Wimbledon
Djokovic brings curtain up on Wimbledon
In the absence of the banned Daniil Medvedev and injured Alexander Zverev, 20-time major winner Djokovic takes top seeding.
Kwon Soon-woo may munch on a chocolate bar on centre court when he tackles defending champion Novak Djokovic in Monday's Wimbledon opener. Meanwhile, Harmony Tan, who takes on Serena Williams on Tuesday, will have plenty of time to devote to her love of surfing should she exit.
Serena Williams admits that she didn't know how or when she would return to tennis but insisted retirement had not been on her agenda during her year-long absence.
Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a seventh title against South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo, ranked 75th in the world.
With her 41st birthday just three months away, Serena Williams hasn't played a singles tie on tour since limping out of Wimbledon in tears in the first round against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in 2021.
Djokovic is bidding for a seventh title at the All England Club to move level with US great Pete Sampras.
The three-time Grand Slam champion was forced to pull out of last week's tournament at Queen's due to an abdominal injury suffered in losing the final of the Stuttgart ATP event to Matteo Berrettini.
"My Achilles still isn't right so I'll see you next time," the four-time Grand Slam winner posted on Twitter.
Rafael said injections meant his left foot felt "asleep" during the French Open final on June 5 - he still beat Casper Ruud to claim a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title.
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which runs Wimbledon, said it was acting to "limit Russia's global influence through the strongest means possible".
Despite the coronavirus and the restrictions that came with it, sport continued in 2021. It delivered its thrills and spills and served to take our minds off the fact that life was happening under some very strange circumstances.
Sunday's effort came after Kgothatso 'KG' Montjane and her partner Lucy Shuker battled on Saturday in the women’s doubles wheelchair final where they lost in straight sets. | @deejaymanaleng
The world number one triumphed against Matteo Berrettini to move level on 20 majors with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic will move level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on career majors with victory and also go three-quarters of the way to the first calendar Slam in more than half a century.
The 25-year-old Australian beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 on Saturday.
The All England Club confirmed that the 43-year-old from Croatia will oversee Sunday's clash between five-time champion Novak Djokovic and Matteo Barrettini.
The world number one triumphed 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 7-5 in a tense semifinal in which he crucially saved 10 of 11 break points.
Matteo Berrettini claimed a 6-3, 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 win over his Polish opponent who had knocked out eight-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals.
The Limpopo-born athlete was the first African wheelchair tennis player to compete at Wimbledon when she was handed a wild card for the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament in London in 2018.