MX23RW : Friday, April 26 03:08:23| >> :600:89467106:89467106:

A look at six key Wimbledon openers

A look at six key Wimbledon openers
© Reuters
We pick out the first-round matches at the All England Club that are not to be missed.

Wimbledon's two-year hiatus ends on Monday when play gets under way in the 2021 Championships.

Big names Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep have all withdrawn but it promises to be another fascinating fortnight on the lawns of SW19.

Here, the PA news agency picks out six first-round matches that are not to be missed.

Novak Djokovic v Jack Draper

Nineteen-year-old Londoner Draper has long been marked out as Britain's brightest young male hope. He demonstrated why by reaching the quarter-finals at Queen's Club last week and now finds himself facing top seed Djokovic, who has not lost at Wimbledon since 2017, in the opening match on Centre Court on Monday. It is a daunting task but this will be Djokovic's first match on grass since the 2019 final.

Francesca Jones v Coco Gauff

Coco Gauff reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019
Coco Gauff reached the fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019 (Steven Paston/PA)

Two years on from her spectacular emergence onto the world stage as a 15-year-old, Gauff returns to Wimbledon as a legitimate title contender. In the first round she will take on 20-year-old British debutant Jones, who wrote headlines across the world when she qualified for the Australian Open despite a condition that meant she was born without several fingers and toes.

Ashleigh Barty v Carla Suarez Navarro

Despite winning her first grand slam title at the French Open, Barty still rates grass as her top surface and would have been a clear title favourite but for doubts over the hip problem that struck at Roland Garros. This will be Suarez Navarro's final Wimbledon before retirement, and the popular Spaniard should be guaranteed support after getting back on court following her recovery from cancer.

Nick Kyrgios v Ugo Humbert

Playing on grass persuaded Kyrgios to leave Australia for the first time since before the coronavirus pandemic started. It remains to be seen what condition the 26-year-old is in but he showed at the Australian Open that, on the big stage, he remains a serious danger. In the second round in Melbourne he claimed a dramatic five-set win over Frenchman Humbert, who is at a career-high ranking of 25 after winning the grass-court title in Halle last week.

Iga Swiatek v Hsieh Su-wei

Iga Swiatek won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018
Iga Swiatek won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 (Nigel French/PA)

Last year's French Open champion Swiatek will be making just her second appearance in the main draw at Wimbledon but can look back on happy memories of winning the junior title in 2018. No players relish having the name of Hsieh next to theirs in a draw. The 35-year-old from Chinese Taipei has one of the most unconventional game styles on tour and is a two-time former Wimbledon doubles champion.

Sebastian Korda v Alex De Minaur

A meeting between two of the brightest young talents in the men's game. Australian De Minaur is already a top-20 player and someone who enjoys playing on grass – he is challenging for the title in Eastbourne this week. Twenty-year-old Korda is the son of former Australian Open champion Petr, and has leapt up to 50th in the rankings. He won his first ATP title on clay in Parma earlier this year.

ID:452754: cacheID:452754:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:23528:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Simona Halep celebrates with the Italian Open title on September 21, 2020
Read Next:
Simona Halep out of Wimbledon due to calf injury
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Bublik
Carballes Baena
10am
Marozsan
Cerundolo
10am
Musetti
Seyboth Wild
10am
Paul
Klein
10am
Rublev
Bagnis
10am
Andreeva
Noskova
10am
Bronzetti
Rybakina
10am
Garcia
Wang
10am
Pavlyuchenkova
Saville
11.30am
Altmaier
Fils
11.30am
Martin Etcheverry
Shapovalov
11.30am
Alexandrova
Krueger
11.30am
Bucsa
Kasatkina
11.30am
Dolehide
Kalinina
11.30am
Jimenez Kasintseva
Paolini
11.30am
Linette
Sabalenka
1pm
Baez
Van Assche
1pm
Hurkacz
Draper
1pm
Bejlek
Kalinskaya
1pm
Cristian
Krejcikova
1pm
Kostyuk
Sherif
2pm
Zheng
Putintseva
2.30pm
Humbert
Van De Zandschulp
2.30pm
Darderi
Fritz
2.30pm
Boulter
Montgomery
3pm
Shevchenko
Alcaraz
3.30pm
Vondrousova
Rogers
4pm
Griekspoor
Daniel
4pm
Munar
Struff
5pm
Navone
Rune
7pm
Coric
Zverev
8.30pm
Collins
Danilovic
11.30am
Shang
Davidovich Fokina


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!