The Battle of the Brits is underway at Wimbledon today as Katie Boulter and Harriet Dart go head-to-head on Court One, while tennis legend Andy Murray steps onto the double’s court as he begins his farewell to SW19.
Alongside his brother Jamie, in what will be the first time the siblings have paired up for a Grand Slam, Murray will take to Centre Court, as the veteran player vows this will be his last ever Wimbledon.
British number one Boulter is already one set up on Dart, who ranks second, in what is their fourth clash over the past two years.
Meanwhile British wildcard Jacob Fearnley, who was ranked outside the world’s top 500 ahead of the tournament, is one set down as he goes face-to-face with seven-time world champion Novak Djokovic.
The 22-year-old Scot only qualified for the Nottingham Open at the start of last month, admitted that ‘it was getting in [his] head a little bit’ that he was going to have take on the Serbian legend.
This afternoon, more British athletes will face each other on court, with 22-year-old Jack Draper will take on South African born Brit Cameron Norrie to battle it out to get a place in the third round.
The Battle of the Brits is underway: Katie Boulter in action during her Women’s 2nd round match against Harriet Dart
Andy Murray steps onto the double’s court as he begins his farewell to SW19
Crowds at Wimbledon enjoying the sun as the players compete to make it to the third round
Boulter and Dart are used to playing each other, with the number one winning three of the four matches, two of them coming on grass in Nottingham. Dart’s only victory over her rival came six years ago in Japan.
Despite her track record, Boulter said earlier on in the tournament she expects today’s clash to be a mammouth challenge.
She said: ‘Playing a Brit in the UK on the grass is never an easy draw and I’m expecting an absolute battle. I think we both know each other’s games inside-out, back-to-front at this point. We’ve played so many matches.’
This afternoon British number one Draper will go head-to-head with Norrie, who replaced at the country’s rankings last month.
It marks the first time Draper has reached the third round of Wimbledon while Norrie was a semi-finalist in 2022.
While the teammates do get on, Draper said ahead of today’s game that his opponent ‘won’t like the fact that I’m number one’.
The British number two, however, has always won their clashes in the past, piling pressure on his younger opponent who is labelled today’s favourite to win.
Harriet Dart following her victory against Zhuoxuan Bai on day two of the competition
Cameron Norrie celebrates winning his first round match against Argentina’s Facundo Diaz
Jack Draper celebrates winning the Men’s 1st round match against Elias Ymer of Sweden
Katie Boulter leaving a training session ahead of her match against Harriet Dart on Court One
This afternoon Fearnley becomes the sixth British player to have faced Djokovic at Wimbledon – with Murray being the only Brit to have beaten him on the grass court.
Jacob Fearnley’s reward for his impressive win on his Wimbledon debut is a Centre Court date with 24-time grand-slam champion Novak Djokovic.
