Key events
Kasatkina is a tricky customer, no doubt, but Miyazaki, the British No 4, just hasn’t got going here. Already a break down in the second set at 6-0, 2-0, here are more break points against her. But a lovely drop shot gets her to deuce. And a bold backhand winner fends off a third break point at Kasatkina’s advantage. Miyazaki brings up her first game point … but mistimes and makes the error. There’s a collective British sigh around Court 18. And there’s an even bigger one when Miyazaki double faults to lose the game. It’s 6-0, 3-0.
A reminder of the rest of the action coming up on the show courts:
Centre Court, 1.30pm
Jacob Fearnley (Gbr) v (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser)
(1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) v Petra Martic (Cro)
Rinky Hijikata (Aus) & John Peers (Aus) v Andy Murray (Gbr) & Jamie Murray (Gbr)
No 1 Court, 1pm
(32) Katie Boulter (Gbr) v Harriet Dart (Gbr)
(28) Jack Draper (Gbr) v Cameron Norrie (Gbr)
Marcos Giron (USA) v (4) Alexander Zverev (Ger)
Jacob Fearnley, Djokovic’s opponent today, would have been just nine years old then. That match is coming up at 1.30pm on Centre Court.
A lot of talk about the absences at the Olympics, but both entry lists released today are pretty strong, especially the men’s draw.
– Men’s singles: 8 of top 10, 17 of top 20
– Women’s singles: 8 of top 10, 13 of top 20Top 10 absences: Rublev, Dimitrov, Sabalenka, Jabeur.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) July 4, 2024
Also in the ascendancy: Alex de Minaur, who leads his near-namesake Jaume Munar 5-2 in the first set, and Madison Keys, who has the break at 3-2 against Wang Yafan.
On Court 15 Yulia Putintseva, the Birmingham winner, has also served up bagel set against Katerina Siniakova, who won the French Open doubles title last month with a certain Coco Gauff.
Kasatkina, the Russian who’s playing without a flag by her name as the championships, is full of confidence having won the Eastbourne title last Saturday. She’s such a talent, boasting a high tennis IQ, and is handing out a lesson here to Miyazaki, the 28-year-old who switched from representing Japan to Britain in 2022.
It’s now 5-0 – and Kasatkina is serving for the set. But Miyazaki saves her best for the set point, putting away the winner. Hopefully that’ll give the Brit a boost. But a second set point soon arrives, and Kasatkina comfortably takes it. The set has flown by 6-0 in just 19 minutes.
Not a good start for Miyazaki on Court 18, the scene of the neverending story between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010. Today’s match could be over in a fraction of the 11 hours and five minutes that Isner took to beat Mahut, because Miyazaki already trails Kasatkina 3-0 after only eight minutes.
The players have been weaving and winding their way to the outside courts and completed their warm-ups, the umpires, line judges and ball kids are in position, while the spectators are still jostling for theirs. Let’s play!
So let’s run through the early runners and riders. On No 2 Court we’ve got the seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, on No 3 it’s the ninth seed Alex de Minaur, on No 4 it’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the conqueror of the defending champion Marketa Vondrousova, on No 8 it’s the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, on No 12 it’s last year’s quarter-finalist Madison Keys, on No 14 it’s Australia’s Daria Saville, and last but by no means least on No 18 it’s Britain’s Lily Miyazaki, looking to become the third British woman through to round three. But she’s up against the tricky 14th seed, Daria Kasatkina.
It was remiss of me not to mention Thanasi Kokkinakis in my preamble. Tennis’s marathon man will be playing for the third consecutive day after his wild five-set, rain-affected win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round. The Australian came back from two sets down – the eighth man to do so in the first round this year, a Wimbledon record – and saved four match points to prevail 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-4. He clearly likes to put himself through the wringer, given that five of his six matches at grand slams this year have gone the distance. Today the 28-year-old faces the Frenchman Lucas Pouille.
Simon Cambers
Battles of the Brits await with Draper v Norrie and Boulter v Dart
Considering there were 18 home players in the main draws this year, that there should be a couple of all-British clashes at Wimbledon is no statistical surprise. But there is no doubt that Thursday will be a special day as the top-ranked British players meet one another in round two of the men’s and women’s singles. Jack Draper, the new No 1 British man, will take on the No 2, Cameron Norrie, while the women’s No 1, Katie Boulter, meets the No 2, Harriet Dart. Just call it the Battles of Britain.
In the Open era, which began in 1968, there have been 19 all-British clashes in the men’s singles and 38 in the women’s event. The most recent all-British meeting in the women’s singles, though, was in 2011, when Anne Keothavong beat Naomi Broady, while Murray’s win over Ryan Peniston last year was the most recent home clash in the men’s event.
The last time the top two British men met in a grand slam was in 2002 at the Australian Open, when Tim Henman beat Greg Rusedski. It’s happened in the women’s game just once this century, at the US Open in 2020 when Johanna Konta beat Heather Watson.
British players relish the support they receive at Wimbledon, for obvious reasons. But playing a fellow Brit adds a little extra spice, even if they are friends off the court. For Draper, seeded at a grand slam for the first time, it is also the first time he has gone into a slam as the British No 1, a title he intends to hold on to.
“Obviously he won’t like the fact that I’m British No 1 now,” said Draper, 22, who praises 28-year-old Norrie for helping him settle on Tour. “I’m a lot younger. [Britain has] Dan [Evans] and Cam, Andy might be stopping soon. Dan and Cam definitely probably won’t like seeing me being British No 1. I think that creates a really healthy rivalry and environment.
“I think we have huge respect for each other, for one. We’ve practised together so many times, been a part of the Davis Cup together. I wouldn’t say we’re extremely close, but we definitely support each other. We definitely have a great relationship.”
Some reading for you:
Today’s order of play
(All times BST)
Centre Court, 1.30pm
Jacob Fearnley (Gbr) v (2) Novak Djokovic (Ser)
(1) Iga Swiatek (Pol) v Petra Martic (Cro)
Rinky Hijikata (Aus) & John Peers (Aus) v Andy Murray (Gbr) & Jamie Murray (Gbr)
No 1 Court, 1pm
(32) Katie Boulter (Gbr) v Harriet Dart (Gbr)
(28) Jack Draper (Gbr) v Cameron Norrie (Gbr)
Marcos Giron (USA) v (4) Alexander Zverev (Ger)
No 2 Court, 11am
(7) Hubert Hurkacz (Pol) v Arthur Fils (Fra)
(10) Ons Jabeur (Tun) v Robin Montgomery (USA)
(4) Elena Rybakina (Kaz) v Laura Siegemund (Ger)
No 3 Court, 11am
Jaume Munar (Spa) v (9) Alex De Minaur (Aus)
Xin Yu Wang (Chn) v (5) Jessica Pegula (USA)
(11) Danielle Collins (USA) v Dalma Galfi (Hun)
Emil Ruusuvuori (Fin) v (11) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre)
Court four, 11am
Cristina Bucsa (Spa) v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (Spa)
Luciano Darderi (Ita) v (25) Lorenzo Musetti (Ita)
Diana Shnaider (Rus) & Elena Vesnina (Rus) v Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) & Clara Tauson (Den)
Harriet Dart (Gbr) & Maia Lumsden (Gbr) v (5) Sara Errani (Ita) & Matilde Paoletti (Ita)
Court five, 11am
Magdalena Frech (Pol) & Katarzyna Kawa (Pol) v Anna Danilina (Kaz) & Yi Fan Xu (Chn)
Marcelo Demoliner (Bra) & Daniil Medvedev (Rus) v Gonzalo Escobar (Ecu) & Aleksandr Nedovyesov (Kaz)
Emma Navarro (USA) & Diane Parry (Fra) v Lucia Bronzetti (Ita) & Varvara Gracheva (Fra)
Alexander Erler (Aut) & Lucas Miedler (Aut) v (9) Neal Skupski (Gbr) & Michael Venus (Nzl)
Anna Blinkova (Rus) & Mayar Sherif (Egy) v Eri Hozumi (Jpn) & Moyuka Uchijima (Jpn)
Court six, 11am
Victor Vlad Cornea (Rom) & Fabian Marozsan (Hun) v Andreas Mies (Ger) & John-Patrick Smith (Aus)
N.Sriram Balaji (Ind) & Luke Johnson (Gbr) v (4) Marcelo Arevalo (Esa) & Mate Pavic (Cro)
(13) Giuliana Olmos (Mex) & Alexandra Panova (Rus) v Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) & Elena Gabriela Ruse (Rom)
Ingrid Gamarra Martins (Bra) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra) v Irina Khromacheva (Rus) & Kamilla Rakhimova (Rus)
(6) Santiago Gonzalez (Mex) & Edouard Roger-Vasselin (Fra) v Daniel Evans (Gbr) & Henry Searle (Gbr)
Court seven, 11am
Tereza Mihalikova (Svk) & Olivia Nicholls (Gbr) v (6) Demi Schuurs (Ned) & Luisa Stefani (Bra)
(7) Caroline Dolehide (USA) & Desirae Krawczyk (USA) v Shuko Aoyama (Jpn) & Aleksandra Krunic (Ser)
Xiyu Wang (Chn) & Lin Zhu (Chn) v Emily Appleton (Gbr) & Yuriko Miyazaki (Gbr)
Cristina Bucsa (Spa) & Nao Hibino (Jpn) v Tatjana Maria (Ger) & Arantxa Rus (Ned)
Hailey Baptiste (USA) & Alycia Parks (USA) v Makoto Ninomiya (Jpn) & Fang-Hsien Wu (Tpe)
Court eight, 11am
(31) Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) v Katie Volynets (USA)
Tomas Machac (Cze) v Roman Safiullin (Rus)
Thanasi Kokkinakis (Aus) v Lucas Pouille (Fra)
Greet Minnen (Bel) & Heather Watson (Gbr) v (14) Sofia Kenin (USA) & Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)
Court nine, 11am
Sarah Grey (Gbr) & Tara Moore (Gbr) v (3) Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) & Ellen Perez (Aus)
Alexander Bublik (Kaz) & Alexander Shevchenko (Kaz) v Yuki Bhambri (Ind) & Albano Olivetti (Fra)
Fabrice Martin (Fra) & Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) v Tallon Griekspoor (Ned) & Bart Stevens (Ned)
(1) Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg) v Arthur Fils (Fra) & Ugo Humbert (Fra)
Magda Linette (Pol) & Peyton Stearns (USA) v Ana Bogdan (Rom) & Jaqueline Cristian (Rom)
Court 10, 11am
(15) Asia Muhammad (USA) & Aldila Sutjiadi (Ina) v Irina-Camelia Begu (Rom) & Martina Trevisan (Ita)
Jay Clarke (Gbr) & Marcus Willis (Gbr) v (15) Max Purcell (Aus) & Jordan Thompson (Aus)
(4) Katerina Siniakova (Cze) & Taylor Townsend (USA) v Rebeka Masarova (Spa) & Linda Noskova (Cze)
Naiktha Bains (Gbr) & Amelia Rajecki (Gbr) v Timea Babos (Hun) & Nadiia Kichenok (Ukr)
Miriam Kolodziejova (Cze) & Anna Siskova (Cze) v Lauren Davis (USA) & Kimberley Zimmermann (Bel)
Court 11, 11am
(3) Rajeev Ram (USA) & Joe Salisbury (Gbr) v William Blumberg (USA) & Casper Ruud (Nor)
(30) Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Arg) v Alexei Popyrin (Aus)
(16) Sadio Doumbia (Fra) & Fabien Reboul (Fra) v Oliver Crawford (Gbr) & Kyle Edmund (Gbr)
Katarzyna Piter (Pol) & Viktoriya Tomova (Bul) v Clara Burel (Fra) & Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (Col)
Christopher Eubanks (USA) & Evan King (USA) v Liam Broady (Gbr) & Billy Harris (Gbr)
Court 12, 11am
Yafan Wang (Chn) v (12) Madison Keys (USA)
(10) Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) v Juncheng Shang (Chn)
(13) Taylor Fritz (USA) v Arthur Rinderknech (Fra)
Caroline Wozniacki (Den) v (30) Leylah Fernandez (Can)
Court 14, 11am
(18) Marta Kostyuk (Ukr) v Daria Saville (Aus)
Flavio Cobolli (Ita) v (24) Alejandro Tabilo (Chi)
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (Fra) v Yoshihito Nishioka (Jpn)
(1) Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) & Elise Mertens (Bel) v Alicia Barnett (Gbr) & Freya Christie (Gbr)
Court 15, 11am
Yulia Putintseva (Kaz) v (27) Katerina Siniakova (Cze)
Maria Camila Osorio Serrano (Col) v (20) Beatriz Haddad Maia (Bra)
(17) Anna Kalinskaya (Rus) v Marie Bouzkova (Cze)
Quentin Halys (Fra) v (21) Karen Khachanov (Rus)
Tomas Machac (Cze) & Zhizhen Zhang (Chn) v Ariel Behar (Uru) & Adam Pavlasek (Cze)
Court 16, 11am
Francisco Comesana (Arg) v Adam Walton (Aus)
Daria Snigur (Ukr) v (13) Jelena Ostapenko (Lat)
(23) Caroline Garcia (Fra) v Bernarda Pera (USA)
(9) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukr) & Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) v Daria Saville (Aus) & Yue Yuan (Chn)
Federico Coria (Arg) & Mariano Navone (Arg) v (7) Wesley Koolhof (Ned) & Nikola Mektic (Cro)
Court 17, 11am
Paula Badosa Gibert (Spa) v Brenda Fruhvirtova (Cze)
Denis Shapovalov (Can) v Daniel Altmaier (Ger)
Jule Niemeier (Ger) v (21) Elina Svitolina (Ukr)
(11) Cori Gauff (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA) v (11) Anhelina Kalinina (Ukr) & Dayana Yastremska (Ukr)
Court 18, 11am
(14) Daria Kasatkina (Rus) v Yuriko Miyazaki (Gbr)
Lloyd Harris (Rsa) v (14) Ben Shelton (USA)
(15) Holger Rune (Den) v Thiago Seyboth Wild (Bra)
Elina Avanesyan (Rus) v (15) Ludmilla Samsonova (Rus)
Preamble
Hello! Yes, yes it’s a big day for Britain – but not just in the political stakes. As Rishi Sunak attempts to defy predictions, Jacob Fearnley will also be seeking to defy all odds against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. There again Djokovic is defying medical science by playing here, only weeks after knee surgery.
Fearnley, the British No 13 who is ranked No 277 in the world, will have to pull off one of the greatest Wimbledon shocks to beat the seven-times champion and reach the third round – but after the 2021 version of Emma Raducanu went through yesterday, along with Sonay Kartal, we’re guaranteed two more home winners today, because the British No 1 takes on the British No 2 in both the men’s and women’s draws. Cue the first of countless “Battle of the Brits” mentions.
Jack Draper faces Cameron Norrie – Norrie will have a point to prove after being overtaken in the rankings by his compatriot recently – while Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart play each other for the second time in less than a month, after Boulter won their tense three-hour tussle in Nottingham en route to successfully defending her title.
And if that’s not enough, Andy Murray will begin his men’s doubles campaign alongside his brother Jamie – but even if they lose it won’t be the final goodbye in his Wimbledon farewell, after he signed up yesterday to play alongside Raducanu in the mixed doubles. And the Tokyo-born Brit Lily Miyazaki plays her delayed second-round match.
It’s not all about Britain today, though, because we’ve got Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, Elina Svitolina, Jessica Pegula, Caroline Wozniacki, Alex Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov, Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz in action, along with the conclusion of Gael Monfils v Stan Wawrinka. Oh and we’ll also be keeping on eye on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro after she took out the defending champion Marketa Vondrousova in the first round. Perhaps we’ll be talking about someone else being deposed not far from Wimbledon by tomorrow morning.
Play begins at: 11am BST on the outside courts, 1pm on No 1 Court and 1.30pm on Centre. The sun is shining, we’re not expecting any delays, so don’t be late!
