 French Open champion was made to work hard by the world No 36 over 50 minutes. She also had to run off a nasty-looking tweak of her knee ligaments after slipping on the lush grass on No 1 court.
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Come on, hands up who’s going down to the hairdresser’s and asking for this:
Kohlschreiber can’t back up the break, though. Djokovic is back in the set at 2-1 and the German is giving himself a good talking to on his chair in the drinks break. He tried to force a couple of rallies there and went long with his forehand when he perhaps should have just stayed in the rally and waited for better opportunities.
Perhaps Djokovic has not quite warmed up fully just yet. Kohlschreiber holds serve to love and then breaks Djokovic to give himself the chance of taking a 3-0 lead.
Rybarikova takes the first set against No 10 seed Sabalenka 6-2! Quite a surprise that.
Djokovic wins the first set against Kohlschreiber 6-3! The German appears to have peaked way too early in this match with that surprise break of the world No 1’s serve in the opening game. The 35-year-old is giving it a go, mind. He controlled a wonderful winning backhand volley at the net at 0-30 in that last game but the defending champion is in full control now. He wraps up the set in 38 minutes.
Kohlschreiber is battling gamely with Djokovic. He saves a set point to stay in the first set at 5-3 but the world No 1 is still moving through the gears, calibrating his forehand and stretching his limbs.
Here’s Gerard’s Meagher’s report from Wimbledon on Heather Watson’s victory over Caty McNally.
The women’s 10th seed, Aryna Sabalenka, is having a stinker of a first set against the world No 139, Magdalena Rybarikova. She’s trailing 5-1 on No 3 court having made a whopping 12 unforced errors. She needs to shake off that rust quickly.
Thanks Jacob. Djokovic has broken Kohlschreiber again. Here’s 3-1 up now and serving. That was quite possibly the shortest moment of panic in the history of tennis.
The day’s bubbling along nicely but I need some lunch. So allow me to hand over to Gregg Bakowski for a bit.
Novak Djokovic breaks back. Panic over.
Alert! Alert! Alert! Novak Djokovic has dropped his serve in the very first game on Centre Court! This is not a drill! Phillipp Kohlschreiber has broken the world No1.
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The USA’s Reilly Opelka will play Stan Wawrinka in the second round. He’s beaten Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-3, 7-6, 6-1 to secure his first ever win at Wimbledon. And did you know the 21-year-old is even taller than Ivo Karlovic at 6ft 11in? Now you do.
At the moment it looks likely Annett Konetatveit will be Heather Watson’s second-round opponent. The 28th seed won the first set 6-0 against Shelby Rogers, though she’s a break down in the second. There’s still time to turn that round and win in two, though. Elsewhere Petra Martic, the 24th seed, is in a spot of bother against the USA’s Jennifer Brady, who took the first set 6-3 n Court 17, while Karolina Pliskova, fresh from winning the Eastbourne title on the weekend, is 3-0 up in the first set against China’s Lin Zhu on Court 1.
Play will begin soon on Centre Court and Court 1. Novak Djokovic and Phillipp Kohlschreiber have arrived on the former and Simona Halep and Aliaksandra Sasnovich are going through the formalities on the latter. Meanwhile the kid everyone’s talking about, Felix Auger-Aliassime, is about to begin against fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil. That one could be hugely entertaining.
Good news for Andy Murray: Pierre-Hugues Herbert is out of the singles and free to concentrate on his doubles partnership with the Scot. The Frenchman was no match for the fourth seed Kevin Anderson, who’s raced through with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win.
“Peak Heather Watson,” Tim Griffiths says. “Just about to go for lunch but thought I’d catch the last game. Wowser, four match Points and threee saved breaks in that last game! I don’t just need lunch but a lie down.”
Someone tell Judy Murray that Feliciano Lopez has won. The veteran Spaniard appears to have recovered from his epic run at Queen’s. He’s beaten Marcos Giron in three comfortable sets.
Heather Watson beats Caty McNally 7-6, 6-2!
Watson sees three match points come and go, but she carves out a fourth and is rewarded for her persistence when her 17-year-old opponent nets a forehand on the run. That’s a big win for Watson, who’s been on a rotten run. She roars after the final point, letting it all out, and then buries her face in her towel after returning to her chair. Could this be the jumpstart her career needs? She awaits the winner of Annett Kontaveit, the 28th seed, and the USA’s Shelby Rogers.
Stan Wawrinka is through after beating Ruben Bemelmans 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. That’s also how you do it.
Roberto Bautista Agut was in no mood for messing around. He’s sent Peter Gojowczk on his way, beating the German 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. That’s how you do it.
The scoreline has a deceptive look to it now on Court 12. Heather Watson leads 7-6, 5-1 against Caty McNally, who’s serving to keep the match alive. After all the drama of the first set it’s turned into a cruise for Wild Card Watto.
There’s no sign of any drama for either Kevin Anderson or Stan Wawrinka. The former leads 6-4, 6-4 against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who should be nice and fresh for the doubles with Andy Murray, and the former’s closing in on a straight-sets win over Ruben Bemelmans.
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The tide is turning on Court 12. After scrapping away for most of the match Heather Watson now leads by a set and a break against Caty McNally. The 10-year age gap is starting to make a difference.
We’ve got some completed matches. Elina Svitolina has crushed Daria Gavrilova 7-5, 6-0. Madison Keys has cruised to victory over Luksika Kumkhum, winning 6-3, 6-2. Sofia Kenin, seeded 27th, has beaten Australia’s Astra Sharma 6-4, 6-2. Marie Bouzkova, a lucky loser, is through after beating Mona Barthel 6-3, 6-3. And Dayana Yastremka has seen off Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-3, 6-3.
Heather Watson has somehow won the first set on Court 12. Watson has landed 43% of her first serves and won 60% of her first serves and 38% on her second. She’s made 15 unforced errors and Caty McNally has twice served for the set. Yet it’s Watson’s good fortune to be up against a young opponent whose talent is being undermined by nerves and inexperience on her first grand slam outing. McNally has made 22 unforced errors, dropped her serve four times and run out of steam in the tie-break, losing it 7-3.
In scenes akin to last night Under-21 Euros final, Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut is continuing to make life miserable for Germany’s Peter Gojowczky. The Spaniard leads 6-3, 6-2.
Heather Watson saves one set point with a gorgeous forehand down the line. Then Caty McNally fails to take advantage of an inviting high ball on the second and ends up netting a forehand for deuce. She follows that with a double-fault and Watson takes the break point with a rasping forehand that’s too hot for McNally to handle. Tie-break!
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On Court 18 Elina Svitolina leads by a set and a break against Daria Gavrilova, while Maria Sakkari has just snatched the first set on a tie-break against the USA’s Bernarda Pera. In better news for American fans, though, Caty McNally has just broken again, a brilliant forehand down the line setting her up for a volleyed winner at the net. The American youngster leads 6-5 and will serve for the first set again.
Look who’s here.
Andy Murray has just arrived at #Wimbledon, looking really relaxed and simply happy to be here.
— Katie Falkingham (@KatieFalkingham) July 1, 2019
As he walked up through the practice courts, a few fans spotted him: “Hi Andy!”
He shot them back a smile and a wave #bbctennis pic.twitter.com/Qf4w9IjuYn
Ach, I’m only kidding. This is Caty McNally’s first ever match in a grand slam main draw. She’s actually playing some really lovely stuff at times, but she’s bound to be nervous.
The rollercoaster continues. Caty McNally double-faults on break point, Heather Watson earns a reprieve. It’s 5-5 and, quite frankly, both there’s an argument both players deserve to lose.
Heather Watson is chucking in some dismal, powderpuff serves, all of them just begging to be hit. Caty McNally duly obliges, taking command of the game with some fizzing returns, and earning two break points with a deft backhand volley. She converts the first to lead 5-4 and will serve for the opening set.
Heather Watson has done well to get back on serve on Court 12. It’s been an error-strewn match. The quality isn’t particularly high. But while Watson’s there for the taking, Caty McNally hasn’t quite been able to press on yet. It’s 4-4. Watson is serving.
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Feliciano Lopez, triumphant in the singles and the doubles at Queen’s (can someone remind me who partnered the Spaniard in the doubles?), is a set up against American qualifier Marcos Giron on Court 11. I can barely keep up! Stan Wawrinka waits for an error from Ruben Bemelmans on set point and one duly arrives, allowing the Swiss to take the opener 6-3 on Court 2, while Madison Keys has won the first set 6-3 against Luksika Kumkhum.
Kevin Anderson bangs down a few heavy serves and takes the first set 6-3 against Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Court 3. Just the six aces from Anderson, who’s won 88% of points off his first serve so far. Things are starting to move now. A few first sets have been settled. Roberto Bautista Agut is a set to the good against Peter Gojowczyk, Reilly Opelka is on top against Cedrik-Marcel Stebe and Marie Bouzkova is looking to take full advantage of entering as a lucky loser - she’s taken the first set 6-3 against Mona Barthel on Court 9.
Elina Svitolina, the eighth seed, is up a break and leads 4-3 against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova, who is yet to quite fulfil her potential. Elsewhere Madison Keys, a player who surely has the weapons to flourish on grass, leads 5-2 against Thailand’s Luksika Kumkhum.
I recently became a proud father and now I can’t stop whistling nursery rhymes. Current favourite: the one about a short and stout teapot. Anyway on Court 2 Stan Wawrinka, who’s not got much of a pedigree on grass, is in command against Belgium’s Ruben Bemelmans. Is this Wawrinka’s year? He has added Dani Vallverdu in his camp for some grass-court expertise. If he gets going he always poses a threat. But it’s still hard to see him lasting the course here. The surface just doesn’t seem to suit his game.
Finally, a hold on Court 12, and it goes to Caty McNally, who comes through deuce to lead 3-1 against the floundering Heather Watson. The crowd would love to see more from Watson, but at the moment she’s showing why it’s been such a struggle for her this year. The atmosphere is very subdued.
Kevin Anderson is up and running on Court 3. The South African saved break points in the first game of the match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and has since broken for a 3-1 lead. Here, if you’d like to find out more about last year’s beaten finalist and semi-final marathon man, someone interviewed him recently.
That didn’t last long. Caty McNally mishits a forehand and it flies past the baseline to let Heather Watson back on level terms. Elsewhere Roberto Bautista Agut, the 23rd seed, is dominating against Peter Gojowczyk on Court 4. The Spaniard leads 3-0 already.
Oh dear. Heather Watson serves three double-faults in the very first game on Court 12, finds herself down a break point and dumps a backhand wide to lose her serve straight away. Caty McNally’s quick out the blocks.
And ... play! Wimbledon 2019 is underway! Balls are flying, lines are facing judgement, the Pimm’s is flowing.
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Do you think Heather Watson deserves a wild card? She failed to make it out of French Open qualifying and lost in the first round of the Australian Open. She’s had a rotten year and hasn’t done anything of note in singles competition for a while. She’s 27 now; you can’t talk about potential any more. But she is a Brit, so she didn’t have to go through qualifying. Lucky her. Still, she’ll need her wits about her in the first match on Court 12, where she faces American teenager Caty McNally, ranked 165th in the world and making her grand slam debut.
Players are heading out now. Tok! Tok! Tokity tok! That’s the sound of them knocking up. We’ll have play soon!
The sun’s out, the gates are open and we’re waiting for players to take to courts. The forecast looks good at the moment, so we might not need the new roof on Court 1 to spring into action for a while.
Preparatory reading
Preamble
Hello and welcome to day one of Wimbledon 2019! And a very good day to you too, unless you happen to be Rafael Nadal, who was seen being frogmarched into one of the re-education holding pens they have under Centre Court by a stern-looking All England Club official. Constructed specially this year, costing a cool £23.6m to build, the centre has been put in place to deal with dissenting voices such as Nadal, who’s in dire need of a large dose of SW19 nostalgia after all that complaining about the seeding formula they use here. Mark my words, he’ll be back to gushing about strawberries and cream once he’s finished watching the three-hour highlights reel of Tim Henman’s very best volleys, complete with a Sue Barker voiceover of course
Naughty Rafa, though! All that whinging about being shunted down to No3 seed to make way for Roger Federer. It’s Wimbledon. They can do whatever they want. If they want Kyle Edmund Centre Court, they get Kyle Edmund on Centre Court. You can complain all you like about the fact Edmund’s seeded 30th and hasn’t done much all year, but he’s the British No1, so he gets the prime slot. He’s on third on Centre against the tricky Spaniard, Jaume Munar.
Munar’s from Mallorca. Rafa Nadal’s from Mallorca! But that’s enough Nadal chat for now. Despite the seed furore Nadal has at least ended up on the opposite side of the draw to Novak Djokovic, who begins his defence of his title with a tough one against the experienced German, Phillipp Kohlschreiber, in the first match on Centre Court. Djokovic is bidding for his fifth Wimbledon title, which would bring him level with Bjorn Borg, and his 16th major. But he has lost to Kohlschreiber this year and endured semi-final disappointment when he met Dominic Thiem at the French Open last month. Caution is advisable.
Might there be a day of upsets, then? The second match on Centre sees Naomi Osaka face the pugnacious Kazakh, Yulia Putintseva, who might fancy her chances of upsetting the world No2. Osaka is the Australian Open and US Open champion, but she’s been troubled by injury of late, lost early in the French Open and is uncomfortable on grass.
As ever, you never know what to expect from the women. Simona Halep, the seventh seed, opens on Court 1 against Aliaksandra Sasnovich and suffered an early exit last year. And in the last match of the day on that venue, a potential firecracker: Venus Williams, the brilliant veteran champion, in an all-American tussle with the potential future of US tennis, the precociously talented Cauri “Coco” Gauff, at 15 the youngest player ever to qualify for the main draw here.
The first round offers so many delights. Look around and you’ll see Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded 19th despite possessing no grand slam record, against another Canadian, Vasek Pospisil. There’s Kevin Anderson, a beaten finalist last year, up against Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Andy Murray’s doubles partner. Stefanos Tsitsipas against Thomas Fabbiano. Stan Wawrinka against Ruben Bemelmans. Grigor Dimitrov on Court 15. Poor Grigor!
There’s the power of Jelena Ostapenko, unseeded despite winning the French Open two years ago, against the wiles of Hsieh Su-wei. Caroline Wozniacki against Sara Sorribes Tormo. An intriguing unseeded battle between Alize Cornet and Victoria Azarenka. Marketa Vondrousva, beaten in the French Open final by Ash Barty, against the USA’s Madison Brengle. And let’s not forget Britain’s Heather Watson trying to prove she deserves her main draw wild card when she faces the USA’s Madison Brengle.
Come on, Rafa! Turn that frown upside down.
Play begins at: 11am BST on the outside courts, 1pm BST on the show courts.
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