The latest on Wimbledon (all times local).
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7:25 p.m.
American qualifier Denis Kudla recovered from a deficit of two sets to win his first match at Wimbledon.
Kudla, a veteran tour player ranked 114th beat No. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a 30-seeded Spaniard, won the match. Scores were 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) and 6-3, 3-3.
Kudla has been astonished at Wimbledon in the past. As a wild card ranked 105, he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon 2015.
Jannik Sinner, seeded 19th in the draw, lost to Marton Fucsovics from Hungary, 5-7.
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6:50 p.m.
Sofia Kenin beat Xinyu Wang 6-4 and 6-2 to reach the second round of Wimbledon.
Kenin saved the break point that she was facing. Fourth seeded is the 2020 Australian Open champion.
The American will be able to reach the third round of Wimbledon with one more win.
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5:50 p.m.
American Sloane Stephens defeated Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon double champion, in round one, 6-3,6-4.
Stephens, who was a former top-10 player and is now ranked at 73rd, made only 14 unforced mistakes. She reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2013. This was her best performance.
Kvitova was 10th seeded and won the tournament in both 2011 and 2014.
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5:10 p.m.
French Open runner up Stefanos Tsitsipas was upset by Frances Tiafoe in Wimbledon’s first round.
Tiafoe, who was ranked 57th, applied pressure by charging at the net frequently and won 6-4 6-4 6-3. He was 0-11 against top-ranked players before.
Tiafoe won 24 net points and saved all seven breakpoints he faced.
Tsitsipas, who was seeded third, had won more matches this year than any other player on men’s tour. Tsitsipas reached Roland Garros’ first Grand Slam final this month, but lost a two-set advantage in the final against Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas was eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon for the third consecutive time.
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4.30 p.m.
After a rain delay of almost five hours, play is now underway on Wimbledon’s outer courts.
Matches started as planned on the courts with retractable roofs. Novak Djokovic won four sets over Jack Draper, a British wild card aged 19, despite a slow start.
Due to the rain delay, 16 singles matches had to be postponed for Tuesday.
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3:45 p.m.
Novak Djokovic won his first match at Wimbledon despite a slow start.
Two-time champion Djokovic was 0-7 in converting break points in his first set. He lost to Jack Draper, a 19-year-old British wildcard. Djokovic fell several times on grass, but he hit 25 aces to rally and win 4-6-6-1, 6-2-, 6-2, 6-2.
Draper was ranked 253rd, and was making his Grand Slam main-draw debut.
Djokovic seeks his sixth Wimbledon title, and a record-breaking 20th major title. He is on his way to winning the Grand Slams in 2021.
Rain delayed play on the outer courts and prevented the match from being played under the retractable roofing on Centre Court.
Despite the fact that the coronavirus pandemic reduced capacity to 50%, the crowd gave enthusiastic support to both players and the team.
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3:25 p.m.
Rain delayed play on the outer courts, causing 16 singles matches to be postponed at Wimbledon.
Six matches of men and 10 matches for women were canceled. The matches included Venus Williams, five-time champion, against Mihaela Bulzarnescu, and No. Philipp Kohlschreiber against Denis Shapovalov, 10-seeded
Play is currently underway in Centre Court and Court 1. Each court has a retractable roofing.
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2:25 p.m.
No. Aryna Sabalenka, a second-seeded player from Belarus, is this year’s first Wimbledon winner. She defeated Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4.
While they were playing under Court 1’s retractable roof, the rain delayed the start of matches outside.
Sabalenka won a record 30 matches on the tour this year, and her seeding at major tournaments is her highest. She was dominant against Niculescu from the beginning. Niculescu had so many problems holding that she tried an underhand serve.
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1:40 p.m.
Novak Djokovic received a standing ovation upon his return to Wimbledon. The Centre Court crowd was limited to 50% due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In 2019, Roger Federer beat Djokovic in an epic final to win the tournament. After winning the Australian Open, and the French Open, Djokovic is now halfway to a Grand Slam in 2021.
Djokovic, the No. Djokovic, the No. 1 ranked player, smiled when he entered the stadium. Rain delayed play on the outer courts, so the retractable roof had to be closed. Jack Draper, a British wild card, is Djokovic’s opponent.
Djokovic won seven of the 12 major tournaments in his career.
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12:15 p.m.
Wimbledon fans can now enter the grounds of the All England Club, despite the fact that there are still queues.
Even though rain delays the tournament’s start at 12:30 p.m., the dreary weather is not dampening enthusiasm.
The stands selling souvenirs, food and drinks are already manned and in business from the beginning. Fans are required to wear the masks and wait in line.
Hannah Scott, a graduate student, calls the gray and rainy day “perfect spectator climate.”
Scott says, “You are not going to burn in sunlight.”
Wimbledon was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year, it will go ahead but with a smaller capacity.
Organisers expect a full crowd of 15,000 to Centre Court for the men’s and women’s singles finals, which will be held July 10 and 11.
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11:15 a.m.
Wimbledon already has its 2021 first rain delay
Rain has caused play to be delayed until at least noon on the first day of the grass-court tournament.
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11:15 a.m.
Wimbledon is back, and ready to begin after being cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and others are scheduled to play Monday.
Rain is forecast for the future, and the sky is grey.
The All England Club allows spectators to view the matches at half capacity. This will increase to 100% for singles finals, July 10 and 11.
These are positive signs that things have improved, but the reminder of the coronavirus’s presence on the eve the grass-court Grand Slam tournament was a stark reminder of its existence. Johanna Konta (2017 Wimbledon semifinalist) was the only woman seeded from Britain and had to withdraw from Sunday’s draw after a member of her team tested positive in COVID-19.
Konta was in close touch with the individual and must be self-isolated for 10 days.
All players and team members will be staying in a London hotel designated by the All England Club in what they call a “minimized-risk environment.”
