Roger Federer returns to Wimbledon for a celebration on an action-packed day two

Two of the women’s ‘big three’ will start their Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday.

Former Wimbledon champion Roger Federer during the 2022 Championships (John Walton/PA) (PA Archive)

Andy Murray will not be the only men’s grand slam champion to grace Centre Court on Tuesday as Wimbledon prepares to celebrate Roger Federer.

Federer, who announced his retirement last September, will have his achievement of winning a record eight grand slam titles in SW19 recognised during a special ceremony before the action on Centre Court begins at 1.30pm.

After Federer’s appearance, the focus will turn to defending champion Elena Rybakina and later Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka, who is back for the first time since 2021 after last year’s ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes.

Murray takes on fellow Briton Ryan Peniston while Cameron Norrie gets his tournament under way and world number one Carlos Alcaraz is involved in an action-packed second day of the 2023 championships.

Order of Play

Brit Watch

A bumper day of British tennis is in store with nine home hopes in action. Murray’s match with Peniston is second on Centre Court while Norrie’s clash with Tomas Machac is scheduled last on Court One.

Elsewhere, Britain’s number one female Katie Boulter opens Court 18 against Daria Saville, while Heather Watson – who reached the fourth round last year – will try and topple 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.

George Loffhagen, Arthur Fery and Sonay Kartal are also scheduled for action, while Dan Evans will return to complete his first-round match after bad light forced him off just after he had slipped two sets down to France’s Quentin Halys.

Match of the day

Stefanos Tsitsipas opens his Wimbledon campaign against former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in one of several mouthwatering ties on the second day of the 2023 Championships.

It represents a tricky draw for fifth seed Tsitsipas, who made the Australian Open final in January but traditionally struggles on the English lawn and has only made the fourth round on one occasion in five appearances.

Austrian Thiem has endured a torrid time since his Flushing Meadows win in 2020, plagued by wrist injuries in particular, and has not played this grand slam since 2019. Nevertheless, he will relish the chance to put his name back in the headlines on Court Two.

Queue storm to rumble on

Day one saw lengthy queues and a number of Wimbledon fans decide to give up on their attempts to see some of the action in SW19.

Organisers later confirmed increased security, in place due to fears over protests, had resulted in entry via the queue being slower than past years, with club executive Sally Bolton acknowledging Just Stop Oil’s presence at recent sporting events had raised alarm bells for the All England Club.

Spectators set for day two will hope for a more slick process on Tuesday.

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