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In the wake of an emotional tribute to Andy Murray following his men’s doubles defeat Thursday evening at Wimbledon, Serena Williams has headlined a group of current and former WTA stars who have praised the Scot for his career and support of women.

“Congratulations to you, Andy Murray for such an incredible career. I have to say, I've always enjoyed watching you. One of the main reasons [is] because you were one of the few players who would be more angry than me on the court, which is a hard thing to do. And you may have [had] a little [of] an attitude just like mine, let's just say," Williams said, cracking a laugh. “But to me, it was the most exciting thing to watch. And I had the pleasure of playing mixed doubles next to you by your side, which was such a fantastic experience to do that at Wimbledon nonetheless, and it was really one of the highlights of my life.”

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Murray and Williams teamed in mixed doubles at The Championships in 2019, when they reached the third round. Serena added that Murray holds a special place in her heart because of how much he speaks out in support of women.

“You were the leader in that and the things you spoke up about, the things you said about myself and Venus, so many things about how we were always so inspiring and what we meant to you, it really went such a long way in my heart and I will always be grateful for that," Williams said. “I’ll always be grateful for the support you gave myself the support you gave women and the excitement that you brought and bring to tennis. I feel like watching you win Wimbledon and the US Open and those gold medals was so exciting, and I just truly enjoyed it. So I've always been such a fan as you already know, and I will always be cheering for you and rooting you on in whatever you decide to do next. So congratulations on such an amazing career.”

It was a moment nobody in the tennis world will soon forget. Everything at Wimbledon came to a standstill Thursday evening when Andy Murray was honoured on Centre Court following his men’s doubles loss alongside brother Jamie Murray.

Novak Djokovic, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Lleyton Hewitt and Tim Henman were among the stars who joined the Scot on court to pay homage to the two-time Wimbledon champion. But many more players were glued to television screens around the grounds to hear Murray’s typically witty, emotional and heartfelt remarks.

One of those players was defending men’s doubles champion Neal Skupski. The Briton finished his college career at Louisiana State University in 2012, the year Murray won the gold medal at the London Olympics and then claimed major glory at the US Open.

At the time, Skupski looked up to Murray and followed his rise from a young talent to a national icon. Now they have become friends and play fantasy football with one another.

“It was very emotional. Andy's done so much for the sport, not just in Britain, but all around the world and he's a true champion. He works so hard just to kind of get back onto the court. So many times, his body breaks down, but he'll have surgery. He had surgery 10 days ago on his back and he's already back playing on Centre Court,” Skupksi told ATPTour.com. “That just shows the person that he is. But people don't see the other side of Andy, off the court. He's an unbelievable person. He's very caring, he likes to joke around, he's fun. He is an amazing person.”

If you saw a 6’3” man wearing a white “Strawberries & Cream” hat roaming the Wimbledon grounds on Thursday, you came across more than the typical hardcore tennis fan. Aleksander Barkov loves tennis, but he is also one of the best ice hockey players on the planet.

Barkov, the captain of the Florida Panthers, recently helped his team become the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Champions. Now he is at Wimbledon to watch his girlfriend, Marie Bouzkova, compete in the grass-court major.

It is not his first time at The All England Club, though. Barkov, who is Finnish, has visited often in recent years and hit with several players, including Sebastian Korda and John Isner.

“I know a bunch of players like Sebi Korda. I met him many times and Emil Ruusuvuori for sure, I met him a few times. I like to watch him,” Barkov told ATPTour.com of his countryman. “I just like literally everyone! There is not one player that I don't like, so I just like to watch good tennis.”

Tennis is Barkov’s favourite sport outside of hockey. He was thrilled to make a stop at the Tennis Channel desk at Wimbledon, where he spoke to Panthers fan Martina Navratilova and host Steve Weissman. Before heading to SW19, Navratilova actually had the chance to enjoy a drink out of the Stanley Cup.

Play has started on Friday at Wimbledon following a two-hour, 15-minute rain delay.

The action started on the outside courts started at 1:15 p.m. after light rain fell in the morning in west London. Daniil Medvedev is scheduled to take on Jan-Lennard Struff on No. 2 Court, where Tommy Paul opens proceedings against Alexander Bublik.

American Ben Shelton is scheduled to face Canadian Denis Shapovalov in a lefty battle on No. 3 court following the conclusion of a WTA match between Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa.

Play will begin as planned at 1:30 p.m. on Centre Court and 1 p.m. on No. 1 Court, with both stadiums fitted with a retractable roof.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz opens proceedings on Centre Court against Frances Tiafoe, with No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner taking on Miomir Kecmanovic in the final match of the day. Grigor Dimitrov faces Gael Monfils on No. 1 Court. Frenchman Monfils leads the Bulgarian 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Twelve months ago, Denis Shapovalov’s Wimbledon run was ended by Roman Safiullin in the fourth round. The Canadian was severely hampered by a knee injury during the clash, limping off court after his defeat. Shapovalov was inside the Top 30 in the PIF ATP Rankings at the time, but would not play again for the rest of the season, eventually returning at the ATP 250 event in Auckland in January.

Fast forward to now and the Canadian is one match away from reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon again, having earned a five-set second-round victory against Daniel Altmaier on Thursday.

“It's been a real tough journey to come back,” Shapovalov told ATPTour.com. “It is never easy to come back from an injury, especially when you do take six months off. You feel you need to kind of catch a break. I think I started to play as soon as I could and maybe it was a little bit too early. I wasn't completely ready tennis-wise, but you do need to play matches and tournaments. I was struggling a little bit at the beginning trying to find my game, but I feel better every single week.

“I started to feel like myself around Indian Wells time in March and you could see that with the results. I beat Botic [van de Zandschulp] and had a good match with [Lorenzo] Musetti. In Miami, I was able to beat [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and from then I was playing much better and getting wins over Top 50 players. To be back again in the third round of Wimbledon is just another step forward for me and it definitely shows all the work and the patience that I've had over the course of the year is paying off.”

Shapovalov first felt pain in his left knee in October 2022 when he was facing Daniil Medvedev in Vienna. The 25-year-old spoke with a number of specialists to gain advice and cut back on practice in the hope of limiting the impact on his knee. With little improvement, Shapovalov was forced to take six months off after Wimbledon last year, but is pleased with the decision as it has enabled him to compete at 100 per cent again.

Could Arthur Fils be the next James Bond?

On court, the #NextGenATP Frenchman is often the star of the show. With his electric game and vibrant personality, Fils has entertained fans during his early career on the ATP Tour, highlighted by his first title in Lyon last year and his run to the third round at this year’s Wimbledon.

A developing talent in the tennis world, the 20-year-old is now eying up a future role in the film industry too.

“At one point I would love to be an actor but I don’t think it is possible at the moment,” Fils told ATPTour.com. “After my career maybe I would love to. Acting is super cool. I never did any acting at school but I just love it because I love watching movies.

“I really like Michael B. Jordan. He is in a lot of great movies and it also seems a super cool life. I also really like Leonardo DiCaprio. I just love watching action movies and series. I like Power and Top Boy is great. Being in London, now is the time to watch Top Boy. But I like watching actors, so who knows in the future if it is for me.”

Brandon Nakashima cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 lead in his second-round Wimbledon match on Wednesday against a dangerous grass-court player in Jordan Thompson. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion hit 24 winners to just five unforced errors through two sets in as flawless of a performance as you will see this fortnight.

But then the thoughts began. One year ago against the same opponent, Nakashima won the first two sets 6-2, 6-2 and lost the match in five sets.

“Obviously those thoughts kind of came into my mind, up two sets again and playing really well. But the player I am this year compared to last year, I feel like it's a completely different player,” Nakashima told ATPTour.com. “Whether it's game-wise, serving and returning, obviously having more confidence playing a lot more matches on the grass definitely helped. But I just try to stay focused and not let those thoughts translate into my game.”

This year, the 2022 San Diego champion finished the job, ousting Thompson in a tidy one hour and 37 minutes to reach the third round. Nakashima has won more main draw matches this week than at his past six Grand Slam tournaments combined.

“I think more than anything, it was just confidence. Last year at the Slams, I lost first round in all four of them. I was playing well, just wasn't able to get past that first round,” Nakashima said. “Most of them were five-set matches and it was tough to go through those moments. But you kind of have to experience those to have these moments where you play better and you can gain more confidence to win these matches.”

Tommy Paul might already be flying high, but the American has no intention of slowing his ascent any time soon.

The 25-year-old two weeks ago won the biggest title of his career at the cinch Championships, a tournament that has been won by legends of the sport from Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe to Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. But the Wimbledon 12th seed, who will face 23rd seed Alexander Bublik on Friday in the third round, knows there is still progress to be made.

“Tennis is a weird sport. I'm on a winning streak right now, but I meet with my coach after the match, and we're going to talk about the things I did wrong,” Paul told ATPTour.com. “You always look back at matches and think of what you could have done better. So it's not like I'm going home every day and being like, ‘I had a perfect day’.” 

It helps that Paul has a team around him, led by veteran coach Brad Stine, determined to continue pushing forward. Stine notably led Jim Courier to some of his greatest heights. But he spent multiple stints with the former World No. 1. Stine began coaching Paul in 2020 and feels their relationship has not gotten stale.

“We're always trying to get better and work on things,” Paul said. “I am happy with how I have been playing, and I've been getting a question about Queen's a lot. But it's a whole new week. I'm coming into the first round like everybody else here at Wimbledon. I have a challenge every round... I've just got to take every match one at a time.”

Andy Murray's Thursday night may have involved a doubles defeat on Centre Court at Wimbledon, but that did not stop the grass-court major from offering a fitting tribute to the two-time singles champion and home favourite in London.

Rinky Hijikata and John Peers delivered a clinical performance to overcome Murray and his brother Jamie Murray 7-6(6), 6-4 in a first-round clash. With Andy making what he has said will be his final appearance at the grass-court major, the home crowd offered vociferous support to the two-time Wimbledon singles champion and former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings throughout.

It was not enough to carry him and his brother to victory, but the cheering for Murray did not stop once Hijikata and Peers had wrapped their 88-minute win. Former WTA star and legendary British broadcaster Sue Barker came onto Centre Court to pay tribute to Murray, a 46-time tour-level titlist, before a tribute video was played that featured his great rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, as well as Serena Williams.

Andy, the memories, the matches, the magic - thank you for all of it ♥️@wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Kn04fVgi1w

Despite Thursday's defeat, the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Murray is still set for at least one more match at SW19. He will team with fellow British major winner Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles, but has said he is likely to retire later this summer. He has been named in Great Britain's team for the 2024 Paris Olympics in late July.

The 16th time was the charm for Emil Ruusuvuori.

On his 16th Grand Slam appearance, the Finnish standout has reached the third round for the first time. The No. 87 player in the PIF ATP Rankings upset 11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(6), 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3 on Thursday at Wimbledon.

"I didn't get away far. It was difficult," Tsitsipas said. "I think it could have been a bit different if I won the second set tie-break. But I did try my best, and it didn't work out.So I'm just proud of myself the way I fought and the way I never gave up. I will continue towards the path of getting better."

Ruusuvuori is the third Finnish player, man or woman, to make the third round at The Championships, joining Pekka Saila and Jarkko Nieminen. He hit 41 winners and won 80 per cent of his first-serve points to triumph after two hours and 47 minutes.

Entering the match, Tsitsipas led the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and did not lose more than six games in either match. But Ruusuvuori turned the tables at the grass-court major to advance to the Round of 32.

Holger Rune reacted to an early setback in style on Thursday to book his third-round spot at Wimbledon.

The 15th-seeded Dane rallied for an ultimately commanding 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 triumph against Thiago Seyboth Wild at the grass-court major. Rune broke his opponent’s serve five times across the second, third and fourth sets to register a two-hour, 10-minute victory on Court 18.

“It was good,” said Rune when reflecting on his performance in his post-match press conference. “The first set was difficult. He played very freely, didn't make many mistakes, and put me under a lot of pressure. So definitely I had to adjust on a few things, but I did, and I improvised. So I'm happy with the victory.”

Rune, who equalled his best Grand Slam result by reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2023, is now 24-13 for the season. Although he is competing as the World No. 15 — his lowest PIF ATP Ranking since October 2022 — at SW19, the Dane will be buoyed by the way he has seen off Soonwoo Kwon and Seyboth Wild on the London grass.

His next opponent will be Quentin Halys. The big-serving French qualifier upset 21st seed Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round for the second consecutive year.

History has been made at The Championships and only two rounds have been played.

With Grigor Dimitrov’s 5-7, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory against Shang Juncheng, there have already been nine comebacks from two sets down this week. That equals the Open Era record for most comebacks from two sets down in a single edition of Wimbledon, tying 1974, 1990 and 1997.

“I kept on believing in myself, in my body, in my fitness, and everything that I have put in throughout these past months,” Dimitrov said.

Eight of the nine two-set comebacks happened in the first round of the tournament. Dimitrov’s victory was the first in the second round.

“I don't think about it because it's the first week of the Slam, so you're looking after your own lane right now. You want to kind of go through this momentum and whatever match you have in front of you,” Dimitrov said. “I for one don't think about it. Even today when I was two sets down, I was just trying to focus on what I had to do in front of me. As I said, it's very difficult.”

Novak Djokovic was not at his best on Thursday at Wimbledon, but he found a way to reach the third round after three hours of gruelling play. The Serbian overcame a free-hitting display from resilient British wild card Jacob Fearnley to earn a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win.

In front of a capacity crowd on Centre Court - which was cheering loudly for Brit Fearnley - Djokovic was on course for a straight-sets win when he broke the 22-year-old's serve mid-way through the third set. However, Fearnley roared back to to win the set, overpowering the second seed to gain a foothold.

With the pressure rising, Djokovic responded in the fourth set, increasing his intensity and gaining the crucial break in the 11th game to triumph in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

"It was a great effort from Jacob, he played great," Djokovic said. "I had not had a chance to see him play before until two days ago. There is always an element of surprise and nothing to lose. Playing him at Wimbledon was always going to be tough. Most of the British players grow up being exposed to grass courts, quick surfaces, so they know how to play.

"I thought he served very well. It was very difficult to break his serve. He made me work. I was probably a bit lucky in the fourth not to go a break down. I could have won the match in three but this match potentially deserved to go into a fifth, with the way he played in the fourt. But I am very glad it didn't."

After Lloyd Harris hit a final backhand passing shot wide Thursday afternoon on a beautiful London day, Ben Shelton dropped his racquet to the Court 18 grass and held his arms outward. Not only was the American celebrating a memorable victory, but he was seemingly saying with his motion, “How about that?”

For the second consecutive match at Wimbledon, the 21-year-old survived in five sets. The 14th-seeded Shelton battled past qualifier Lloyd Harris 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(10-7) in a gripping three-hour, 14-minute encounter.

The atmosphere was closer to that of a football match than what you might expect at SW19. When Shelton attacked Harris’ backhand to force an error at 6/5 in the final-set tie-break, earning a critical mini-break, fans burst out into chants of “USA! USA! USA!” It is only fitting it is the fourth of July.

Among those watching from the terrace above were tournament director Jamie Baker, Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz Hewitt and the USTA’s Martin Blackman.

SW19 SHELTON ?@BenShelton pushed all the way by Harris 4-6 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(7) advances to the 3rd round!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/acRmjpvKI8

Arthur Fils broke new Grand Slam ground in dramatic circumstances on Thursday afternoon at Wimbledon.

The #NextGenATP Frenchman reached the third round at a major for the first time after Hubert Hurkacz retired from an engrossing clash on No. 2 Court. Fils held match point at 7-6(2), 6-4, 2-6, 6-6 (9/8) when Hurkacz retired due to a leg injury he had suffered just three points prior.

“It’s very tough to win a match like this against a friend,” said Fils in his on-court interview. “We were playing super good in the fourth set. We had some great points, and he was jumping everywhere. I’m really sorry for him and I hope he will recover very quickly. Me, I’m focused on the next round.”

At 7/7 in the fourth-set tie-break, Hurkacz grabbed the back of his right leg after pulling off a full-length dive for a volley. His shot dribbled over the net and Fils missed a very makeable ball into the net to hand the Pole a set point at 8/7. But Hurkacz’s efforts came at a cost as he received physio treatment on the court at spot of his dive, before hopping to his chair.

After the physio further massaged Hurkacz’s leg, the seventh seed returned to court, but appeared severely hindered by the injury. Fils promptly won the next two points before Hurkacz retired from the pair's maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.

Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed his career-best major result at Wimbledon in 2021, when he reached the semi-finals, defeating eight-time champion Roger Federer in the quarters, which was the Swiss' final singles match of his career. The 27-year-old Pole enters his sixth outing at the grass-court with a 10-5 Wimbledon record.

ATPTour.com sat down with the World No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings to hear about his earliest memories from the All England Club and which traditions he enjoys most.

What is your first memory of watching Wimbledon?
Just seeing the grass there and the whole venue as a kid. Just thinking, ‘Maybe someday I’ll get a chance to play on this court.’ I did watch it as a kid on TV, probably watched Roger winning. The first time I went to Wimbledon was when I was 17 years old for my first junior Grand Slam.

Is there a specific match you remember watching?
I don’t have such a great memory. I think maybe the [Federer 2009] match with Andy Roddick, that one pops up.

When you first played at Wimbledon, what were your early thoughts about the atmosphere?
I think coming there for the first time, I was a little bit overwhelmed by everything. The whole atmosphere, how green it looked, how well the grass was managed and how nice it was to just play on those fantastic courts with so much history there.

The International Tennis Federation has confirmed the men's singles and men's doubles entry lists for the Paris Olympics, headlined by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.

The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev is also in the singles field, which features eight of the Top 10 players in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Among the doubles teams to watch will be Alcaraz and Nadal, Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic, Daniel Evans and Andy Murray, and Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Tokyo gold medalists Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will also compete.

See below for the full men's singles and men's doubles entry lists.

SINGLES

Before the first ball was struck in anger at this year’s Wimbledon, the prestigious Sunday Times Magazine described Carlos Alcaraz as ‘the saviour of tennis’. The 21-year-old got wind of the compliment after progressing to the third round at Wimbledon.

“They’re really nice compliments and I accept them,” declared the Spaniard on Wednesday after seeing off Aleksandar Vukic in three sets to book a third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Frances Tiafoe. "It feels good to hear that, but I don’t feel like the saviour of tennis. In the end, tennis is evolving.

"Of course we had an amazing era with [Roger] Federer, Rafa [Nadal] and [Novak] Djokovic. We’re still enjoying Djokovic, we can’t enjoy Roger anymore and we don’t know what Rafa still may play. We try to provide good tennis. We try to allow people to enjoy it. There are many players who are also great to watch. I enjoy myself when the people enjoy themselves, but I’m not a saviour of tennis or anything close to it.”

Defending champ in the mood ?@carlosalcaraz knocks out Vukic 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/UAe376xtTz

One thing is clear, though; the way the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings Alcaraz plays sets him apart. The repertoire of shots he freely deploys never fails to delight the public, including his famous drop shots.

How can a player prepare to face Novak Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon?

Briton Jake Fearnley has had to answer that question since advancing to the second round on Tuesday to earn a place in the biggest match of his career. According to coach Juan Martin, who was Fearnley’s teammate for two years at Texas Christian University, it has been a team effort.

Fearnley has a big team around him, including Martin, Tennis Scotland coach Toby Smith, LTA coach Mark Hilton and TCU coaches Devin Bowen and David Roditi. The LTA physical staff and analytics team have also been among those involved in helping ready Fearnley for 24-time major champion Djokovic.

“Toby and Mark are very involved still, but even Jake agrees that it's just better for him to have only one voice. All the coaches speak together and I act almost as a filter,” Martin said. “So far, we've all agreed on everything. I just communicate to Jake whatever the team is thinking.”

Before the Nottingham ATP Challenger Tour event last month, Fearnley had never won a match at that level. Now he will step on Centre Court at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to play a man who has lifted the trophy at The Championships seven times.

A lot of the attention in tennis goes to the all-time greats like Novak Djokovic and ascendant stars including Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. But one of the most interesting stories in the sport belongs to 30-year-old American Marcos Giron.

Once a top junior in the United States and a college standout at UCLA, Giron underwent right hip surgery in December 2015 and left hip surgery in February 2016 to repair labral tears. Doctors shaved down his hip bones, which were wearing down cartilage.

More than eight years later, Giron is playing the best tennis of his career and proving that he can compete at the highest levels of the sport. The No. 46 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will try to show that again Thursday against fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the second round at Wimbledon.

“It's been an amazing journey. There are a lot of people to thank for that, but I'm really proud of the effort, the drive and the consistency that I've put in throughout the years. It's tough,” Giron told ATPTour.com. “Professional tennis is tough. You have to prove it every year. There are no handouts. Anybody can win on every given day and it's tough. It's amazing. In the end, I think I've been able to just keep improving over and over and over and keep believing in my ability.

“Of course, there are undulations to the year, it's not always just straight up, but it's kind of like the stock market I think, in a funny way. There are going to be some ups, there are going to be downs, but hopefully in the long run, you're going to be better off.”