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Roger Federer received a standing ovation Tuesday when he and wife Mirka joined Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in the Royal Box to take in Day 2 of Wimbledon action under a closed roof.

Impeccably attired in a beige suit, purple- and white-striped shirt and perfectly knotted tie, Federer was joined by his parents Robert and Lynette as he settled into the front row to enjoy a day of tennis, beginning with the WTA match between defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina and Shelby Rogers.

8-times #Wimbledon Champion on Centre Court ?

Let's hear it for @rogerfederer ?@Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/xJzwbzUJvd

Federer holds the record for most gentlemen’s singles titles, with eight Wimbledon crowns, his last coming in 2017. He finished with a 105-14 match record at SW19, with a quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 his final match at The Championships.

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Rain has interrupted the first-round action at Wimbledon for the second consecutive day, with play suspended at approximately 1:10 p.m. local time (BST) on Tuesday at the grass-court major.

Among those forced to return to the locker room were Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem. Thiem led the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-3, 3-4 on Court 2 in the pair’s 10th Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting when the rain arrived in south-west London. Matteo Berrettini is also behind early: Lorenzo Sonego leads the 2021 finalist 7-6(5) on Court 12.

Ben Shelton is in a commanding position on his Wimbledon debut against Taro Daniel. The #NextGenATP American led 6-4, 4-2 against the Japanese when play was suspended. Another of the ATP Tour’s young stars, Holger Rune, leads home wild card George Loffhagen 7-6(4).

Centre Court and Court 1 at the All England Club each have a retractable roof, meaning the schedule on both is set to proceed regardless of the weather. Home favourite Andy Murray takes on fellow Briton Ryan Peniston second on Centre Court, while top seed Carlos Alcaraz faces Jeremy Chardy on Court 1 before British No. 1 Cameron Norrie, a semi-finalist at SW19 in 2022, takes on Tomas Machac in the final match of the day.

The 2023 season has been a year of firsts for Ben Shelton.

First Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open. First time being outside the United States. First professional matches on clay and grass. And now perhaps the most exciting of all: first appearance at Wimbledon.

“It’s been pretty cool to see this place for the first time,” World No. 36 Shelton told ATPTour.com. “Just seeing the green grass at the bottom of the stadium is pretty cool… We don't have much grass in the United States. So to see these perfectly manicured courts and the huge stadiums is nice. And it’s a pretty cool site architecturally.

“Before I played Queen’s I came here for three days and practised some at Aorangi. That was always the plan as I’d never played on grass before. So it was really good to get here and kind of get my feet wet and start feeling the movement and playing. That’s really helped me in my short development on the grass courts so far.

“I haven’t done too much sightseeing yet. It’s pretty much been a business trip.”

Jannik Sinner made an immediate statement on Monday at Wimbledon. The Italian overpowered Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the second round at the grass-court major.

One year ago, Sinner won the first two sets of his quarter-final at The Championships against Novak Djokovic before succumbing in five sets. Djokovic went on to win the title.

Sinner showed no ill effects from that devastating defeat, cruising past Cerundolo on Centre Court in just one hour and 29 minutes. The eighth seed was never in difficulty, dominating with his power from the baseline, crushing 28 winners to just 16 unforced errors.

"The walk on the court is a special moment obviously. Then starting Wimbledon on the Centre Court, knowing already before with the roof closed, I know today was very tough to play outdoors," Sinner said. "Happy, happy about the win. Already motivated for the next one."

With play suspended around the grounds due to darkness, Sinner wrapped up the day's action under the Centre Court roof. The Italian thrilled fans with a Pete Sampras-like jumping smash in the last game and closed out his victory without losing his serve (2/2 break points saved).

When wild card Arthur Fery steps on Court No. 2 Tuesday to face third seed Daniil Medvedev, the 20-year-old will add his Grand Slam singles debut at the All England Club to his list of Wimbledon memories.

Fery grew up five minutes from Wimbledon and would often visit the major as a child. One of his highlights from attending the grass-court event came in 2010, when he witnessed part of the longest match ever played.

“I saw a bit of the [John] Isner versus [Nicolas] Mahut match. I want to say I saw the start of the fifth,” Fery told ATPTour.com recently at the NCAA championships in Lake Nona, Florida. “And then it was over three days, so I didn't see the end of it. It was obviously packed at the end, that was great.

“I saw Roger on Centre Court a few times. I saw the final in 2014, Federer versus Djokovic. It was awesome just going there and seeing such good tennis players.

“Growing up around Wimbledon was awesome. It was obviously a great foundation for my tennis and I got to learn a lot about tennis really quickly. I have memories of being in primary school aged 7, 8, 9, 10 and going after school. My mum picking me up from school and just going to watch.”

American Michael Mmoh stunned 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon Monday after producing his second giant-killing run as a Grand Slam lucky loser this year.

Toiling for four hours and seven minutes in brutally windy and cold conditions, the World No. 119 upset the Canadian 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 on Day 1 to claim his first main-draw victory at Wimbledon.

Earlier this year Mmoh took advantage of a lucky loser entry into the Australian Open main draw, where he beat then-World No. 13 Alexander Zverev to reach the third round.

In five qualifying attempts at Wimbledon, Mmoh had only ever once won through to the main draw. In 2018 he qualified but lost in five sets to Gilles Muller.

Auger-Aliassime, who sported tape on his left knee as he continues to work back to fitness after tendon damage, was playing his first match since a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini in the opening round of Roland Garros.

Can Carlos Alcaraz win Wimbledon this year?

The short answer is an emphatic yes after a spectacular dress rehearsal at the Cinch Championships last week in London, where he won his maiden grass-court title.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Alcaraz’s five matches identified the Spaniard was dialed in by dominating opponents in the “first strike” rally length of 0-4 shots. Overall, Alcaraz played around 70 per cent of his points in “0-4”, meaning that every seven out of 10 points he only hit the ball in the court a maximum of two times. Grass-court tennis is still very much about the serve, return, and the the ensuing two shots.

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Alcaraz Rally Length Played

After 18 years on Tour, Jeremey Chardy’s storied singles career will come to an end this fortnight at Wimbledon. His potential final match? A clash against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who is 16 years Chardy’s junior.

The 36-year-old Frenchman feels it would be a fitting way to end a chapter of his life that has given him so much.

“I love tennis with all my heart. Tennis is my passion,” Chardy told ATPTour.com. “Year after year, I love the game even more. During all the years, I have met so many players, coaches. I loved the life on Tour. In my career I'm really happy because when I look back, I feel like I was focused on trying to do my best during my career, so I have no regrets.

“I'm really happy to play against Alcaraz in maybe my last match. He's a different generation because I'm close to double his age. For me it is an emotional week because it will be my last tournament in singles, so it is a gift to have the chance to play against him in maybe my last match. I hope I am going to win, but maybe it can be the last time for me. I will enjoy it.”

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A shaky start and inclement London weather were not enough to cloud Novak Djokovic’s focus on Monday at Wimbledon.

The defending champion eased to a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) first-round triumph against Pedro Cachin to launch his bid for a fifth consecutive crown at the grass-court major in style. Djokovic dropped serve in the third game of the match but barely looked back from then on as he wrapped a two-hour, 11-minute victory.

“It doesn’t get much better than Wimbledon, really, in terms of history and tradition,” said Djokovic in his on-court interview. “I’ve said it many times throughout my career. Coming to Wimbledon was always the dream, to win it. A childhood dream came true in 2011 and each year I come back I kind of relive those memories and just kind of connect with that young boy that was dreaming in Serbia.

“I try to not take any match, any minute that I spend on the court here for granted. I’m definitely blessed, so it’s a wonderful feeling to be here.”

After claiming the opening set, a one-hour, 29-minute rain delay, during which Djokovic helped ground staff dry Centre Court with a towel, only appeared to galvanise the Serbian further. He broke the No. 68-ranked Cachin in the first game after the resumption and frequently had the Argentine scrambling with some trademark pinpoint returning.

Christopher Eubanks is ready to make his Wimbledon main draw debut on Tuesday. Three months ago on a rainy evening in Miami, he was overwhelmed. After a rain delay of nearly two hours, the American had just defeated Gregoire Barrere to reach his maiden fourth round at an ATP Masters 1000 event. More importantly, it guaranteed he would crack the Top 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

When he spoke to reporters shortly after the match, Eubanks struggled to hold back tears. It was as if a weight had lifted off his shoulders because of how important the milestone was to him. It was telling how many people were excited for him that night, too. Fans and players alike shared their congratulations on social media. Eubanks, who has an infectious smile to complement his booming serve and forehand, also has a gravitational force that draws people in.

Friend and WTA star Coco Gauff FaceTimed him the moment he returned to the bowels of Hard Rock Stadium after his win over Barrere. Throughout the week celebrities came out to cheer for him, too. Former NFL star Chad Johnson waited out rain delays to watch Eubanks’ fourth-round victory. Members of the Tennis Channel team got drenched by the pouring rain hours after their show had ended to be there for their colleague, who has greatly enjoyed working as a broadcaster when time has allowed. Actor Jamie Foxx, who has become a mentor to Eubanks, was in the stands for the quarter-finals.

It was Eubanks’ moment, but so many people were happy for him and eager to lend their support.

“Everyone would tell you that from the moment they meet Chris, he's a very genuine guy,” said fellow Atlanta-native and former Top 200 player Kevin King, who was a volunteer assistant coach at Georgia Tech, where Eubanks competed for three years. “I think that's why so many people like him. You're not going to find anyone out there that has a bad thing to say about Chris. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. He's very genuine. He gets along with everyone.”

Like any good Australian, Alex de Minaur loves playing on grass.

Hitting flatter and moving better than most of his peers, the World No. 17 was almost custom-built for modern-day grass-court tennis. In 2022, only a fifth-set tie-break loss to Cristian Garin denied him a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and last week he reached the final of the Cinch Championships at Queen’s, falling to Carlos Alcaraz.

“I'm in a great position right now,” the 2021 Eastbourne champion told ATPTour.com at the weekend. “I played some great tennis last week. I was able to rest this week and get ready for hopefully a good run here in Wimbledon. I like where my game is at, I like how the body is feeling and how I am mentally. So hopefully I’ve put myself in a position to perform.”

De Minaur, who is just two places below his career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of 15, took out World No. 6 Holger Rune at Queen’s and was competitive in the final against Alcaraz, who returned to World No. 1 by claiming the final 6-4, 6-4.

“It was a very solid week for sure,” De Minaur said. “I was very happy with my mindset all week. I played some positive tennis from start to finish and I showed the type of tennis that I can play. I can be very dangerous on this surface. I fell just short, but put myself in a good position for the rest of the year.”

Grigor Dimitrov is no stranger to Wimbledon. The Bulgarian is set to make his 13th appearance at The Championships this year with his best result a semi-final outing in 2014.

Aiming for another deep run this fortnight, ATPTour.com caught up with the former World No. 3 to discuss his love for Wimbledon, recalling his first memory, favourite tradition and much more...

[BREAK POINT]

What is your first memory of watching Wimbledon?
First for me was always Sampras and Agassi. I think that was the one thing that I always remember. We had certain tournaments in our country that they were broadcasting and I think that was one of the first ones I've ever watched and remembered.

What stands out from those matches?
I don't know, I think it was just the whole atmosphere. I think when you're a kid, you dream big that you always want to be out there, you want to be just like them and be where they are at. So I think there were a lot of interesting moments while I was watching. And I think that this was definitely one of the ones that I have a very vivid memory of nowadays.

Two Americans captured ATP Challenger Tour titles on red clay this past week. Emilio Nava saved two championship points to win the Modena Challenger in Italy and Patrick Kypson did not drop a set all week en route to winning the Jumbo Open Rionegro in Colombia.

Nava, 21, earned his second Challenger Tour trophy after defeating Titouan Droguet 6-7(5), 7-6(6), 6-4 in Saturday’s final. The Frenchman Droguet will rue his two match points on serve at 5-4 in the second set. Nava also fended off 12 of 15 break points faced to survive the two-hour, 55-minute battle.

In 2019, the California native Nava was a boys’ singles finalist at the Australian Open and the US Open. He has since transitioned to the Challenger Tour and following his title in Italy, Nava rose to career-high No. 168 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 23-year-old Kypson collected his maiden Challenger Tour title in Medellin, Colombia, where he downed Zimbabwe’s Benjamin Lock 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match. Despite playing in his first Challenger final, Kypson held his nerve to triumph after one hour, 22 minutes.

“Today was a very tough match against Benjamin,” Kypson said. “But I played very solid and with consistency, which helped me win in straight sets and achieve the most important achievement of my career so far."

Rain has interrupted play on the opening day at Wimbledon, where a host of seeds adorn the opening-day schedule at the grass-court major.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, chasing his fifth consecutive title at the All-England club, took the first set against Pedro Cachin 6-3 on Centre Court moments before the inclement weather arrived. Play is set to resume on the roofed Centre Court shortly. Djokovic has helped play his part, wiping down the court with a towel, with groundsmen using leaf blowers to dry the baseline. Action on Court 1, which has a roof, has resumed.

Photo Credit: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
After Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti notched early opening wins, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner were among those whose first-round matches were interrupted by the London rain. Hurkacz leads Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-4, while Auger-Aliassime and Isner are both on serve in the opening set of their matches against Michael Mmoh and Jaume Munar, respectively.

Also forced off were Brandon Nakashima and Jordan Thompson, who were locked on serve in the fifth set of their match on Court 9. Thompson rallied to lead his American opponent 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 3-2, and held break point at 30/40 on Nakashima’s serve when play was suspended.

As preparations for Wimbledon step up, Lorenzo Sonego is aiming to hit the right notes on and off court.

The Italian begins his SW19 campaign against 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday, but is also chasing success away from London’s lawns after releasing his third song, “Cielo Aperto”, last Friday. Sonego’s latest hit is the third he has produced alongside friend ‘AlterEdo’, with their first song, “Un Solo Secondo”, soaring past one million listens on Spotify earlier this year.

“We started the music as a joke almost and we had fun. We wrote the song and put good words together and it took off,” Sonego told ATPTour.com. “I work on my music with my best friend and it is really good. When we were young, we sang together some songs and we tried to write some words. Then we decided to make a real song together.

“We finally finished the first song and we tried to put it on Spotify and it was fun to see my name. It was good and after a while we had one million listens and that was crazy.”

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Francisco Cerundolo and Christopher Eubanks lifted trophies on Saturday at the grass-court events in Eastbourne and Mallorca, respectively. While Argentina's Cerundolo consolidated his place in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, the American Eubanks rose to a career-high No. 43.

ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

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No. 43 Christopher Eubanks, +34 (Career High)
The 27-year-old Eubanks cracked the Top 100 for the first time earlier this year following his quarter-final run at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and has continued his breakthrough season. On Saturday, Eubanks earned his maiden ATP Tour title at the Mallorca Championships, where he fended off five match points in a dramatic semi-final against Lloyd Harris to stay alive. The former Georgia Tech University standout then cruised past Adrian Mannarino in the final to make his Top 50 debut.

No. 15 Tommy Paul, +2 (Joint Career High)
The American Paul was a finalist at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne, where he was aiming for his second tour-level title. The 26-year-old is having a career-best season in which he has competed in two tour-level finals and enjoyed a semi-final run at the Australian Open.

Andrey Rublev became the first men’s player to reach the second round at Wimbledon on Monday when he moved past Australian Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

The seventh seed struck the ball with relentless power throughout the one-hour, 33-minute clash and battled hard in the second set, rallying from 2-5 in the second set. With his 32nd win of the season, Rublev maintained his perfect first-round record at Wimbledon.

“I am really happy to be back. You always want to win in straight sets, but it is never simple,” Rublev said. “I was 2-5 down in the second set and I was lucky to be able to come back because in my head I was already preparing for the third set. I hit a few good shots and I was able to come back and I played really well at the end of the second set. To play here with full stadiums at 11am, that is a special feeling.”

Rublev, whose best result at SW19 was a fourth-round run in 2021, will next meet Aslan Karatsev or #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche. The 25-year-old arrived in London in strong form, having advanced to the title match in Halle last month.

ATPTour.com looks at five ATP Challenger Tour players to keep your eyes on during Wimbledon.

Max Purcell
The Australian has lit up the Challenger circuit this season, boasting a 34-7 match record at that level. Purcell has competed in six Challenger finals in 2023 and enjoyed a 15-match winning streak in February, when he triumphed at Challengers in Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune.

The World No. 64 is now in position to compete in more ATP Tour events and will next aim to continue his breakthrough year at the season’s third major. Part of what makes Purcell a tricky opponent on grass is his unique style of play, which he will put on display against seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round.

“I don’t see anyone hitting slice forehands like I do, so I think that’s pretty unique,” Purcell told ATPTour.com earlier this year. “I don’t think you see many singles guys volleying as well as I do, from all the doubles [I’ve played]. Big emphasis on coming to the net when I can and when I do come to the net, making sure I pull off some good volleys.”

Last year, the 25-year-old Purcell partnered countryman Matthew Ebden at Wimbledon and went on a dream title run to win the men’s doubles crown. Five of their six matches went the distance, including the championship match against Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

There was a time in the not-too-distant past that anything short of a run to the second week of Wimbledon would have felt like a failure to Milos Raonic.

A semi-finalist in 2014, the Canadian reached the final in 2016, the quarter-finals in ’17 and ‘18 and the fourth round in his most recent appearance in 2019.

But after nearly two years away from the sport following a succession of injuries – most notably to his Achilles - Raonic isn’t sure what would constitute a passing grade at this year’s event. Traditional benchmarks don’t seem to apply.

“I think it's going to be an emotional thing that I go through. I don't think it’s possible to have an idea,” Raonic said. “I could win my first match, I could lose my first match and I could walk away in both cases happy or upset. So I'm not exactly too sure [what success would be].

“What I used to measure things last time I was here was quite different than how I would measure things now.”

When Maxime Cressy needs to think positively, his internal discussions are in English. Lately, it's been a battle to keep French from creeping back into his thoughts.

Before a first-round win this past week in Eastbourne, the French-born American had lost 10 straight matches dating back to the second round of Marseille in February. For a man who writes ‘instill doubt’ on his racquets to reflect the disruptive message he wants to send to opponents, Cressy has been the one second-guessing himself recently.

“Usually my negative side comes out in French. I picked it up from my mom,” said Cressy, who was born in Paris. “Usually I think positively when I’m thinking in English… so I try to stay in the English phase.

“The clay season is where I had the most doubts, and I think it did spill over to the beginning of the grass season. But I'm building my confidence back up. Last week, I played much better and this week could be really great… I believe at any moment. I can have a major breakthrough.”

Despite his recent disappointing record, few players would raise their hands for a chance to play the 6’ 7” serve/volleying powerhouse in the opening round at Wimbledon, where last year he upset Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round. If anyone could turn around a season with a bone-rattling run at The Championships, it’s the 26-year-old, who kicks off his campaign Tuesday against Serb Laslo Djere.