Alexander Bublik beat Andy Murray to reach the semi-finals of the Hall of Fame Open, while Dominic Thiem was knocked out of the Swedish Open on Friday.

Bublik and Murray have now beaten each other two times apiece this year after the third seed won 7-5 6-4 in Newport.

The Kazakh overpowered the three-time grand slam champion to move into the last four, winning 80 per cent of his first-serve points and breaking three times.

Murray hit back straight after being broken at the start of the second set, but the former world one trailed 4-3 after failing to hold for a third time and Bublik did not give him another look-in.

Bublik will do battle with Jason Kubler for a place in the final after he defeated fellow Australian James Duckworth 7-5 7-6 (7-3).

Sebastian Baez ended Thiem's encouraging run to the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 win in Bastad.

Thiem, who has endured an injury nightmare, won his first match 14 months by beating Emil Ruusuvuori in the first round and followed that up by getting the better of Roberto Bautista Agut, but the former US Open champion will go no further.

Argentinian Baez will now come up against Andrey Rublev after the second seed from Russia saw off Laslo Djere 7-5 6-4.

Pablo Carreno Busta blew Diego Schwartzman away in a 6-1 6-0 thrashing, while Francisco Cerundolo got past Aslan Karatsev in straight sets.

Casper Ruud was a surprise second-round loser as the Swedish Open defending champion fell to Francisco Cerundolo, while the favourites battled through at the Hall of Fame Open.

Ruud, a French Open finalist and defending champion in Bastad , lacked his usual composure as world number 39 Cerundolo broke him three times to win 6-4 3-6 7-5 on Wednesday.

That marked a first top-10 career victory for Cerundolo after defeating world number five Ruud, guiding him to his first quarter-final appearance at the tournament.

"I'm feeling amazing, I'm really happy," said Cerundolo, whose previous best result was beating world number 24 Gael Monfils. "It's amazing getting my first Top 10 win. It's been the best year so far in my career.

"He's a French Open finalist and was the defending champion here, so it was a big challenge for me and I'm happy to go through."

Aslan Karatsev awaits in the quarter-finals Cerundolo after downing Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-2 6-4.

Fifth seed Pablo Carreno Busta survived a first-set scare to defeat 2016 champion Albert Ramos-Vinolas 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.

The victory was Carreno Busta's 250th tour-level triumph and he will next face third favourite Diego Schwartzman, who overcame Elias Ymer in straight sets.

Third seed Alexander Bublik was made to work for a 6-3 3-6 6-2 second-round victory over Jack Sock in Newport and Andy Murray edged past Wimbledon doubles champion Max Purcell.

Murray needed almost two-and-a-half hours to get the better of Purcell, eventually triumphing 4-6 6-2 6-1 to tee up a last-eight meeting with Bublik.

Fourth favourite Maxime Cressy had little trouble in beating fellow American Mitchell Krueger 6-3 6-4 and will next face Steve Johnson, who progressed past seventh seed Jiri Vesely with a walkover.

Benjamin Bonzi, ranked as fifth seed in the United States, eased past Christopher Eubanks in straight sets, while James Duckworth triumphed 7-5 3-6 6-2 over Quentin Halys.

John Isner joined the list of favourites who made the third round in routine fashion, beating Peter Gojowczyk in straight sets 6-3 7-6 (8-6), before top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime faced some adversity against Jason Kubler following the Australian's strong run into the fourth round of Wimbledon.

Auger-Aliassime has a slight advantage, leading 6-4 3-6 6-5 before play was suspended due to poor light. When play resumes, Kubler will serve with a chance to force a third-set tiebreak.

Andy Murray stormed to a straight-sets win over Sam Querrey at the Hall of Fame Open in Rhode Island, while 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem earned his first victory in over a year in Sweden.

Murray needed less than an hour to record a 6-2 6-0 triumph over the big-serving American, setting up a last-16 meeting with Australia's Max Purcell.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray hobbled out of his last meeting with Querrey at the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2017, a defeat which marked the start of his injury woes.

But he produced a polished display on the grass to wrap up his eighth career win over the American on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Rhode Island, eighth seed James Duckworth battled to a 6-2 4-6 6-2 win over Liam Broady, and seventh seed Jiri Vesely raced to a 6-4 6-2 triumph against Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

Meanwhile, Thiem ended a 426-day wait for a Tour-level win by overcoming Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5) at the Swedish Open.

The Austrian, who has won 17 career titles, halted a run of 10 consecutive losses on the ATP Tour with his first triumph since he beat Marton Fucsovics at the last-32 stage of the Internazionali d'Italia in May 2021.

The 28-year-old expressed his delight at ending his drought in the aftermath, saying: "It's a long time. My last victory was in Rome in 2021, it feels like a different world somehow.

"Many, many things happened. It was tough, but it was also a very good experience I think, for life in general. I'm so happy that I got this first victory here today."

Thiem will face fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16, while Sebastien Baez will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after the former beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets.

The round of 32 did see two shock exits, however, with seventh seed Holger Rune succumbing to a 6-3 6-3 defeat against Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler, and Nikoloz Basilashvili being forced to retire at one set down against Hugo Gaston.

Also, Francisco Cerundolo beat Pedro Sousa to set up an enticing clash with top seed Casper Ruud.

Martina Navratilova said she was "gutted" to miss Wimbledon's Centre Court centenary celebration after testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

The nine-time champion was absent from a parade of champions, and in a series of posts on social media she explained why she had to sit it out.

Past winners were introduced to the main show court's middle Sunday crowd, with the one-time champions going first, all the way through to eight-time Wimbledon king Roger Federer.

Navratilova would have come out last of all, as the most successful singles player in Wimbledon history, but she was unable to take part. Including doubles, Navratilova won 20 slam titles at Wimbledon.

"Unfortunately I will miss it as I just tested positive this morning," she wrote on Twitter shortly before the ceremony. "Am so bummed!!!! I am gutted I can't be there."

Confirming she had the coronavirus, Navratilova wrote: "Yup, got it here for sure… oh well. So wanted to be on that court with so many champions of our sport."

Asked how she was feeling, the 65-year-old Czech-born American added: "Not too bad so far- wouldn't want to play tennis but ok… fingers crossed."

A host of greats of the game delighted the crowd, with stars of the women's tour including Navratilova's former great rivals Chris Evert and Billie Jean King, along with Margaret Court and Venus Williams, while Federer was joined by a field of fellow men's superstars that included Rod Laver, Novak Djokovic, Stefan Edberg, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray.

Three-time former champion Boris Becker was another notable absentee, after the German was jailed in April for offences relating to his 2017 bankruptcy. Seven-time winner Serena Williams also missed the event, after her first-round defeat.

Navratilova has been working at Wimbledon during the championships, notably appearing as a member of the BBC broadcast team.

Andy Murray's Wimbledon journey has ended in the second round despite a spirited fightback against John Isner in a four-set thriller.

The three-time grand slam champion - two of which have come at SW19 - will not add a fourth to his collection after he was downed by the big-serving American 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 on Centre Court on Wednesday.

Yet the 35-year-old did not go down quietly against the number 20 seed, forcing a tie-break in the third set to prevent a straight-sets win for his opponent before ultimately fading in the fourth.

For Murray, it marks the earliest exit of his Wimbledon career, having previously always reached the third round at senior level.

Despite never dropping more than two games behind Isner across the contest, the Scot was crucially never able to break serve. 

Isner sent down a stunning 36 aces, including three in succession in the final game of the match to put him on the brink of victory, before a neat backhand over the net sealed the deal.

Nick Kyrgios hit out at a "rowdy" Wimbledon crowd after coming through a five-set thriller with Brit Paul Jubb in the first round.

The Australian was forced to come from behind to avoid a surprise exit, ultimately prevailing 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 on No.3 Court on Tuesday.

In a typically tempestuous performance, the world number 40 was frustrated by certain members of a partisan home crowd.

Kyrgios also accused a line judge of being a "snitch" as he aimed his grievances at the chair umpire, also calling for vocal spectators to be ejected.

The 27-year-old let his feelings be known after wrapping up his victory in just over three hours and paid tribute to his opponent.

"It was tough, he's a local wildcard, had nothing to lose and he played exceptional tennis at times," he stated. "He's going to be a good player for sure, I'm just happy to get through.

"The crowd was pretty rowdy. A couple of people were not shy in criticising me so that one is for you, you know who you are.

"Playing here is a lot of fun, Wimbledon over the last couple of years has been strange. We had bubbles last year and no ranking points this year, but it's special.

"It would've been a tough loss to take and I'm happy to get through. I just talk a lot on the court but off the court I'm not too bad."

Kyrgios will face either Serbia's Filip Krajinovic or the Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka in the second round on Thursday.

Andy Murray has defended using an underam serve in his four-set Wimbledon victory over James Duckworth and believes the tactic should be seen as smart.

The two-time Wimbledon champion recovered from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 against the Australian on Monday.

Murray maintained his record of having never lost in the first round at SW19, throwing in an underarm serve to help him win a point in the third set.

The Scot insisted using the underam serve, a move often associated with Duckworth's compatriot Nick Kyrgios, is a legitimate tactic and not a sign of disrespect to an opponent.

"He changed his return position, that's why I did it," Murray explained after the match. 

"He was struggling a little bit on the first-serve return, so he stepped probably two metres further back. As soon as I saw him step further back, I threw the underarm serve in.

"I personally have no issue with players using it. I never have. Certainly more and more players have started returning from further behind the baseline now to give themselves an advantage to return.

"No one says it's disrespectful for someone to return from five or six metres behind the baseline to try to get an advantage.

"So I used it, not to be disrespectful to him, but to say, 'if you're going to step further back to return the serve to give yourself more time, then I'm going to exploit that'.

"I've never understood that [argument it is disrespectful]. It's a legitimate way of serving.

"I would never use an underarm serve if someone was standing on the baseline because I think it's a stupid idea because they're going to track it down and it's easy to get.

"If they stand four or five metres behind the baseline, then why would you not do that to try to bring them forward if they're not comfortable returning there? Tactically, it's a smart play."

Murray will face big-serving American John Isner in the second round on Wednesday, having won each of the duo's eight previous head-to-head meetings.

He was happy with how he felt physically after beating Duckworth, having returned from the abdominal injury he suffered while reaching the Stuttgart Open final earlier this month.

"The last few days when I've been serving was fine," he said. "I went to get an ultrasound scan on it on Saturday after my practice just to see how it was progressing.

"It was all clear for the first time on the scans, which is really positive. I wanted that kind of for my own peace of mind to know that the injury has healed. 

"Obviously I still need to take precautions and still do some rehab and protect it when I can, but in the match it was absolutely fine."

Andy Murray said he intends to make the most of every appearance on Centre Court after recovering from one set down to beat James Duckworth in his Wimbledon opener.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray took two hours and 43 minutes to record a 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 win over the Australian, maintaining his record of having never fallen at the first hurdle in SW19.

Murray is making just his second Wimbledon appearance since 2017 and is looking to better last year's run to the third round, where he suffered a straight-sets reverse against Denis Shapovalov.

Having endured a spate of injuries and undergone two hip surgeries since his last Wimbledon triumph in 2016, the 35-year-old said he will enjoy every opportunity he gets to play in front of a home crowd on Centre Court.

"It's amazing to be back out here again with a full crowd after the last few years, amazing atmosphere," he said.

"Obviously I'm getting on a bit now, so I don't know how many more opportunities I'll get to play on this court. I want to make the most of every time I get to come out here now.

"I'm glad I managed to get through and hopefully I'll get another match on here in a couple of days."

After fighting back to beat the world number 74, Murray expressed his hope he could grow into the tournament as he advances. 

"I thought I did well to rebound after the first set, he likes playing on the grass, he's come back from a hip surgery himself in January and was playing very well," he added.

"Once I started to find my returns a little bit more as the match went on, I felt a bit more comfortable and did well to get through.

"Naturally, there's always nerves and pressure and butterflies and stress and all of those things before the first match, it was a longer build-up for me than usual because of the ab injury I had after Stuttgart [where Murray finished as runner-up earlier this month].

"I've done a lot of practising here, I've been at the venue a lot in the last couple of weeks so yeah, it was great to get out here, get a win under my belt and hopefully I'll play better from here on in."

Murray will face big-serving American John Isner in the second round on Wednesday, having won each of the duo's eight previous head-to-head meetings.

Andy Murray's respect within both the women's and men's professional game could make him an ideal future tennis commissioner, believes Pam Shriver, as Wimbledon gets underway.

The three-time grand slam winner has battled back through injury to reach his best form in arguably half-a-decade and will take to SW19 once more this week.

Murray is nevertheless approaching the final stages of his career, and Shriver – a veteran in women's doubles – thinks that he could turn to the administrative side of the sport once done.

The 35-year-old has often been a strong advocate for equality within the sport, earning the respect of several leading players and figures across the game.

"He could be a future commissioner of tennis," Shriver told Stats Perform. "He has that kind of respect, I think. If he wanted to be a leader when he's finished, he could be a very influential [one].

"I think Andy Murray will be known for his upstanding core values of equality. I know he's well respected in every female locker room on the planet.

"I think the influence of his mom being his coach and such an influential figure in his life [has shaped him]. He's just very popular, I think, in both [the] men's and women's locker rooms."

Murray returns to Wimbledon as he looks to maintain the strong form he showed earlier in June at the Stuttgart Open, facing Australian James Duckworth in the first round on Monday.

At the time of his first triumph on Centre Court in 2013, the Briton was considered part of a 'Big Four' in men's tennis, only for his subsequent struggles with injury to see him slip away from his rivals.

But Shriver believes he has achieved what he set out to do and can be proud of a still exemplary career, adding: [He] wanted to end the 77-year drought at Wimbledon [and he did].

"I'd say along with [Stan] Wawrinka, [he's one of] the two guys that managed to break through more than once during the era of the big three."

Carlos Alcaraz has been checking out footage of Wimbledon greats including Roger Federer as he bids to sharpen up his raw grass-court game.

The 19-year-old Alcaraz has shot up to number seven in the ATP rankings after winning four titles this year, having begun 2022 outside the top 30.

However, he has little in the way of pedigree on grass, having been stopped in his tracks in round two last year by Daniil Medvedev, winning just seven games.

Of his titles this year, three have come on clay and one on a hard court.

Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon boys' singles in 2019, losing to American Martin Damm, and regardless of his recent stellar form, it is difficult to predict how he might fare in London this year.

It is clear that Alcaraz believes he can learn to play on the grass, and that he will pull out all the stops to become a champion on the fast lawns of London, beginning on Monday.

"I'm trying to copy some things from the best ones," he said. "I always watch videos: Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, Rafa [Nadal] and Andy [Murray] as well, trying to copy the moves."

That quartet has dominated at Wimbledon for two decades now. The last player not from that group to win the men's singles was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, with Federer landing eight titles, Djokovic six, Nadal two and Murray two.

Federer is the only one of Wimbledon's 'Big Four' absent this year; knee trouble preventing him taking part.

Alcaraz, who is seeded fifth, predicted this Wimbledon will be a "tough" assignment in his own fledgling career.

However, seeing fellow Spaniard Nadal get to grips with grass early in his own career has instructed Alcaraz it is a surface that he should not fear.

Nadal was 22 when he won the first of his Wimbledon titles, and 20 when he first reached a final at the All England Club.

Alcaraz is not entirely ruling out challenging this year, because that is how he approaches every event he enters.

He will start on Monday against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, with that match given a prestigious Court One billing, such is Alcaraz's rising status.

"Of course, watching Rafa – I would say he is more for clay courts – winning so many tournaments on grass, winning twice here in Wimbledon, you'd think that you are able to adapt your game to grass courts," Alcaraz told a news conference on Sunday.

"But I would say I have a game that is going to adapt well on grass, trying to go to the net, playing aggressive.

"I would say I'm able to play well on grass, and it was said I couldn't prepare well for Wimbledon this year, but I always come to every tournament thinking I'm able to do good results or even able to win the tournament."

Andy Murray sympathises with Emma Raducanu's struggles since winning the US Open last year, noting her sudden rise to stardom has been "extremely difficult to navigate."

Murray also revealed he remains torn on whether he would remain in tennis after retiring, admitting an interest in coaching but saying he was not yet certain he would follow that path.

The two British hopes will both feature on Centre Court when Wimbledon begins on Monday, with Raducanu facing Alison Van Uytvanck before Murray takes on Australia's James Duckworth.

Raducanu has endured an injury-hit 2022 season, only lasting 36 minutes when making her first grass-court appearance of the year at Nottingham earlier this month, but has since declared herself "ready to go" ahead of the year's third grand slam.

Recalling Raducanu's stunning triumph in New York last September, Murray said the way she was thrust into the public eye has complicated her 2022 campaign.

"I never experienced what she experienced, your life changing overnight," he told the Telegraph.

"It's impossible to know if everyone who is then involved with you is looking out for your best interests. You know that your family wants the best for you. The families are of course going to make mistakes, because it's new to everybody.

"I would have worked with coaches when I was younger who were not necessarily the right people for me – and management companies, too.

"You question; 'Do they want what’s best for you or do they want to make lots of money off you?'

"It's extremely difficult to navigate."

Murray and Raducanu are the only British players to win a grand slam singles title since Virginia Wade's Wimbledon triumph in 1977, with the Scot's last major win coming at the All England Club Wimbledon in 2016.

Ahead of his tilt at a third triumph at SW19, the 35-year-old said his post-retirement plans remained uncertain.

"I have interests and things outside of tennis and I know that when I finally finish, everything will be fine. The world won't end," he added.  

"Whereas maybe when I was 25, and maybe at times even at the beginning of the [Amazon Prime] documentary in 2017 [about his injuries], I was still a bit like that.

"I've always been interested in coaching. There's also a chance that I might not be involved in tennis anymore.

"I feel right now that I would always have some involvement in tennis, but there are also times when I've been away from the sport and I've not watched any of the tournaments.

"That's when I'm just at home with the kids. It's pretty full-on, that side of things."

Andy Murray says recent form proves he can again compete at an elite level, declaring ahead of his Wimbledon opener on Monday: "There's still good tennis left in me."

Murray will face Australia's James Duckworth on Centre Court when the year's third grand slam gets under way, looking to better last year's run to the third round.

The last of Murray's three grand slam titles came at Wimbledon in 2016, but the 35-year-old impressed when beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios at the Stuttgart Open earlier this month, eventually going down in three sets to last year's Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini after struggling with an injury.

Speaking at a pre-Wimbledon news conference, Murray said those displays had given him hope of a strong showing in London.

"I think I showed a couple of weeks ago that there's still good tennis left in me," he said. "I beat a guy [Tsitispas] in the top five in the world [at the time] and I was neck and neck, before the injury, with Berrettini, who's one of the best grass-court players in the world.

"I've been doing pretty well in practices, so I know the tennis is in there. I just need to bring it out during the event now."

Murray teamed up with coach Ivan Lendl for a third time in March, having won each of his three grand slam titles and two Olympic gold medals under the watch of the eight-time major winner.

The Scot revealed several coaches rejected the chance to work with him after he endured a series of injury-plagued seasons, and he hailed the 62-year-old Lendl for continuing to believe in him.

"Obviously having Ivan in my team helps," Murray said. "We've had a lot of success in the past, we know each other well, and he still believes in me. There's not loads of coaches and people out there that have done over this last period, but he has.

"For the most part in my career, when I had conversations with potential coaches it came off most of the time. Whereas this time round, I got turned down by a lot of coaches, so that was obviously difficult to deal with.

"I don't know how many you'd say were really top level, who would be able to help you win the major events.

"So that's also why I'm grateful Ivan has come back to work with me and help me try and achieve what I want to achieve."

Andy Murray says recent form proves he can again compete at an elite level, declaring ahead of his Wimbledon opener on Monday: "There's still good tennis left in me."

Murray will face Australia's James Duckworth on Centre Court when the year's third grand slam gets under way, looking to better last year's run to the third round.

The last of Murray's three grand slam titles came at Wimbledon in 2016, but the 35-year-old impressed when beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios at the Stuttgart Open earlier this month, eventually going down in three sets to last year's Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini after struggling with an injury.

Speaking at a pre-Wimbledon news conference, Murray said those displays had given him hope of a strong showing in London.

"I think I showed a couple of weeks ago that there's still good tennis left in me," he said. "I beat a guy [Tsitispas] in the top five in the world [at the time] and I was neck and neck, before the injury, with Berrettini, who's one of the best grass-court players in the world.

"I've been doing pretty well in practices, so I know the tennis is in there. I just need to bring it out during the event now."

Murray teamed up with coach Ivan Lendl for a third time in March, having won each of his three grand slam titles and two Olympic gold medals under the watch of the eight-time major winner.

The Scot revealed several coaches rejected the chance to work with him after he endured a series of injury-plagued seasons, and he hailed the 62-year-old Lendl for continuing to believe in him.

"Obviously having Ivan in my team helps," Murray said. "We've had a lot of success in the past, we know each other well, and he still believes in me. There's not loads of coaches and people out there that have done over this last period, but he has.

"For the most part in my career, when I had conversations with potential coaches it came off most of the time. Whereas this time round, I got turned down by a lot of coaches, so that was obviously difficult to deal with.

"I don't know how many you'd say were really top level, who would be able to help you win the major events.

"So that's also why I'm grateful Ivan has come back to work with me and help me try and achieve what I want to achieve."

Andy Murray sympathises with Emma Raducanu's struggles since winning the US Open last year, noting her sudden rise to stardom has been "extremely difficult to navigate."

Murray also revealed he remains torn on whether he would remain in tennis after retiring, admitting an interest in coaching but saying he was not yet certain he would follow that path.

The two British hopes will both feature on Centre Court when Wimbledon begins on Monday, with Raducanu facing Alison Van Uytvanck before Murray takes on Australia's James Duckworth.

Raducanu has endured an injury-hit 2022 season, only lasting 36 minutes when making her first grass-court appearance of the year at Nottingham earlier this month, but has since declared herself "ready to go" ahead of the year's third grand slam.

Recalling Raducanu's stunning triumph in New York last September, Murray said the way she was thrust into the public eye has complicated her 2022 campaign.

"I never experienced what she experienced, your life changing overnight," he told the Telegraph.

"It's impossible to know if everyone who is then involved with you is looking out for your best interests. You know that your family wants the best for you. The families are of course going to make mistakes, because it's new to everybody.

"I would have worked with coaches when I was younger who were not necessarily the right people for me – and management companies, too.

"You question; 'Do they want what’s best for you or do they want to make lots of money off you?'

"It's extremely difficult to navigate."

Murray and Raducanu are the only British players to win a grand slam singles title since Virginia Wade's Wimbledon triumph in 1977, with the Scot's last major win coming at the All England Club Wimbledon in 2016.

Ahead of his tilt at a third triumph at SW19, the 35-year-old said his post-retirement plans remained uncertain.

"I have interests and things outside of tennis and I know that when I finally finish, everything will be fine. The world won't end," he added.  

"Whereas maybe when I was 25, and maybe at times even at the beginning of the [Amazon Prime] documentary in 2017 [about his injuries], I was still a bit like that.

"I've always been interested in coaching. There's also a chance that I might not be involved in tennis anymore.

"I feel right now that I would always have some involvement in tennis, but there are also times when I've been away from the sport and I've not watched any of the tournaments.

"That's when I'm just at home with the kids. It's pretty full-on, that side of things."

When Wimbledon ended last year, there were two great takeaways from the tournament: Novak Djokovic would soon be pulling away in the grand slam title race and Ash Barty was beginning a new era of dominance.

Both seemed to be knock-ins, and yet neither has come to pass. Djokovic missed out on a calendar Grand Slam in New York before being banished from Australia, and despite drawing level with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on 20 grand slams with his Centre Court triumph, he now finds himself two adrift of the Spaniard again.

Barty, meanwhile, has left her own party. The then world number one stunned the tennis world by retiring in March, having added the Australian Open she so craved to her trophy cabinet.

Djokovic and Iga Swiatek head into Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, as the top seeds.

Stats Perform has used Opta facts to consider what the men's and women's singles might deliver.

KING ROGER'S REIGN IS OVER, BUT DJOKOVIC AND NADAL KEEP GOING STRONG

There will come a time when the Wimbledon favourite is not one of the 'Big Three'. That time is not now.

Djokovic is the man most likely, as he targets his fourth straight Wimbledon title and seventh overall; since 2011, when he beat Nadal in the final, the Serbian has only been absent from the trophy match three times (in 2012, 2016 and 2017).

His winning run of 21 matches at Wimbledon is the fifth-longest in the men's singles. Bjorn Borg holds the record (41 between 1976 and 1981).

The last player other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Andy Murray to win the Wimbledon men's title was Lleyton Hewitt in 2002. Federer is absent this year and may have played his last Wimbledon.

Nadal has won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010. He won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010, the only season of his career when he has won three slams. This year, at the age of 36, he has the Australian and French Open trophies already locked away, potentially halfway to a calendar Grand Slam, last achieved in men's singles in 1969 by Rod Laver.

Should Nadal pull off another major coup, it would make him only the second man in the Open Era (from 1968) to win the season's first three singles slams, after Laver in 1969 and Djokovic last year.

Can the rest hope to compete?

What of Murray? Well, only Federer (19), Sampras (10), Laver and Jimmy Connors (both nine) have won more ATP titles on grass than the Scot in the Open Era. If he recovers from an abdominal strain, he has a shot at reaching the second week. He will of course have the full backing of the Wimbledon crowd.

Last year's runner-up Matteo Berrettini is fancied more than Nadal by many, having won Stuttgart and Queen's Club titles in the build-up.

There has not been an American men's singles champion since 2000, and although the United States has six players seeded, more than any other nation, it seems a safe enough assumption we will be saying a similar thing again in 12 months' time.

Third seed Casper Ruud has never won a singles match at Wimbledon, while fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has not had a win since reaching the fourth round in 2018. Daniil Medvedev, the world number one, cannot compete at The All England Club after their contentious decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

IF SERENA CAN'T CHALLENGE SWIATEK, WHO CAN?

From the jaws of retirement, Serena Williams is back. Silence from the 40-year-old about her intentions had become almost deafening, and yet here she is, back at Wimbledon on a wildcard, hoping to rekindle the old magic.

Because she has pushed back against the doubters for over two decades now, you have to take this seriously. Her haul of 23 grand slams is one short of Margaret Court's all-time record and Williams would dearly love to at least match it.

Three years ago, Williams became the oldest player to reach Wimbledon's women's singles final when she lost to Simona Halep. Six years ago, she was the oldest champion when she beat Angelique Kerber.

Only four women in the draw this year besides Williams have been champion before: Petra Kvitova (in 2011 and 2014), Garbine Muguruza (in 2017), Kerber (in 2018) and Halep (in 2019).

World number one Iga Swiatek starts as favourite. Junior Wimbledon champion four years ago, she has scooped two women's French Open titles since then and is on a 35-match winning streak.

After triumphing at Roland Garros in early June, Swiatek will hope to become the first woman since Kerber in 2016 (Australian Open and US Open) to win two singles slams in the same season.

The only competitive warm-up for Williams came in two doubles matches at Eastbourne, having not played since sustaining a hamstring injury at Wimbledon last year. The seven-time champion might consider it a challenge that there has never been an unseeded Wimbledon women's singles finalist during the Open Era.

The women's top two seeds have not met in the final since Serena faced her sister Venus in the 2002 title match, so don't hold your breath for a Swiatek versus Anett Kontaveit showpiece on July 9.

Could Gauff be best of the rest?

Coco Gauff made a breakthrough with her run to the French Open final. Although she was blown away by Swiatek, for the 18-year-old American it was another mark of progress. Gauff reached the fourth round in Wimbledon in 2019 (lost to Halep) and 2021 (lost to Kerber).

Fitness is likely to be the key factor in how US Open champion Emma Raducanu fares at her home grand slam, given her injury problems. Raducanu reached the fourth round on a wildcard last year and the 19-year-old will attempt to become the first British woman to reach that stage in back-to-back seasons since Jo Durie (1984, 1985).

Ons Jabeur, meanwhile, should not be discounted. The world number three reached the quarter-finals at SW19 last year and heads to Wimbledon having won on grass at the Berlin Open, albeit Belinda Bencic had retired hurt in the final.

The likes of Gauff, Raducanu and 21-year-old Swiatek will attempt to become the youngest woman to lift the trophy since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova triumphed in 2004.

A first-round exit for Swiatek would leave the event wide open, but don't count on it. In the Open Era, only three times has the top-seeded woman lost in round one: Steffi Graf in 1994 and Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2001.