Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva revealed she had met her idol Andy Murray at Wimbledon but was too shy to speak to him.

The 16-year-old recently revealed that the two-time champion was a lucky charm after he sent her a good luck message in Madrid in response to Andreeva calling him “beautiful”.

She went on to make the fourth round in the Spanish capital and more good luck could be about to follow in SW19 after she reached the third round when her opponent Barbora Krejcikova retired injured in their second-round match.

But even though she got to meet Murray, she could not bring herself to say anything.

Andreeva, who was 6-3 4-0 up when the former French Open could not continue, said: “I met Andy Murray here. But I’m too shy to talk to him.

“When I see him, I try to leave the facility super quick just to not talk to him because I’m super shy.”

Anett Kontaveit’s singles career is over after she was easily beaten by 32nd seed Marie Bouzkova.

The Estonian, who reached number two in the world, is retiring after this tournament and will not have a fairytale ending after a 6-1 6-2 defeat.

She left Court 18 in tears, but will compete in the mixed doubles.

French Open finalist Karolina Muchova is out after she was beaten 4-6 7-5 6-1 by Jule Niemeier.

Muchova suffered an injury early in the third set after slipping and was unable to recover.

Asked about the injury she told the PA news agency: “I don’t know much about it yet, it is tough to know how, hopefully it is not serious.

“It affected me for sure, but she played great, it would be tough either way, even if nothing happened.”

Sofia Kenin looks like she could be an outsider for the tournament after following up her statement win over Coco Gauff with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Wang Xinyu, while Elina Svitolina’s comeback from giving birth last year continues to go well with a 6-1 1-6 6-1 success against 28th seed Elise Mertens.

Bianca Andreescu had been waiting since Tuesday to play her first-round match due to the rain and she came through 6-3 3-6 6-2 against Anna Bondar while Viktoria Azarenka made light work of Nadia Podoroska with a 6-3 6-0 success.

Liam Broady outlasted world number four Casper Ruud in five sets for a career-best win that made him the first British male through to the third round at Wimbledon.

In trademark gutsy fashion, Broady had to dig deep to fight back from two sets to one down but – carried by a buoyant Centre Court crowd – he clinched an excellent 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 victory in three hours and 27 minutes.

Ruud had made the finals of Roland Garros and the US Open during the past 12 months and yet had no answers to Broady’s mixture of flamboyance and grit, with this win sending the world number 142 through to the third round for a second year in a row.

Katie Boulter battled into the Wimbledon third round for the second straight year and set up a potential meeting with reigning champion Elena Rybakina.

The sole British woman remaining in the singles draw recovered from a second-set wobble to beat Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-0 3-6 6-3 on Court 12.

Watched by Australian boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who won his delayed first-round match earlier on Thursday, Boulter equalled her best showing in SW19.

Tomova is ranked 10 places below Boulter at 99 in the world, but she appeared a dangerous opponent having recorded her first top-30 win in the opening round by defeating 27th seed Bernarda Pera.

Yet Boulter was all over her from the start, an aggressive opening return game securing the first of three breaks of serve.

Having seen the first set race away from her in just 27 minutes, Tomova finally got on the board in the second and then nicked a break from the previously impeccable Boulter serve.

The British number one hit straight back with a glorious winner, but Tomova had got in her stride, switching tactics and changing angles to unsettle her opponent and level the match.

Back-to-back net cords helped Boulter break for 2-0 in the decider and after that second-set blip, she regained her composure and asserted herself on the contest once more.

The Boulter serve was back on song, but she needed to come out on the right end of an epic 24-shot rally before converting a third match point with her 36th winner to wrap up a fine victory.

Stan Wawrinka rates his chances of winning Wimbledon as “zero” but can complete a notable set by knocking out his old rival Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Wawrinka, 38, defeated 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to reach the last 32 at the All England Club for the first time since 2015.

The Swiss veteran has won only six of his 26 previous meetings but two of those came in grand slam finals, at the French Open in 2015 and the US Open the following year, while he has also beaten him at the Australian Open.

Wawrinka is finally back in the top 100 after years spent trying to battle back from knee and foot surgeries, and he was determined to play down his chances against Djokovic.

“There’s zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me, I think,” he said. “I’m happy to have won today again. I think it was a great match. I’m playing better each match and I think it’s an honour to play Novak here.

“I was missing that on my career to play him in the grand slam in Wimbledon. It’s going to be a difficult challenge. Hopefully I can make a competitive match, but, if you will look at recent results, I don’t really stand a chance.”

Asked if he believes he can beat Djokovic, Wawrinka said with a smile: “I don’t know. I have to be on the court, play my best tennis and like I did in the past, but right now it’s been a long time I didn’t play at that level.

“He’s the perfect player. If you look, everything is so clean. He plays the perfect shot in the right moment. I love to watch him play, as much as I was loving to watch Roger (Federer) play. He’s serving amazing, he’s returning everything. He can do everything.

“I like to watch tennis. So I’m going to be playing tomorrow and then watching the rest of the tournament.”

While Wawrinka insisted his last comment was a joke, it will suit him to pile all the pressure on Djokovic for the clash of the veterans.

The match will be the oldest combined age for a men’s singles match at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall faced Barry Phillips-Moore in 1974.

Djokovic, 36, is now on a 30-match winning streak at Wimbledon and will be a big favourite but he will be wary of the power of Wawrinka.

“He took away two grand slams from me,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

“After several surgeries of his knees, he keeps going strong and trying to create some more history for himself and tennis. We cannot forget that he’s a three-time grand slam champion and Davis Cup winner and also Olympic gold. He had a fantastic career.

“One of the nicest one-handed backhands that I have ever played against, ever seen. Very powerful player. Very strong. Very complete. He can play equally well on all surfaces.”

Jan Choinski has targeted a Wimbledon return next year but wants to get there in his own right.

German-born Choinski, the son of an English ballet dancer, was handed a debut wild card and rewarded tournament organisers with an impressive first-round win against world number 56 Dusan Lajovic.

But his fun ended on Thursday when his former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz won a tight match 6-4 6-4 7-6 (3) on Court 18.

The 26-year-old, who changed his nationality to British in 2019 and is ranked 164th in the world, got the taste for SW19 and wants a 2024 repeat.

“I would be very happy coming back next year,” he said. “Maybe even without needing a wild card for the main draw, try my best to get my ranking to a position where I can enter the tournament by myself.”

Asked whether he has proven he can produce at the top level, he replied: “Yes, I think so. I mean, I played a very good first match.

“I kept it as close as possible. Also having chances to win a set off a guy (Hurkacz) that’s top 20, previously been top 10 in the world, played semi-finals here as well, ended Roger’s (Federer) career at Wimbledon.

“It doesn’t get much better than his level in terms of tennis and grass-court tennis.

“Keeping the match quite close and having my chances to take a set off him, as well, is just positive.

“I couldn’t thank the people more that gave me the opportunity to play in this tournament. I feel it has to do with a lot of trust, as well, trusting me that I’ve got the level to compete at this level. Yeah, just want to say huge thanks.

“I have learnt a lot during the past couple of days. I think just going to take out all the positive bits, and also super happy about winning my first grand slam match.”

Choinski was always up against it, saving break points early on, but Hurkacz, who made the 2021 semi-finals at SW19, kept knocking on the door and crucially made the breakthrough at 4-4 and then served the first set out.

The second set followed an identical pattern with a key break at 4-4 putting Hurkacz in firm control.

After saving several break points throughout the third set, Choinski’s moment came at 6-5 when he had three set points at 0-40 on Hurkacz’s serve, but he could not convert them.

With that his chance disappeared as the Pole dominated the tie-break to seal a straight-sets win and book his spot in the third round.

He added: “I felt like I was playing good tennis. The match was very competitive. We played over two hours. I think the first two sets were decided each by one break.

“I tried my best. You know, unlucky that I got broken twice at 4-4. Then in the third set when I had the three set points, I’m sad about not making those, but that’s tennis. That’s life.”

Stan Wawrinka will lock horns again with old rival Novak Djokovic in the third round at Wimbledon.

Wawrinka, 38, defeated 29th seed Tomas Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to reach the last 32 at the All England Club for the first time since 2015.

The Swiss veteran has won only six of their 26 previous meetings but two of those came in grand slam finals, at the French Open in 2015 and the US Open the following year, while he has also beaten him at the Australian Open.

They have played only twice since, with Wawrinka facing a long road back after knee and foot surgeries, but he has finally returned to the top 100 and will take on Djokovic for the first time on grass.

“I will enjoy it if I don’t get killed,” he said with a smile. “I’m quite happy to have the chance to play against him on grass at least one time before I finish playing. It’s going to be a big challenge. Hopefully I can play a high level and be competitive.”

The match will be the oldest combined age for a men’s singles match at Wimbledon since Ken Rosewall faced Barry Phillips-Moore in 1974.

Djokovic, 36, is now on a 30-match winning streak at Wimbledon and will be a big favourite but he will be wary of the power of Wawrinka.

“He took away two grand slams from me,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion.

“After several surgeries of his knees, he keeps going strong and trying to create some more history for himself and tennis. We cannot forget that he’s a three-time grand slam champion and Davis Cup winner and also Olympic gold. He had a fantastic career.

“One of the nicest one-handed backhands that I have ever played against, ever seen. Very powerful player. Very strong. Very complete. He can play equally well on all surfaces.”

Visually-impaired tennis fans are trialling headsets at Wimbledon that enable them to watch live action from in the stands.

The headsets, developed by UK company GiveVision and powered by Vodafone 5G, stream live footage from local TV cameras and enhance it to suit a user’s specific sight profile.

Sinead Grealy, a life-long tennis fan who once skipped school to queue for Wimbledon, has been taking part in the trial on Centre Court and Court One.

She told the PA news agency: “I can’t tell you how fantastic it is. I would need a thesaurus and know how to work it for all the superlatives.

“The technology is incredible. It takes my eyesight to better than it was. The first time I put it on I just went, ‘woah’. And then I went ‘woah’ again with the first adjustment because it’s so simple. I’m a technophobe and it’s so easy to use.

“I need it in my life, I will be buying it whenever it comes on the market. You don’t know how many people it’s going to help.

“I’ve got a very good chance of going 100 per cent blind. I don’t have to fear that, and that genuinely, in the quiet hours when I couldn’t sleep, kept me up at night, that I would never be able to go and enjoy live sport ever again. The scope this has is just beyond where I was even hoping it could go.”

GiveVision has also been working in sport with Premier League club Crystal Palace and hopes the technology can be rolled out across many more venues.

Head of operations Joanna Liddington explained: “It brings the image much closer to the user’s face, stimulates the photoreceptor cells in the retina and allows them to regain some of the sight they’ve lost, essentially.

“They can zoom in and out, change the brightness, have a look around and take in the atmosphere. They can manipulate it to fit their needs.”

The ability for visually impaired people to experience sport without being restricted to specific areas is one of the key benefits of the technology.

“With the headset, people can sit anywhere they want, be with their friends and family,” said Liddington.

“At the moment people with sight loss are severely under-represented. One in 30 people in the country have visual impairment and our experience with football is you have about five or six people at any given match.

“In Centre Court, you should have about 500 people, and of course we don’t see that because people don’t go because they can’t see what’s going on.

“There have been so many times I’ve seen people go, ‘Wow, this is amazing’. To see the difference it makes to people who are passionate fans of their sport, finally get to see their first goal, first bit of tennis.

“One of the guys we work with, who was born visually impaired, he said the best thing is, when there’s a foul, he can choose if it was a foul. ‘I can argue with my friends about it, I can be angry with the ref, my opinion and my voice finally matters’, and that’s the impact.”

Hubert Hurkacz showed no mercy to his former doubles partner Jan Choinski as he sent the Briton packing in the second round at Wimbledon.

German-born Choinski, the son of an English ballet dancer, partnered with the 17th seed up until 2016, but could not match him on Court 18 as Hurkacz won 6-4 6-4 7-6 (3).

Defeat brings to an end Choinski’s first appearance in SW19 having been given a wild card, leaving just four Britons remaining in the draw.

Still, it has been a few days to remember for the 27-year-old, ranked 164 in the world, as he enjoyed a maiden grand slam win on Monday when he beat world number 56 Dusan Lajovic.

Choinski was always up against it, saving break points early on, but Hurkacz, who made the 2021 semi-finals at SW19, kept knocking on the door and crucially made the breakthrough at 4-4 and then served the first set out.

The second set followed an identical pattern with a key break at 4-4 putting Hurkacz in firm control.

After saving several break points throughout the third set, Choinski’s moment came at 6-5 when he had three set points at 0-40 on Hurkacz’s serve, but he could not convert them.

With that his chance disappeared as the Pole dominated the tie-break to seal a straight-sets win and book his spot in the third round.

Mark Philippoussis still holds frustrations over his defeat to Roger Federer in the 2003 Wimbledon final.

Thursday, July 6 marks 20 years since Philippoussis went down 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to a then 21-year-old Federer at the All England Club.

That defeat saw Philippoussis' second chance at winning a major title pass by, and also marked the first grand slam success of Federer's incredible career.

Federer would win a further 19 major titles, including another seven at Wimbledon, before he retired last year.

Reflecting on that loss 20 years ago, Philippoussis told Stats Perform that seeing Federer go on to enjoy so much success did not ease the pain.

"No, no, I think a loss is a loss and unfortunately, no one really remembers the runners-up," he said.

"I'm always going to be proud of those couple of weeks, and Wimbledon was always my favourite event of the year and my dream as a kid. I came close but close wasn't good enough."

Philippoussis does have immense pride in his run to that final, though.

He added: "It was a very proud day. It was my dream, one of my dreams as a kid was hopefully one day, not only just play on that Centre Court, but play that last Sunday match and have that walk on that Centre Court.

"I was lucky enough to do that walk. Of course, going all the way and losing in the final hurts, I'm not going to lie, especially where I believe that I had some opportunities in that first set.

"It wasn't meant to be but I'm very proud of that."

Asked if he believed at that moment Federer would ultimately become one of the greatest players of all time, Philippoussis said: "He always had that talent. He was number three in the world at that stage. It's not like he came out of nowhere.

"He was someone that everyone was looking up to, that was capable of being a grand slam champion and number one in the world, but did I think he was going to go ahead and win over 20 grand slams?

"I thought that maybe Pete Sampras was going to hold on to that [record of] 14 for a little while, but just the way Federer dominated for years after that was amazing."

Federer's eight titles in the men's singles is a Wimbledon record. Sampras and Novak Djokovic, who is seeded second at the current tournament, are one behind him on seven.

Wimbledon is again playing catch-up on Thursday after protesters and more rain caused delays on Wednesday.

British fans will have hopes for another Andy Murray classic on Centre Court as he plays fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas while three other home players are in singles action.

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina headline the day’s action in the women’s tournament as organisers hope for better weather and no more disruption from activists.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Thursday’s action.

Playing catch-up

The inclement weather over the first three days has caused havoc with the scheduling.

While the likes of Iga Swiatek and Novak Djokovic are sat comfortably in the third round, there are 17 first-round matches across both the men’s and women’s draw still to be completed going into the fourth day of the tournament – when all second-round matches are usually completed.

That backlog is going to take a couple of days to clear and with the threat of more rain to come at the weekend, tournament officials will be wary of more scheduling headaches.

Match of the day

Murray will meet Tsitsipas in the second round and it has all the hallmarks of another evening thriller under the roof.

The two-time champion has specialised in such occasions over his rich history at the tournament and this will be a good test of where his game really is.

Tsitsipas had to play four sets of his fourth-round match on Wednesday, which could help Murray, but is one of the best players in the world.

If Murray is to win, there are sure to be some nails bitten first.

Stricter security

After there were two separate Just Stop Oil protests on Wednesday, where activists twice got on to Court 18 to throw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces, security looks set to be beefed up to prevent any more incidents.

Jigsaws were removed from sale in the onsite shop on Tuesday, but fans could now have to go through a more vigorous bag check when entering the grounds.

There could also be more security guards and police on show to protect the players and courts.

Brit watch

Five British players fell on Wednesday as Heather Watson, Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, Jodie Burrage and Sonay Kartal all lost, but the home interest remains strong on Thursday.

Murray is not the only Briton on Centre Court as Liam Broady opens up proceedings against fourth seed Casper Ruud, while Katie Boulter will look to equal her best effort at Wimbledon by beating Viktoriya Tomova on Court 12 and reach round three.

Jan Choinski completes the British singles line-up when he takes on his former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz in the opening match on Court 18.

Order of play

Centre Court
Liam Broady v Casper Ruud
Elena Rybakina v Alize Cornet
Andy Murray v Stefanos Tsitsipas

Court One
Alexander Zverev v Gijs Brouwer
Sloane Stephens v Donna Vekic
Jessica Pegula v Cristina Bucsa

Other Britons
Katie Boulter v Viktoriya Tomova (Court 12)
Jan Choinski v Hubert Hurkacz (Court 18)

Weather

World number one Iga Swiatek was enjoying the calmness amid the chaos at Wimbledon after easing past Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round.

The Pole was able to book her place in the third round before some first-round matches had even started after rain caused havoc with the scheduling.

There was little danger of her being knocked out of rhythm as she breezed to a 6-2 6-0 victory on Centre Court.

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“For sure it’s really comfortable,” she said. “I’m happy that my matches were scheduled under the roof, so I always was certain that it’s going to actually happen.

“It’s a little bit easier to prepare knowing that. But on the other hand I know I would still be ready anyway if my match was suspended or something.

“For sure it’s more comfortable. I would say you have this normal grand slam rhythm with one day off, one day of playing matches.”

Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk revealed a bout of tears during the two rain breaks helped her stage an impressive recovery against eighth seed Maria Sakkari.

Kostyuk looked to be heading home after being bagelled in the first set, but, with the aid of a couple of emotional outbursts when the wet weather came, she turned it around to seal a 0-6 7-5 6-2 victory.

“The rain helped. I think I was very emotional,” she said. “I got more emotional on court after the second rain break, but before that, I was very emotional but I was, like, numb in a way. I was so emotional I couldn’t do anything about it.

“So I had a really good cry both times, that helped, because I was also desperate in a certain way, because I’m playing good, but I don’t know why is it going so bad.”

Kostyuk received good support from the British crowd, having been booed at the French Open for failing to shake Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka’s hand after their match due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“That was questionable behaviour from the fans,” she said. “I mean, they can do whatever they want, honestly, but I just didn’t understand it. I don’t think I ever will.

“Obviously the support here is different, I’m very happy with the support at the end of the match and throughout the match too.”

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova enjoyed an impromptu appearance on Centre Court as her contest with Jasmine Paolini was moved there following three quick matches.

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And she prevailed in a thrilling late-night finish on her old stomping ground, winning 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-1.

Donna Vekic, who was originally scheduled to play on Monday, finally got on court and wrapped up a 6-2 6-3 success over Zhang Shuai while Anett Kontaveit, playing in her final tournament, beat Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4 6-4.

Daria Kasatkina needed only an hour to beat an overwhelmed Jodie Burrage on Centre Court while former French Open winner Sloane Stephens kicked off her campaign with a 6-2 6-3 win over Rebecca Peterson.

Katie Boulter was the sole British winner at Wimbledon on a day affected by rain and protesters.

The British number one saw her match disrupted by the second Just Stop Oil incursion of the day on to Court 18 but it did not hamper Boulter, who won five points in a row when play resumed to take the first set against Daria Saville.

The pair had begun their match on Tuesday morning before rain intervened and picked it up again with Boulter 6-5 down in the opening set.

Having come through the tie-break against Australian Saville, who is working her way back from a serious knee injury, Boulter pulled away to win 7-6 (4) 6-2.

She said of the protest, which saw a man run on to the court and scatter confetti and jigsaw pieces: “It was obviously a little bit of a shock to the system. I think we both handled it really well. It’s a really unfortunate situation for everyone.”

Boulter’s good friend Jodie Burrage was the first British player in action in round two but her Centre Court debut ended rather too swiftly in a 6-0 6-2 loss to 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.

“It was a good experience,” she said. “Obviously not the result that I wanted. The first set was pretty brutal. But all in all, you dream to be out on Centre Court.”

Arthur Fery acquitted himself very well on his Wimbledon debut, pushing third seed Daniil Medvedev in an entertaining clash on Court One before going down 7-5 6-4 6-3.

The 20-year-old is likely to skip his final year of studies at Stanford University to turn professional, saying: “Experiences like I had today make me push towards going pro.

“I feel like it could be a pretty standard thing in the coming years to play in these tournaments on the big courts. I feel more and more ready as the years go by to switch to the pro career.”

Fellow wild card George Loffhagen was unable to quite match his first-set efforts on Tuesday as he fell to a 7-6 (4) 6-3 6-2 loss to sixth seed Holger Rune but the 22-year-old’s appetite has also been whetted.

“To just see guys like this, that you see on the TV all the time, it definitely gives you a lot of motivation to work hard and hopefully one day get here without wild cards or anything,” he said.

Heather Watson reached the fourth round of a grand slam for the first time here last year but she was also a first-round faller, beaten 6-2 7-5 by 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova.

“I feel like I was playing much better this year than I was last year,” said Watson. “It just happens with draws sometimes.”

Sonay Kartal was the final home singles player to make it out on to court and she was overpowered by 25th seed Madison Keys in a 6-0 6-3 defeat.

Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted play on the third day of the Championships as Katie Boulter’s straight-sets victory provided the only cheer for British hopefuls at Wimbledon.

Boulter’s victory over Daria Saville was one of two matches on Court 18 targeted by the climate activists, who threw orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on the lawn.

There were no such disruptions for Novak Djokovic or Iga Swiatek on Centre Court after they cruised through in quick time to make the third round.

British number one Jodie Burrage had opened up proceedings on the venue but lost emphatically in her second-round match while compatriots Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen, Heather Watson and Sonay Kartal all suffered first-round exits.

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If Wimbledon organisers were left cursing the weather after day two of the Championships, Wednesday brought even more problems with rain and protests.

Light morning rain meant a delay on the outside courts and when play did get under way just after 12.30pm, it barely lasted half an hour before players were forced off again.

Live tennis should still have been on the menu, but the questionable decision to keep the roof open on Court One resulted in a delay to Daniil Medvedev and Fery’s first-round clash starting.

Just Stop Oil protesters then caused havoc on Court 18, with Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov’s match disrupted shortly before another rain delay, and the climate activists also targeted Boulter’s contest later in the day on the same court.

With a number of cancellations and other matches moved, only to subsequently be suspended, it proved to be a challenging day for organisers, who will hope the only orange spotted in SW19 on Thursday is the sun.

Heather Watson was grateful for the support of Sue Barker during her match with 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova but left deflated after suffering a first round exit at Wimbledon.

British number five Watson made the last-16 in 2022, her best run at the All England Club, but came unstuck at the first hurdle this time as she went down 6-2 7-5 to former French Open winner Krejcikova on Court One.

Watson was watched from the stands by Barker, who left her role as lead anchor of the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage last summer but promised to return to SW19 to see the 31-year-old in action.

While unaware at that time, Watson was delighted to discover she had been in the presence of a true stalwart of the Championships on her 13th appearance at Wimbledon.

“No, I didn’t know. I only look at my box really and there was one young girl on that opposite side that I just, I don’t know, I kept hearing her, so I started fist pumping to her, using her energy, as well,” Watson said.

“I didn’t know Sue was there, but I absolutely adore her. She’s such an amazing person.

“I didn’t know, but I love her. I admire her so much. I think she’s absolutely brilliant. She’s someone I really look up to.

“Yeah, she’s so supportive of me. She sends me messages during the year in support. I’m really grateful for that. I will text her now.”

World number 144 Watson had arrived in SW19 in good form after a strong grass-court season that saw her make the semi-finals of the Rothesay Open in Nottingham last month.

The draw was not kind, however, with 2021 Roland Garros winner Krejcikova having makde the Rothesay Classic final in Birmingham two weeks ago.

Krejcikova immediately came out the traps fast and stormed to a one-sided first set in 35 minutes, before Watson fought back.

She pushed the Czech player all the way in the second, forcing two break points in the ninth game, but they could not be taken and the 10th seed later broke to seal a straight-sets victory.

A philosophical Watson admitted: “I feel like I was playing much better this year than I was last year. You know, it just happens with draws sometimes.

“On the day, yeah, she was much better today. She was really, really good. It’s disappointing, because I know how well I’m playing. But I need a little bit of luck along the way.

“I mean initially coming off the court, really upset. I felt deflated, disappointed. I look forward to these moments so much now.

“For it to be over in the first round, this is just not how I envisaged it, not what I want, but it was tough. It was always going to be a tough ask, tough match against, you know, 10th in the world, grand slam champion.”

Watson’s Wimbledon adventure is not over yet, though with the Guernsey ace set to compete in the doubles and mixed doubles.

Andy Murray will take on fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Centre Court on Thursday after the fifth seed came through a five-set battle against Dominic Thiem.

A match that started at 11am on Tuesday finally finished just before 8pm on Wednesday with Tsitsipas claiming a 3-6 7-6 (1) 6-2 6-7 (5) 7-6 (8) victory after three hours and 56 minutes of on-court action.

That will certainly have done Murray’s chances no harm given the two-time former champion was able to relax on Wednesday having wrapped up an easy win over Ryan Peniston under the roof 24 hours previously.

Murray and Tsitsipas have met twice previously – a five-set epic at the US Open in 2021 that went the Greek’s way and an encounter on grass in Stuttgart last summer where Murray claimed one of his best wins since his hip surgery.

Tsitsipas said of facing Murray: “I’m not expecting anyone supporting (me). It’s not my first rodeo.”

It is almost exactly 10 years since the Scot first lifted the trophy in SW19, and Tsitsipas said: “I remember witnessing his first Wimbledon title. Thinking about it now gives me goosebumps because I sort of felt what he went through because it was so difficult for him to close that last game.

“Every time I see that again it gives me shivers. He’s someone who’s done so much for the sport and I’ll go into it with a lot of respect for him. He’s such a tough competitor. That (Centre Court) is almost like his living room.”

It has been an up-and-down season for Tsitsipas, who reached his second grand slam final at the Australian Open but was brushed aside by Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the French Open and has won only two of his five matches on grass.

He resumed on Wednesday a set down to former US Open champion Thiem, who has now lost in the first round of grand slams six consecutive times as he continues to try to return to his former glories following a wrist injury.

The Austrian is at least getting closer and this match was right in the balance until the end of the deciding tie-break.

Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa came out to support him after winning her opening match and a final forehand pass proved to be the crucial moment.