Key events
Watson ploughs through her first taxing hold of set three to lead 3-2, while an inside-out forehand to the corner secures a 6-2 set for Basilashvili, who can’t play much better than he currently is. Thinking to do for Musetti.
We, though, will be moving to No 1 Court, where Jannik Sinner meets Luca Nardi. They should be out in five minutes or so.
Next on No3 Court: Katerina Siniakova v Qinwen Zheng (5).
Paul says the score lies a bit as Monday was well in some of his service-games. But he played better as the match wore on, he loves playing on grass and, though he’s not played loads so doesn’t know where his level is, h e’s been practising hard.
Tommy Paul (13) beats Johannus Monday 6-4 6-4 6-2
An impressive start from Paul, who made the last eight last year. Next for him, it’s Ofner or Medjedovic.
Tauson does indeed hold, but Watson now leads 2-1 in the third; Basilashvili has broken Muasetti a second time for 3-1 in the first; and paul, having broken Monday a second time in the third, now has three match points…
“There’s nothing worse than getting a cold in summer,” reckons Elle in Vienna. “My mother swears on a cup of ginger tea with a dash of cinnamon a day. Nasty stuff but at least you won’t get to taste as much? Drinking loads of water and remaining horizontal remain the best ways to treat a cold however.”
My mother-in-law also recommends ginger tea, which works is you’re congested, but is less efficacious if your problem is more the sense that your brain is full of pig sweat.
De Minaur now leads Carballes Baena 6-2 6-2 1-1 and, after an iffy period – in Paris, he lost to Bublik from 6-2 6-2 up, then at Queen’s he was beaten 4 and 2 by Lehecka – he’ll hope he’s back playing as he can. Otherwise, Paul us nearly home, up 6-4 6-4 3-2 – with a break – against Monday, who can’t get anywhere near breaking himself; Musetti, having burned two break points against Basilashvili, is then broken himself to 0-2; and Tauson saves break point at 0-1 in the third against Watson, but back at deuce, there’s work still to do.
Lemsip aside, anyone got any suggestions for alleviating cold symptoms? Hit me up please!
Tauson easily closes out set two to 15, so she and Watosn will now plays a decider, while Musetti and Basilashvili will soon be under way. The Italian, of course, reached the last four last term and did likewise at Roland Garros; the question is whether he’s the firepower to beat the very best. Everything else, though is in place – including the style points.
Watson makes Tauson serve for it, holding for 6-2 4-5; Lamens has beaten Jovic 1 and 1, so meets Hon or Aelxandrova next.
On No 3, Paul has served out to lead Monday 6-4 6-4, while Tauson has broken Watson to trail 2-6 5-3. De Minaur, meanwhile, leads Carballes Baena 6-2 4-1; Michelsen and Kecmanovic are now level at 1-1 2-2; Cazaux leads Walton 6-3 4-4, Sonego leads Faria 6-3 6-4; Marozsan leads McCabe 6-1 6-4; and Maria leads Volynets 6-3 3-3.
Next on No 2 Court: Nikoloz Basilashvili v Lorenzo Musetti.
Oh man, Cocciaretto is smiling so widely you fear for her if the wind changes. “Hi everybody!” she begins, then pauses to luxuriate in the subsequent cheers. She was really excited to play today, having worked really hard, and beat a great champion who’s an example to so many. Against the best players, you have to play the best you can and take the little chances they give you. She tried to do the opposite of what she does usually, being aggressive and not thinking about winning or losing the point – remember what we said earlier about elite mentality? – and she was really pumped to play Wimbledon having missed it last year with illness. “The journey of tennis is long,” she says. “You have to adapt yourself, enjoy … too much philosophy, I’m sorry!”
Ah, that was lovely. The extent to which these people want it is moving, such that when they get it it can be hard for us to process emotions, never mind them.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto beats Jessica Pegula (3) 6-2, 6-3
A fantastic win for Cocciaretto, who won’t have often played better than she did just there. She served well, was aggressive off the ground, and now has the no 3 seed’s path through the draw. Next for her: Volynets or Maria.
Cocciaretto endorses her break and, at 6-2 5-3, Pegula will now serve to stay in the match. What a shock this could be! And Cociarretto races to 0-4 and three match points!
“Rather than ensuring a full day’s play,” says John Burton of the staggered-start conundrum, “I always assumed it was to allow for a full luncheon for the royal poshbox invitees, as the preamble to their day’s entertainment.
Surely if matches finished earlier than expected, they could draft in a match that’s waiting to play on another court. That is something that has certainly happened in the past, as has the reverse towards the end of the tournament, with schedule deadlines approaching.”
You might be right, but they can’t take matches off non-show courts when they’ve sold tickets for them.
Paul has again broken Monday early in a set, to lead 6-4 3-1, while Cocciaretto has forced a break point at 6-2 3-3 against Pegula … and she’s not far off converting it, running in to flick a backhand marginally long. No matter: she soon forces another with a cunning drop, and this time Pegula nets a backhand. Cociarretto leads 6-2 4-3 and Pegula is in danger of exiting a slam in round one for the first time since the Roland Garros 2020.
i just nipped downstairs to grab a drink, returning to hear the commentator on Court 18 – where De Minaur leads Carballes Baena 6-2 – lamenting “sweaty underwear”. It’s not even midday.
Tauson breaks Watson to trail 2-6 1-0, while Monday secures a necessary hold, through deuce, at the start of set two against Paul, who leads 6-4 0-1.
Otherwise, in our non-feature matches, it is:
Lamens 6-1 1-0 Jovic
Faria 3-6 1-1 Sonego
Volynets 3-6 1-0 Maria
Kasatkina 5-3 Arango
Erjavec 3-6 Kostyuk
Hon 26 1-0 Alexandrova
Paul has served out to take a 6-4 set against Monday, on whom we learn this from Calvin Betton, our resident coach. “As a kid he was a touch player with no power, but now he’s got these massive weapons, serve and ground, which he struggles to control. he doesn’t hit spots, he’s not always sure where the ball’s going. Very intense lad.”
It took him a while, but De Minaur has Carballes Baena’s number now, breaking him a second time to lead 5-2 in the first. Otherwise, Cazaux leads Walton 5-2, and I’m keen to se how he gets on here. At 22, it’s time for him to take a step up, if he’s going to take a step up, and we can be sure it won’t be confidence holding him back.
Watson wins her fifth game in a row to take the first set off Tauson, the no 23 seed, 6-2. Her ability to produce her best work on these courts is remarkable.
A brilliant set (of tennis) from Cocciaretto! She serves out 15 and leads Pegula, the no 3 seed, 6-2. Thinking to do for the American, who’s been out-served and outplayed.
Kecmanovic did indeed serve out to lead Michelsen 6-2 while, on Court 3, Cocciaretto has broken Pegula a second time; at 5-2, she’ll shortly serve for set one, while Watson l=is up 5-2 on Tauson.
De Minaur is another who seems a little stuck. He improved massively in 2023 and 2024, but seems now to have hit the wall, having reached the limits of his athletic capacity. He might well be the quickest player on tour – Paul is another who’d contest that title – but he doesn’t hit the ball hard enough to do anything but scurry against the best. He is, it’s fair to say, not the most beloved of tournament organisers, given his ability to beat the bigger names in the rounds, only to lose 3 and 4 in finals.
Meantime, Paul has broke Monday and leads 3-1, while Watson has broken Tauson back and now leads 3-2. Otherwise, Kecmanovic is serving for the first set at 5-2 against Michelsen, seeded 30, De Minaur and Carballes Baena are 2-2, and Cazaux leads Walton 3-2.
I guess Pegula and Paul are of similar ilk, with Taylor Fritz another: members of the elite, who you’re almost 100% certain will never win a slam. I’ve often wondered how that works mentally: the knowledge that you’re one of the top few in the world, but have almost no chance of improving on that.
On 2 and 12, we’ve had early breaks, Cocciaretto, having opted to receive, up 2-1 on Pegula, and Tuason leading Watson by the same score.
Paul, yet to settle, hands Monday two break points … which he hands straight back. From there, the hold is quickly secured.
Thinking of Paul more generally, though, he’s in the same section of the draw as Sinner. There’s not loads else there, so he’ll be wondering if, finally, he can beat someone better than him on the biggest stage.
I’m not overly familiar with Johannus Monday, but what I think we saw yesterday – via the medium of British victories – is the depth in the game. There are so many players who can play great tennis, or who have potentially definitive weapons, that we should never be surprised when someone less heralded wins a match we didn’t expect them to. Monday, say, has a a big swinging lefty serve, and he holds in game one to lead Paul 1-0.
Email! “Why do they not start until 1:00 and 1:30 on the main courts?” wonders Ben Duxbury. “Every year they end up with matches not finishing – why not just start at 12:00? I’d be pretty miffed if i’d paid £100 for a ticket and didn’t get three matches. Even Test cricket manages to start at 11:00.”
I guess it’s too allows those with show-court tickets to make a day of it, arriving to watch matches elsewhere in the knowledge that the play won’t be over by late afternoon.
Our players are out around the grounds. It’s a beautiful sight to behold.
Will Pegula ever win a major? I fear the answer is no, and there’s no shame in that. What will rankle, though, is how many inferior players have managed one, and we can’t even make the excuse that her problem is the lack of definitive weapons. I mean, that’s part of it, of course, but does Emma Raducanu have one? Sofia Kenin? Bianca Andreescu? And so on…
But back to the immediate future, which are the matches I’ll watch when play gets under way at 11am? I think we’ll go with:
Cocciaretto v Pegula (3)
Monday v Paul (13)
Tauson (23) v Watson
De Minaur (11) v Carballes Baena
We may, though, swap in Michelsen (3) v Kecmanovic at some point.
Of course, he might not have to: if Alcaraz doesn’t play better than he did yesterday, he’ll be making no finals. Except we know he’s almost certain to improve, the win over Fognini simply reminding us how brilliant he is at finding a way to impose his will. Which is to say that Sinner will have seen what happened, tantalised himself with hope and, now it’s been extinguished, must ensure he’s as focused as he needs to be.
Jannik Sinner, then. One thing we know about elite sportsfolk is that mentally, they’re different to the rest of us, able to deliver the best of themselves under the most intense pressure. But after losing from a seemingly impregnable position in the French Open final we can be certain he’ll be feeling a way: having lost his last five matches against Carlos Alcaraz, will he really believe he can beat him on grass?
It’s a million degrees outside, and some moron has come back from Glastonbury with a minger of a head-cold. What a world.
On the other hand, Shaboozey covering Bob is worth every litre of sweat.
Preamble
Wotcha and welcome to Wimbledon 2025 – day two!
After yesterday’s frankly ridiculous opening dig, it’s my solemn duty to announce that awaiting us over the next 12 hours is nothing other than more of the same … but different.
The Clash once sung about being lost in the supermarket and that’s how today feels: so many potential choices it’s hard to know where to begin. Perhaps with Johannus Monday against Tommy Paul, or Clara Tauson versus Heather Watson … except what of Alex de Minaur, who meets Roberto Carballes Baena, or Alex Michelsen who takes on Miomir Kecmanovic? And that’s just the opening set of outside-court matches!
Otherwise, we’ve got Barbora Krejcikova beginning the defence of her title; Jannik Sinner returning after his Roland Garros desolation; two bangers – Arthur Rinderknech v Alexander Zverev and the final set of Taylor Fritz v Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – held over from yesterday; Alexandre Muller v Novak Djokovic, Jack Draper v Sebastian Baez, Daria Yastremska v Coco Gauff; and potentially the funnest match of the lot between Petra Kvitova and Emma Navarro.
And if, to that, we add Jessica Pegula, Ben Shelton, Lorenzo Musetti, Mirra Andreeva, Qinwen Zheng, Dan Evans v Jay Clarke, and Iga Swiatek seeking to right herself after a miserable season, we have some sense of the glorious chaos just waiting to absorb us.
Play: outside courts 11am BST, No 1 Court 1pm BST, Centre Court 1.30pm BST
Quick Guide
Wimbledon: Tuesday’s order of play
Show
Centre Court (1.30pm BST start)
B Krejcikova (Cz, 17) v A Eala (Phi)
A Muller (Fr) v N Djokovic (Srb, 6)
D Yastremska (Ukr) v C Gauff (US, 2)
No.1 Court (1pm BST start)
J Sinner (It, 1) v L Nardi (It)
P Kvitova (Cz) v E Navarro (US, 10)
J Draper (GB, 4) v S Baez (Arg)
No.2 Court (11am BST start)
E Cocciaretto (It) v J Pegula (US, 3)
N Basilashvili (Geo) v L Musetti (It, 7)
I Swiatek (Pol, 8) v P Kudermetova
B Shelton (US, 10) v A Bolt (Aus)
No.3 Court (11am BST start)
J Monday (GB) v T Paul (US, 13)
M Andreeva (7) v M Sherif (Egy)
G Dimitrov (Bul, 19) v Y Nishioka (Jpn)
E Avenesyan (Arm) v E Rybakina (Kaz, 11)
Court 12 (11am BST start)
C Tauson (Den, 23) v H Watson (GB)
D Evans (GB) v J Clarke (GB)
G Monfils (Fr) v U Humbert (Fr, 18)
S Kenin (US, 28) v T Townsend (US)
Court 18 (11am BST start)
A de Minaur (Aus, 11) v R Carballes Baena (Sp)
M Joint (Aus) v L Samsonova (19)
C McNally (US) v J Burrage (GB)
H Gaston (Fr) v J Mensik (Cz, 15)
Selected courts only; full order of play here.
