The 2019 Wimbledon championships begin on Monday and a fascinating fortnight is on offer.
The first day sees defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic get Centre Court proceedings under way at 1pm, there is a fascinating clash between 15-year-old Cori Gauff and Venus Williams, 39, while Kyle Edmund and Heather Watson are the first of the Britons to feature.
Here, PA takes a look at the best of the action.
Order of play
Ahh we’re backkk!!! Most sacred court in the world 😃😍😎🎾🕺🏻🙌🏼🇬🇧 #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Z9GfHM1xpx
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) June 27, 2019
Centre Court
Novak Djokovic v Philipp Kohlschreiber
Yulia Putintseva v Naomi Osaka
Kyle Edmund v Juame Munar
Court One
Simona Halep v Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Jiri Vesely v Alexander Zverev
Venus Williams v Cori Gauff
Selected matches on other courts
Thomas Fabbiano v Stefanos Tsitsipas (Court 2)
Stan Wawrinka v Ruben Bemelmans (Court 2)
Caroline Wozniacki v Sara Sorribes Toro (Court 2)
Kevin Anderson v Pierre-Hugues Herbert (Court 3)
Best of British
Edmund is leading the home charge on the opening day as the British number one faces Spaniard Jaume Munar on Centre Court. With no Andy Murray in the singles, all eyes will be on Edmund to see whether he will be able to make the second week for the first time at SW19. Watson is the only other home favourite in action as she takes on American Caty McNally.
Match of the day
Williams had already won four grand slam titles – and two at Wimbledon – by the time Gauff was even born in 2004, which makes their first-round clash a really mouthwatering one. The Court One clash pits the youngest woman in the draw – and the youngest-ever qualifier – at 15 against the oldest in 39 as Gauff gets to play against one of her idols.
Potential upsets?
World number two Naomi Osaka may have won two out of the last three grand slams but she is not too experienced on grass. She crashed out of the Birmingham Classic to Yulia Putintseva in a match which saw her bizarrely sit down on the floor at the change of ends. And her first-round opponent, second up on Centre Court, is again Putintseva. This has potential to be the first major shock of the tournament, especially as the Japanese admitted she is an “over-thinker”.
