Djoko lifts curtain on Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic begins his bid to match Pete Sampras as a seven-time Wimbledon champion on Monday, with British Grand Slam title winners Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu also on Centre Court’s opening day agenda.

In the absence of the banned Daniil Medvedev and injured Alexander Zverev, 20-time major winner Djokovic takes top seeding.

The 35-year-old defending champion starts his title bid against South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo, the world number 81.

Djokovic has extra motivation this year as Wimbledon will be his last Slam of 2022.

His continued refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19 means he will remain barred from entering the United States for the US Open later this summer.

Also adding fuel to the Djokovic fire is the chance to win a fourth successive Wimbledon title and join a select group.

In the Open era, only Bjorn Borg, Sampras and Roger Federer have managed to complete such a streak of dominance at the All England Club.

“As a seven, eight-year-old boy I dreamt of winning Wimbledon and becoming number one,” said Djokovic.

“Pete Sampras winning his first Wimbledon was the first tennis match I ever saw on the TV.”

After a cancelled edition due to the pandemic in 2020 and a reduced capacity tournament last year, Wimbledon returns to full house crowds for 2022.

However, missing from the line-up are a host of Russian and Belarusian players who were banned following the invasion of Ukraine.

As well as Medvedev, world number eight Andrey Rublev is absent as are three of the top 20 women -- Aryna Sabalenka, Daria Kasatkina and two-time major winner and former number one Victoria Azarenka.

In retaliation for the ban, the ATP and WTA tours have stripped Wimbledon of ranking points.

Around 90 minutes of play was lost Monday due to rain but that didn’t faze new world number two Ons Jabeur.

The Tunisian, a quarter-finalist in 2021, eased past Swedish qualifier Mirjam Bjorklund 6-1, 6-3 in just 54 minutes under the Court One roof.

“Today I achieved my highest ever ranking and dropping just four games is a great start to the tournament,” said Jabeur.

Murray, the Wimbledon champion in 2013 and 2016, is unseeded this year but remains a dangerous floater in the draw.

He made the Stuttgart grass-court final earlier this month before an abdominal injury forced him out of Queen’s.

Murray takes on Australia’s 74th-ranked James Duckworth who has yet to register a win on the main tour in 2022.

However, the 30-year-old did make the third round at Wimbledon in 2021.

Duckworth’s career had been undermined by requiring nine surgeries in the last decade.

Raducanu, the shock 2021 US Open champion, plays Wimbledon for the first time as a Grand Slam winner.

She made the fourth round last year but has been plagued by inconsistent form since her triumph in New York.