Wimbledon organisers face concerns over the Centre Court roof after Novak Djokovic’s first-round match against Pedro Cachin was delayed amid farcical scenes.

The four-time defending champion defeated Argentinian debutant Cachin 6-3 6-3 7-6 (4) but the clash was delayed for nearly an hour and a half after the first set because of a damp court despite the roof being deployed.

Djokovic had begun to complain about the surface but officials waited until the end of the set to cover the court.

While play resumed under the roof on Court One, Djokovic and Cachin came out to inspect the court with referee Gerry Armstrong, but it was clear the world number two in particular was not happy.

Playing in his first official match on the surface since last year, it was no surprise that Djokovic, who described trying to move on grass in the early stages of the tournament as “like walking on eggs”, was being extremely cautious.

The Serbian maintained good humour about the situation and re-emerged with a towel, which he proceeded to rub on the court to laughter from the crowd, before members of the ground staff used leaf blowers to try to dry the surface.

But it was not until the skies cleared and the roof was opened again that play was able to resume, rendering the expensive covering redundant.

Djokovic said later: “I was communicating quite a lot out of the court with the supervisor and referee, and the chairman of the club came down as well. They were all a little bit confused because that’s something that they never experienced ever since the roof was installed on the Centre Court.

“Both of us players wanted to come out. We did several times to show to the crowd that we want to play, we want to be there. But it was just too many places on the court which were too slippery and really moist.

“It was very strange that for more than an hour the situation was not changing at all for the better. I think it was a good call from the chair umpire (to carry on). I don’t think it has gotten too much wet from that maybe extra minute and a half or something.

“We were lucky that rain stopped so we could resume play with an open roof. Hopefully they’ll fix it because that’s one of the only two courts that has a roof. If it starts raining, if you can’t play under the roof, that’s a little bit of an issue for the schedule.”

Had it not been for the delay, this would have been pretty much the ideal start to Djokovic’s campaign for a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title and eighth Wimbledon crown.

Cachin only played his first tour-level match on grass in Majorca last week and was never likely to prove too much of a test.

There was some early rust from Djokovic, who double-faulted to give Cachin a break for 2-1, but he hit straight back and manoeuvred himself into a 5-3 lead.

Djokovic is now on a 29-match winning streak on grass having not lost on the surface since a final defeat at Queen’s Club back in 2018.

He convincingly won the second set but Cachin earned applause from his opponent for his efforts in the third, which he pushed to a tie-break.

Djokovic had won all his tie-breaks at the French Open without making a single unforced error. That streak ended with a double fault here, and he netted a backhand on his first match point, but he took his third chance, winning it 7-4.

Stiffer tests will surely await, perhaps in the second round against Australian grass-court lover Jordan Thompson, but the defending champion is off and running.

Djokovic has not lost on Centre Court since his final defeat to Andy Murray in 2013, and he said: “It was a solid performance. I’ve been in these situations before so hopefully, as the tournament progresses, I’ll raise my level as well.”

Jan Choinski followed compatriots Liam Broady and Jodie Burrage into the second round with a fine victory over Dusan Lajovic on his main draw debut at Wimbledon.

German-born Choinski, who is the son of a British ballet dancer, changed allegiances in 2019 and received a wild card into round one at the All England Club for the first time this year.

Choinski rewarded the faith placed in him with an impressive 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-2 6-2 win against the world number 56.

Warm applause greeted Choinski’s arrival on Court 17, but he was made to wait five minutes before Lajovic arrived.

When the Serbian did turn up, he was able to break world 164 Choinski immediately, only to see it wiped out in similarly quick time.

Lajovic did manage to edge the opener but it failed to deter Choinski.

An even second set went to a tie-breaker and Choinski managed to hold his nerve.

It boosted the confidence of the British number six and, backed on by a growing crowd, he moved two sets up when he claimed the third.

There was no looking back now, with Choinski able to break Lajovic twice more in the fourth set to secure himself a spot in round two after two hours and 35 minutes.

Jodie Burrage feared she would have to give up her tennis career three years ago – but now she is celebrating a first Wimbledon win.

Burrage, 24, contemplated hanging up her racket and going to university instead after undergoing a third ankle operation.

But a 6-1 6-3 win over American Caty McNally – her maiden success at SW19 after consecutive first-round exits – has likely catapulted the British wild card into the top 100 for the first time.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of injuries throughout my career, and a lot of people telling me that I couldn’t get to the top, that I wouldn’t be a player when I was younger,” she said.

“After my third ankle operation, my mind had decided that that was it. That was my tennis career done.

“But I somehow got back on the horse with help from family and friends, and my boyfriend as well, that really helped push through that not-so-nice time.

“To sit here saying I’ve won my first round at Wimbledon, hopefully going to be in the top 100 in two weeks, I was not expecting that, but I’m very happy that it’s happened.”

McNally was clearly hindered by a problem with her right thigh, which was heavily strapped, and Burrage broke her three times as she wrapped up the first set in only 22 minutes.

The world number 67 received treatment at the changeover and instantly improved, forcing a break after Burrage stopped to challenge a call which had clearly hit the baseline.

“I wasn’t happy with myself at all at that call but sometimes stuff like that happens. Unfortunately it was on a break point,” she added.

“But I think actually that fired me up a little bit. I was obviously annoyed with myself, but I used it in a positive way. ”

Burrage hit back with a double break, and converted a match point at the sixth time of asking to book a second-round meeting with 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.

Venus Williams suffered a nasty fall as her emotional Wimbledon return ended in Centre Court defeat to Elina Svitolina.

The 43-year-old, whose first outing at SW19 came in 1997, was absent from the singles draw last year but was handed a wild card into this year’s tournament.

However, the five-time champion’s stay did not make it past the opening afternoon as she went down 6-4 6-3 to the Ukrainian having been injured in the opening moments of the match.

It remains to be seen whether this will be her Wimbledon swansong, as it was for her sister Serena 12 months ago, but time is obviously ticking on one of the all-time great tennis careers.

Williams, who only had two warm-up events in the run up to the tournament having previously not played since January, briefly gave hope that she could roll back the years as she broke Svitolina in her first service game.

But a slip as she approached the net in the third game saw her fall to the ground and shriek loudly in agony, and it looked like that might be the end of her return.

She was able to be patched up but, although she proved she still has the power to match anyone with some searing winners, her movement was hampered and Svitolina broke again on a run of four successive games.

That was enough for her to claim the first set and she strengthened her grip on the contest by immediately breaking at the start of the second to leave Williams facing an uphill task.

The veteran has overcome some obstacles in her time but this one proved too much.

Svitolina, who is making a return of her own after missing last year’s tournament following the birth of her first child, proved she is still a top-class player as she raced to a 5-1 lead and served for the match at 5-2.

Much to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, though, Williams displayed her fighting spirit as she claimed one break back.

It only delayed the inevitable, though, as the Ukrainian closed it out on Williams’ serve to book her place in the second round.

The Minnesota Timberwolves had faith that Anthony Edwards would be the cornerstone of the franchise when they selected him first overall in the 2020 draft.

He's proven he was worth the pick and has been rewarded, agreeing to a five-year, $207million rookie max extension with the Timberwolves on Monday.

The deal could be worth $260million if he makes an All-NBA team during the 2023-24 season.

Edwards made his first All-Star team this past season, as he led the Timberwolves in scoring with a career-best 24.6 points per game, while also averaging 5.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals.

At 21 years old, he became the youngest player to average those numbers in a season since LeBron James in 2005-06.

He has helped guide the Timberwolves to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2004, and stepped up his scoring game in this season's first-round loss to the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.

Edwards averaged 31.6 points against the Nuggets and scored a Timberwolves franchise playoff-record 41 points in Game 2.

He drained six 3-pointers in that game and averaged 2.7 made 3s during the regular season while shooting 36.9 per cent from beyond the arc.

As one of the league's brightest young stars, Edwards emerged as Minnesota's most dangerous scoring threat with two-time All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns missing 52 games this past season with a calf strain.

The durable Edwards has missed just seven games due to injury in his first three seasons.

In 223 career games, he is averaging 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.7 made 3s.

Frankie Dettori is to sell a selection of his trophies and racing silks, putting 126 items up for auction ahead of his retirement from the sport.

The 52-year-old jockey, who will bow out at end of the current campaign, has been clearing out items from his home near Newmarket as he and his wife Catherine prepare to move house, as he said their children have all “branched out”.

His scales, a saddle, boots and photographs are among the 126 pieces to be sold in an online auction by Cheffins in Cambridge from July 5.

The sale has been described by auctioneers as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own prizes and memorabilia from one of the greatest sports personalities worldwide”.

Among the lots is Dettori’s trophy from last month’s Oaks win aboard Soul Sister, which would be his last success in a British Classic should he not win the St Leger in September.

Dettori said: “We’re going to move away from Newmarket.

“Newmarket’s been my life.

“We’re scaling down and I’ve got so much stuff, we thought we might as well just auction it.

“I didn’t realise because they end up in drawers, in cupboards, in the cellar, I mean they’re all over the place.

“Now we’re clearing up a lot of stuff, we didn’t realise how much accumulated in so many years.”

He said it had been difficult to decide what to sell and what to keep.

“Yes, of course, you know, but then you’ve got to put everything in context,” he said.

“You need a mansion to put the trophies up.

“I tried to keep something what means something to me, some of the important stuff like the Derby and things like that, but the rest is going to go up in auction.”

He continued: “All my kids have branched out, so it’s only myself and Catherine my wife left so we’re planning to rent the house, scale down and move towards London a bit.

“And I’d like to travel the world a bit.”

Dettori said he felt it was the “right time” to retire, and “wanted to stop at the top”.

“I’m going to be 53 and I wanted to stop at the top. I still feel that I’m riding well enough to finish at the top.

“I think it’s the right time.

“My heart doesn’t want to stop but my brain is telling me to stop.

“It’s not going to be easy.”

He said some of the proceeds of the auction will go to the charity Direct Aid For Africa (DAFA), and some will go to his children, adding: “My daughter’s getting married next year but she hasn’t fixed a date yet.”

He said that in his retirement he is “not going to be too far away from racing”.

“Working on TV is an option,” he said.

“I’m in talks at the moment with a few different channels and I think that’s the way that I’m going to head.”

Asked if he would consider an appearance on the reality show I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here, Dettori said: “I haven’t been asked yet but if I do get asked, I’ll have a good think about that.”

He said the reception he has been getting for winners has surprised him.

“The warmth of the people has been amazing,” said Dettori.

“Wherever I go, I was taking a lot of selfies last year but quadrupled the amount of selfies that I’m taking every day.

“People have been so good. I’m enjoying it.

“It’s going to be sad when I get to the end of the season, but at the moment I’m not thinking about it.

“I’m trying to do good and trying to go through my last year in a happy fashion.”

Harriet Lusty, deputy saleroom manager at Cheffins, said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own prizes and memorabilia from one of the greatest sports personalities worldwide.

“This one-off sale will take place solely online over a two-week period, and will include some of the most significant prizes Frankie has won to date, such as the trophy for his win in the Epsom Oaks in June 2023.

“This is an incredible opportunity for fans of horseracing, and we expect interest from buyers not only from the UK but also from across Europe, the Middle East and also the US as Frankie Dettori is consistently the most famous name in the sport worldwide.”

New Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino wants to bring happiness back to Stamford Bridge and is aiming to win in style.

The Argentinian took up his new post at the start of July and heads to west London at a turbulent time for the club.

The Blues finished 12th in the Premier League last season, playing under four different managers who all struggled to integrate almost £600million of new signings into the team.

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Former Tottenham boss Pochettino has now been tasked with bringing about an upturn in form and results and is ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

“I know very well that Chelsea is one of the greatest clubs in the world,” he said in an interview with his new club released on social media.

“Of course, it was easy for us (Pochettino and his backroom staff) to take the decision to move here.

“I think it’s exciting for us and of course what we want is to bring the happiness again to this great football club, working hard, playing in the way that the fans can enjoy football.”

Pochettino has yet to win silverware as a manager in England but did lift the Ligue 1 title as Paris St Germain coach in 2022 before being sacked weeks later.

“The history of Chelsea is to win,” the 51-year-old said.

“But it’s important also in the way that we are going to build up the victories – I think in the last 10, 12, 15 years Chelsea is the greatest team in England.

“I know very well the Premier League, I know very well what Chelsea means, the culture of Chelsea.

“Our fans, they’re so excited also to again be on the road of trying to win and of course, for us we feel really excited about working with a very young team.”

It has already been another summer of change on the pitch for Chelsea, who have signed forwards Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku to add to Pochettino’s firepower.

They have also moved on a host of talent with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Mateo Kovacic, Edouard Mendy, Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek departing and Mason Mount on the cusp of joining Manchester United.

McLaren boss Zak Brown has called on Formula One’s governing body to ensure the track-limits fiasco which overshadowed the Austrian Grand Prix never happens again.

Drivers were penalised throughout the weekend at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for crossing the white lines – with the final classification for Sunday’s race only settled five hours after the chequered flag.

Eight of the 20-strong grid were dealt post-race sanctions by the FIA, with Lewis Hamilton demoted from seventh to eighth.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz slipped two places to sixth, while Frenchman Esteban Ocon was handed an extraordinary half-a-minute’s worth of combined penalties for track-limit infringements.

Earlier in the weekend, world champion Max Verstappen accused race director Niels Wittich of making the grid’s stars look like “amateurs”. In all, more than 100 laps were deleted during Sunday’s race.

“It definitely wasn’t ideal what happened, and that’s stating the obvious,” said Brown.

“Where we need to do a better job is that we knew this was going to be a problem on Friday and yet we just kind of watched it happen.

“We need to make sure it never happens again, and that we do a proper debrief and understand how we could have prevented it in the first place or handled it differently.”

McLaren driver Lando Norris benefited from Sainz’s post-race penalty to be promoted to fourth to take his best result of a difficult season for the British team.

Brown, speaking at the reveal of a one-off livery for McLaren’s home race at Silverstone this weekend, continued: “I’ll take my hat off to the FIA for addressing the issue and I think it would have been easy to say, ‘this is going to cause a lot of noise, let’s just kind of get it right next time’.

“For them to put their hands and say there were some penalties that needed to be addressed, I thought that was a brave decision.

“But we can’t have it again. We can’t have a race and then five hours later you have that degree of change in the result.”

Cadan Murley has been analysing prolific Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to sharpen his own finishing as he targets a place in England’s World Cup squad.

Murley is happy to put his support for Manchester United on hold in the belief that even though Haaland plays a different sport, his predatory instincts provide a valuable insight into scoring.

Haaland recently set a new goalscoring record in a Premier League season with 52 – 36 in the top flight – as he helped City complete the treble, while Murley proved equally deadly in the Gallagher Premiership by ending 2022-23 at the top of the try chart with 15.

“Every sportsman looks at other sports to see how they can improve and you’ve just got to look at Haaland’s goalscoring record this season – it’s been absolutely incredible. As a United fan that’s a pretty tough thing to say!” Harlequins wing Murley said.

“For a lot of those goals he’s been called a tap-in merchant, but you have to be in the right place at the right time. A lot of that is down to his relationships and his understanding of the players around him.

“He’s got some of the best assisters around him – Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez – but he still has to be in the right place at the right time to know what they are going to do and how to finish.

“Watching him play, he’s always so alert, he’s always live in the play and looking around for where the opportunity is going to come.

“And a lot of wingers these days, that’s where their tries come. You need to read the game early and know who is around you.

“At Quins, we’ve got Andre Esterhuizen and Alex Dombrandt and they are the two who are going to look for the offload the most, so if I can flood in around them, I know that’s when the touch is going to come.

“I know Marcus Smith prefers to kick one way, or when he looks a couple of times that’s when he’s going to do it. Little things like that, having those relationships with the players around you, is massive.”

The task now facing Murley is to rapidly develop his familiarity with his England team-mates having been picked in a 41-man World Cup training squad that will be reduced to 33 on August 7.

The uncapped 23-year-old has been working on his aerial skills to improve his all-round game, but it is understanding the nuances of playmakers such as Owen Farrell and George Ford that will be key to securing his place at France 2023.

“Haaland joined Manchester City and fitted in seamlessly, which is a skill in itself. It’s about working on how you can come in and and do that as quickly as possible in this environment,” Murley said.

“We’re all chucked together from different clubs and all play a different way. Getting to know people on and off the pitch firstly will help.

“Then going through different clips from training, watching different clips of people during the training and analysis – what they are thinking at different points – that can help as well.

“I’ve got those relationships with the Quins lads already, but we don’t know who’s going to get picked for the World Cup, so I need to have relationships with all the 41-man squad at the moment.”

Lando Norris has told Just Stop Oil campaigners that they would be “stupid and selfish” to put lives in danger by protesting at the British Grand Prix.

The climate activists have already targeted the Lord’s Ashes Test, the Premiership rugby final and the World Snooker Championship so far this year.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s race, British driver Norris, 23, said: “Of course, it is a concern because is a stupid thing to do to put your life in danger with cars driving around.

“It is also a very selfish thing to do because of the consequences it could have on the person that drives the car.

“Everyone has a right to protest and I guess there are good ways of doing it and worse ways.

“I just hope people are smart enough not to do it. There are much safer ways to get just as much attention.”

Five protesters invaded last year’s British Grand Prix after they stormed the Wellington Straight – the fastest point of the Northamptonshire track – before sitting down during the opening lap.

The contest had already been suspended following Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu’s high-speed crash, but a number of cars sped by the group before they were dragged away by marshals. The protesters were handed suspended jail sentences in March.

Silverstone has worked alongside Northamptonshire Police to beef up security ahead of this year’s event, with a record 480,000 people expected to attend over the weekend, and more than 140,000 fans in place for the race.

Speaking to the PA news agency earlier on Monday, Silverstone managing director Stuart Pringle said: “The fundamental difference here is that you are not putting your life in danger when you run on the pitch at Lord’s.

“You are not putting your life in danger when you sit on a snooker table or protest at a flower show.

“A motor racing track is not the place to go. It is extraordinarily dangerous and people will be putting lives at risk if they go there, and any sensible, right-thinking person can extrapolate what the ultimate risk here is.

“My strong, strong message is: ‘Do not put your life in danger. This is not the place to go and sit on a floor’. It is absolute madness if someone climbs on to a live racing track.

“We have no specific intelligence, but we will plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

Lewis Hamilton is gearing up for his home race following a disappointing Austrian Grand Prix where he finished seventh and was then demoted to eighth after a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton was also dealt a public rebuke by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. The Austrian told Hamilton to “just drive the car” following a number of complaints by his driver over the radio.

“There are days when I can say I’m truly proud of myself, and days like today when frustration takes over,” said Hamilton on his Instagram account.

“In a race it can feel like you’re hanging off a cliff and losing the strength to hold on.

“It’s confusing for us to have such strong performances one day and then be nowhere the next.

“But when you really care about what you’re doing, you brush it off and keep fighting. Heads down for Silverstone.”

Brendon McCullum believes the furore over Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s could be the turning point for England’s Ashes campaign, and predicted Australia would come to regret their part in the controversy.

Alex Carey’s opportunistic stumping of his fellow wicketkeeper during a dramatic conclusion to the second Test sparked unprecedented fury from fans and members at the home of cricket and the row showed no signs of slowing down on Monday.

Ex-players and pundits from both countries weighed in on the incident and the matter even reached the door of Number 10 Downing Street, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declaring it a breach of the spirit of cricket via his official spokesperson.

But when it comes to the battle for the urn, which Australia lead 2-0 with three to play, how it affects the players in each dressing room is the only issue which really matters.

McCullum believes the flashpoint could stiffen England’s resolve to mount a fightback, with captain Ben Stokes providing the template when he responded to Bairstow’s untimely exit by unloading a brutal 155 in what felt like a personal revenge mission.

And for those involved in the dismissal, the England coach expects a sense of remorse may one day creep in despite current protestations to the contrary.

“I imagine it will affect things, it has to,” he said, as he cast an eye to Thursday’s third Test at Headingley.

“In the end, they made a play, they’ve got to live with that. We would have made a different play but that’s life. In time, we’ll see, but I get the feeling that it might have an effect on them.

“I don’t know if it’s anger, but our unit is galvanised. There are times as a coach where you’ve got to reduce emotion because it’s going to bubble over and you can make poor decisions, but there’s times when you allow emotion to go because it’s going to galvanise the unit.

“That’s what I felt this emotion did for the side. I looked around the group and the guys were a little upset. If that helps us to win those key moments in the next Test, then I’m all for it. (Winning) 3-2 has a nice ring to it.”

On Stokes, who said he would have withdrawn the appeal in the same position, McCullum was effusive: “Not just is he a tremendous cricketer, and what he did at Lord’s was out of this world, but his leadership is something that you just cannot over-estimate.

“Not just the moves he makes on the field, but the way he carries himself, the way he talks to the team, his conviction, his belief in all of the guys, his morals. Not just for the team but the game moving forward.

“We are so lucky to have him as our leader.”

McCullum’s initial reaction in the aftermath of Australia’s 43-run victory was to cast doubt on taking part in the traditional post-series drinks between the rival teams.

He was criticised for being hypocritical in some quarters, with instances from his own playing days held up as evidence.

McCullum’s run out of Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan as he celebrated a team-mate’s century in 2006 was cited by some, but the New Zealander says he long ago accepted that was poor judgement.

“I’ve made an apology to Murali in my Cowdrey Lecture (in 2016). When I was a younger man I didn’t quite understand the significance of what the game and the spirit of the game means,” he explained.

“It’s what the defining point of the game is compared to others, and it’s only with the benefit of time and experience that we’re able to learn that and cherish it.

“I think with the benefit of time and maturity as a player you understand how vital the spirit of the game is to this great game that we play, and you make decisions that you sometimes look back on and say did I get that right?”

England will continue to check on Ollie Pope’s injured shoulder as they look to keep their Ashes hopes alive at Headingley this week.

The vice-captain hurt his shoulder while fielding in the first innings of the 43-run defeat at Lord’s and went on to aggravate the problem when a misunderstanding with the match officials led England to believe they could not use a substitute fielder later in the game. He made 42 and three in the match, batting in his regular spot at three.

The 25-year-old has been retained in a 15-man squad for Thursday’s crucial third Test, which England need to win to stand a chance of overturning a 2-0 deficit, but it is not yet clear if he will be passed fit.

Essex batsman Dan Lawrence, who won the last of his 11 caps in the West Indies 16 months ago, is the spare batter in the squad and would be in line for a recall if Pope is forced to pull out.

Head coach Brendon McCullum said: “We will check Ollie and work it out. We will see how he is.

“I was so proud of Ollie, to do what he did (at Lord’s). He’s a tough kid to bat at number three and want to make an impact.

“That 40-odd in the first innings, he was suffering a lot of pain, but he was able to invest in the team and put that to one side and operate.

“He’s obviously our vice-captain as well and a fantastic leader in the group, albeit at a young age.”

England could look to freshen up their bowling attack after a brief three-day turnaround, with James Anderson and Ollie Robinson the likeliest to make way.

Spinner Moeen Ali, who was not risked for the second Test due to a nasty wound on his right index finger, is in contention to return and Mark Wood will bring his express 90mph pace to the side if the medical staff are confident he can get through the match.

Wood has not played competitive red-ball cricket since December and could not guarantee he would be able to operate at top speed consistently at Lord’s. Chris Woakes is also available and brings a strong home record with the Dukes ball as well reliable lower-order batting.