WIMBLEDON DAY 1 ORDER OF PLAY REVEALED: CARLOS ALCARAZ, EMMA RADUCANU, COCO GAUFF HEADLINE ACTION
Carlos Alcaraz will kickstart Centre Court action on the opening day of Wimbledon – with Emma Raducanu and Coco Gauff to follow him onto tennis’ most iconic arena.
It is traditional that the defending men’s singles champion opens up Centre Court on the first Monday of action and that honour falls to the third seed after he beat Novak Djokovic in the final a year ago.
Alcaraz will open up action at 1.30 pm local time against Estonia’s Mark Lajal, who came through qualifying to reach this stage.
Following on from him will be another Grand Slam winner in the form of Raducanu, who will be back on Centre Court for the first time in two years – after missing the 2023 Championships due to injury.
The former US Open winner, currently the world No 168, is up against 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round.
Alexandrova reached the fourth round at SW19 in 2023 and is a skilled grass courter, but has lost round one of both majors so far this year, making this potentially a winnable encounter for Raducanu.
The final Centre Court match of the day stars Gauff, with the world No 2 beginning her quest for a second Grand Slam title.
Gauff is up against Caroline Dolehide in an all-American battle, with the second seed a heavy favourite to progress.
Novak Djokovic will be licking his lips as he emerges as big winner from Wimbledon draw
Having reached the semi-final of the Australian and French Opens this season, Gauff will be looking to better her previous Wimbledon best of round four.
Elsewhere, world No 1 and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner is among those in action on Court 1.
The Italian is last on against Yannick Hanfmann, as he looks to begin his quest for a second major in 2024.
Action on Court 1 begins with fifth seed and former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev up against Aleksandar Kovacevic before third seed and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on Emina Bektas.
Out on Court 2, and impressive four Grand Slam champions will be in action.
The final match of the day pits 16th seed Victoria Azarenka versus Sloane Stephens, while Naomi Osaka begins her first Wimbledon campaign in five years against Diane Parry.
Three-time Slam winner Stan Wawrinka is up against Brit Charles Broom, while action kicks off with tenth seed Grigor Dimitrov facing Dusan Lajovic.
Elsewhere, Court 3 action will see three former Grand Slam runners-up – Casper Ruud, Jasmine Paolini, and Madison Keys – begin their campaigns.
Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and rising star Mirra Andreeva are also set to be in action.
Centre Court
(3) Carlos Alcaraz vs (Q) Mark Lajal
(22) Ekaterina Alexandrova vs (WC) Emma Raducanu
Caroline Dolehide vs (2) Coco Gauff
Court 1
Aleksandar Kovacevic vs (5) Daniil Medvedev
Emina Bektas vs (3) Aryna Sabalenka
(1) Jannik Sinner vs Yannick Hanfmann
2024-06-29T10:48:03Z dg43tfdfdgfdWimbledon women’s singles draw: 5 takeaways – ft. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu
Wimbledon men’s singles draw: 5 takeaways – ft. Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz