The men’s singles trophy is filmed in the doorway to the club as final preparations are made ahead of the tournament. It will be refreshed, with details around the Royal Box touched up and more accessible seating added, but remain true to the vision of Captain Stanley Peach, the original architect, whose use of reinforced concrete in the structure was, at the time, revolutionary. The middle Sunday will also see a celebration of Centre Court, with the 15,000-capacity arena, which has hosted some of the greatest moments in the history of the sport, marking its 100th anniversary. That will mean the end of another tradition, the packed schedule of “Manic Monday”. This sacrosanct break, only previously eschewed when bad weather dictated, has been given up so as to give breathing room to matches in the last 16. Composite: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Tom Jenkins/The GuardianĬhange on the court will be better showcased by a change in scheduling, with the Championships set to continue through the fortnight’s “Middle Sunday”. On the men’s side, both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be there, slugging it out as ever, but new stars Caspar Ruud, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz can see their route to the quarter-finals after the draw was made on Friday.Ĭurrent World Number One Iga Swiatek (left) and and Carlos Alcaraz get some practice in ahead of the tournament on Centre Court and Court 12 respectively. Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff head up a new generation of talent in the women’s game, but there is also the return of Serena Williams to watch and the rise of Ons Jabeur, the 27-year-old Tunisian who this year won the Madrid Open to become the highest-ranked African player in tennis history. The Brits join a cast of stars that offer the prospect of thrilling and uncertain competition in the coming days. Andy Murray has battled his way through the early days of the grass-court season, too, to claim a place. He should be joined by the US Open champion, Emma Raducanu, who looks to have recovered from a side strain injury and is seeded 10th in the women’s draw. Norrie, currently the world’s No 12 and No 9 seed in the men’s draw, is a rising star for home fans to cheer on. Those who are missing, including Roger Federer, Naomi Osaka and Alexander Zverev, are out because of injury. But despite the rankings sanction, players have chosen not to skip the tournament. The AELTC found itself taking a political decision that has not been followed by other competitions and that has seen the Championships reduced to the status of an “exhibition”, in the words of Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
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