Preview: Djokovic, Murray Shining Bright At Rainy Wimbledon
After two days of persistent rain, Day 3 at The Championships promises to be a hectic affair as first-round action continues and second rounds get underway at Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will hope to bring some rays of sunshine to fans as they headline the Centre Court schedule.
Djokovic, the top seed and two-time defending champion, will face a familiar foe in the second round as he meets Kevin Anderson in the first match of the day. It will be the pair’s 12th tour-level match, with Djokovic going into the encounter with a 9-2 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head.
Two of their most memorable meetings took place at the All England Club. In 2015, Anderson pushed eventual champion Djokovic to 6-7(6), 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 in their Round of 16 battle, the only time in the tournament that Djokovic dropped sets before the final (d. Federer).
And of course three years later, they met on the biggest stage as they contested the 2018 championship match at Wimbledon. That time, Djokovic swept past the South African 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(3) to claim the title.
“In the big moments and on the centre courts, he’s been there so many times. He has a lot of confidence and comfort in those situations as well,” Anderson said of facing Djokovic again on Centre Court. “And of course he’s a fighter. I’ve played some matches with him where it’s been really close and he is always not giving anything [away].
“It’s not going to be easy, but I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge.”
[TENNIS POINT]Later in the day, two-time former champion Murray will close out Centre Court action as he faces German qualifier Oscar Otte, who is making his main draw debut at Wimbledon.
Murray was tested in his opening match, but managed to win in four sets as he upset 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in his first Wimbledon singles match since 2017. The resilient Brit sent a clear message after the victory:
“I keep getting asked, ‘Is this going to be my last Wimbledon, last match?’ I don’t know why I keep getting asked about it,” Murray said on court. “No, I’m going to keep playing. I want to play… I can still play at the highest level. He’s ranked 28th in the world and I haven’t hardly played any matches and I beat him.”
Also in action, fifth seed Andrey Rublev will take on Lloyd Harris on Court 18 as he seeks to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the first time. Frances Tiafoe, fresh off an upset over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, will be in action on Court 5 as he hopes to keep the momentum going against Vasek Pospisil.
Elsewhere at the All England Club, there are five first-round singles matches to finish and 21 that have yet to start as second round action gets underway.
Gael Monfils, the 13th seed, will hope to get the job done as he leads Christopher O’Connell 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), 4-6, 3-2 in a rain-affected first-round encounter that is now entering its third day. Monfils got back on even terms at 4-6, 6-2 before darkness halted play on Monday, and managed two and a half more sets on Tuesday before matches were suspended due to rain.
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Tournament organisers have also announced that men’s doubles, which was set to start on Wednesday, will not be scheduled for Day 3. The matches will be shortened from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets for first and second rounds.