Wimbledon is now open, not as usual

Tennis-Wimbledon-All England Lawn Tennis and Croquette Club, London, UK-June 27, 2022 Overview of the covered exterior garden when the rain stops Reuters / Hannah McKay

London, June 27 (Reuters)-The gate opened at the start of the 135th edition of the Wimbledon Championship, so the world’s most famous cues began to flow to the All England Club on Monday.

The typical British sight of thousands of tennis fans waiting patiently, often camping overnight and waiting to enter the premises, has been overlooked since 2019.

COVID-19 was paid to Wimbledon in 2020, and last year the tournament returned to near normal, limiting attendance and destroying the queue for safety reasons, despite some players based on the hotel bubble. it was done.

Everything that made Wimbledon such a sight is back, but it’s not as business as usual, despite the hustle and bustle of the premises, as the gate opened at 0900 GMT on a refreshing morning in southwest London.

First, Roger Federer, the king of the lawn, who recorded eight titles in the men’s singles, was absent for the first time since winning the 1998 junior event.

The 40-year-old Swiss has recovered from a knee injury and hasn’t played since losing to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals a year ago.

Also, while female defending champion Ashberty has retired, the world’s number one male Daniil Medvedev has also disappeared after the organizers banned Russian and Belarusian players in response to the invasion of Ukraine. increase.

The ban on Russians and Belarusians has prompted ATP and WTA to steal ranking points from Wimbledon this year.

Play is also scheduled for 14 days instead of the traditional 13th, and the middle of Sunday is no longer a holiday. This marks the end of so-called Manic Monday, where all the men’s and women’s fourth round matches were played.

Plot line

The accumulation in Wimbledon is controversial, but there are enough plot lines to suggest that the next two weeks may be the classic version.

Serena Williams is back for the first time in a year, aiming for the 24th Grand Slam singles title that has missed her since 2017.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia was scheduled to play open on the center court on Monday. He defends the title, wins his 21st Grand Slam Crown and tries to close the gap with Rafael Nadal, who holds 22 records.

Nadal of Spain is in the middle of a calendar year Grand Slam after winning the Australian and French Open.

Briton Emma Raducanu has been billed as “homecoming” after winning the US Open title in qualifying. After Djokovic plays Kwon Soon Woo, when she plays Belgium’s Alison Van Utvank, her spotlight is completely focused on teenagers.

With a very British taste on the first day at the famous Center Court, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, two-time former champion Andy Murray concludes his action against Australia’s James Duckworth.

Murray is one of the 17 British players in the single draw and is the largest home contingent since 2001.

The tennis feast is set for the next two weeks, but 30 minutes after the start of play, the rain shower moistened the initial action.

Some things never seem to change.

Report by Martin Herrmann, edited by Ed Osmond

Our Criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.