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The London rain may have forced Holger Rune to be patient in pursuit of his first main-draw win at Wimbledon, but the Dane wasted no time completing the job against George Loffhagen on Wednesday afternoon.

Having claimed the opening set in a tie-break on Tuesday before play was suspended due to rain, Rune stayed rock-solid upon resumption on No. 3 Court for a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 victory against the British wild card Loffhagen. The Dane fended off three break points in the opening game of the second set before raising his level for a two-hour, eight-minute first-round triumph.

“It means a lot, it’s a great feeling,” said Rune in his on-court interview. “When you enter a tournament it’s cool to come back with good memories. For sure I hope to bring better memories than last year. I’m super happy with the first round. It was not easy, I had to find my level, and I’m happy to be through.”

[BREAK POINT]

With his win against the World No. 371, Rune became the first Danish man to record a Wimbledon singles match win since Kenneth Carlsen reached the third round in 2004. The 20-year-old sixth seed is competing in just his fifth professional event on grass but showed his promise on the surface two weeks ago by reaching the semi-finals at the ATP 500 at The Queen’s Club.

Life partners are turning into tennis partners at Wimbledon. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa and well as Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter are competing in the mixed doubles draw at The Championships.

Tsitsipas and Badosa recently made public their relationship and they have wasted no time getting on court together. They will play top seeds Austin Krajicek and Jessica Pegula in the first round.

De Minaur and Boulter, longtime partners, will compete alongside one another for the first time. The Australian-British team will face Australians John Peers and Storm Hunter in the first round.

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Michael Venus will again compete with Bianca Andreescu after their successful run at Roland Garros, where they advanced to the final.

Ninth seed Taylor Fritz finally booked his spot in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday when he overcame Yannick Hanfmann in a five-set thriller that began on Monday.

After coming off for bad light with Fritz leading 3-2 in the fifth set on Monday night, the American and his German opponent had to wait until Wednesday to complete their clash due to rain. Competing on Court 2, Fritz came out firing upon the restart, gaining a quick break to advance 6-4, 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 after three hours and one minute.

"It is great. I am going to have to come back and play tomorrow. It rained all day yesterday and off and on today, so I really just wanted to get on court and play," Fritz said. "I am glad I can just focus on the next match."

With his 30th tour-level win of the season, Fritz avenged his defeat against Hanfmann in Rome in May. The 25-year-old, who struck 42 winners and broke the German four times, will next meet Mikael Ymer after the Swede beat Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Fritz has fond memories at Wimbledon, having advanced to the quarter-finals in 2022 when he pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets. His best result this season was a run to his fifth tour-level title in Delray Beach.

Diego Schwartzman has struggled to find his best level in 2023, arriving at Wimbledon holding an 8-16 record on the season. The Argentine found top gear in his opening match at The Championships against Miomir Kecmanovic, brushing aside the Serbian to set a second-round meeting against eighth seed Jannik Sinner.

Ahead of his clash against the Italian, ATPTour.com got to know more about the Argentine’s life off court, his craziest travel story and much more in this edition of ‘The Nomadic Life’.

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What are two essential non-tennis items you always pack for trips?
My iPad and a speaker. The past few years I had a really big speaker, but now I use a smaller one. If I can have a third item it would be mate. It is a drink from South America, I always like drinking it. It is like how the British people drink tea at 5 p.m. We drink it everyday and it is a social moment as well. We share it with people and drink it when watching a movie or in the park. It tastes somewhere between coffee and tea. It is stronger than tea and you can have different tastes.

What item did you forget to bring one time that caused you distress?
Mate, I never like forgetting it.

Daniil Medvedev countered a home-grown serve-and-volley barrage to reach the second-round Wednesday at Wimbledon, where the third seed downed #NextGenATP Briton Arthur Fery 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 at the grass-court major.

Medvedev delivered a highly professional display against Grand Slam debutant Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, on No. 1 Court. The World No. 3 showcased pinpoint returning from deep and was ultimately too consistent for the 20-year-old Fery, converting six of his 12 break points in a match that was interrupted for 30 minutes by rain at 5-5 in the first set.

“[I was] pretty nervous,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. “I didn’t play here for two years and yesterday we didn’t get to play, so it was a little bit hectic for everyone, for the supporters and the players. Back at Court 1, where I have the most wins in my Wimbledon career, so probably my favourite court so far.

“[I was] really happy for the very nice welcome and especially against Arthur, who is from Great Britain.”

With his two-hour, 11-minute victory, Medvedev advanced to a second-round clash against Adrian Mannarino or Alexander Shevchenko. The 27-year-old is chasing his sixth tour-level title of the season this fortnight at the All England Club, where his best previous showing was a fourth-round run in 2021.

Some of the world’s best junior players enjoyed enjoyed a Tuesday treat at Wimbledon as former ATP star Nicolas Pereira and current player Kimmer Coppejans joined WTA great Billie Jean King for a special education session at the grass-court major.

The session, which was delivered by the ATP, WTA, AELTC and the ITF, was the latest in a series of in-person education opportunities for elite junior competitors on the player pathway.

Pereira was a particularly apt choice to offer advice to the group of talented youngsters from across the globe. The Venezuelan won the junior titles at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in 1988, and went on to reach his career-high of No. 74 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 1996.

The current World No. 188 Coppejans, who is competing in the Wimbledon main draw for the first time this year after coming through qualifying, discussed his experience of transitioning to the professional game from junior tennis.

Kimmer Coppejans and Billie Jean King offered advice to top junior players on Tuesday at Wimbledon. Photo: Susan Mullane/ITF.

Wimbledon tournament organisers announced the cancellation of 10 second-round matches Wednesday due to rain earlier in the day. Six men’s matches and four women’s matches will be rescheduled.

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev and 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti are among the players who will have to wait to continue their runs at The Championships.

Rublev is set to play Aslan Karatsev, against whom he lost his only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting two years ago in Dubai. Musetti will face Jaume Munar.

Hubert Hurkacz, the 17th seed, and 23rd seed Alexander Bublik, are the other seeded players who will no longer be in action Wednesday. The 10 matches cancelled are:

Andrey Rublev [7] vs Aslan Karatsev

Before stepping up his Wimbledon preparations, British No. 1 Cameron Norrie stepped in front Tatler's cameras for chic photoshoot with the fashion and lifestyle magazine. A semi-finalist last year on the London lawns, Norrie posed alongside fellow Britons Jack Draper and Katie Boulter for the publication's upcoming issue.

Billed as "the new British tennis superstars", the trio was photographed in retro styles fitting the storied tradition of their home major.

The cover story, now live on Tatler's website, begins with Alex de Minaur's shoutout to girlfriend Boulter during an on-court interview at last year's Wimbledon.

Norrie and Draper are far from the only ATP stars to grace the pages of fashion magazines in recent months. In addition to Carlos Alcaraz's February Vogue feature, both the Spaniard and Norway's Casper Ruud have appeared on the cover of L'Equipe this year.

A bumper Day 3 has been repeatedly interrupted by rain at Wimbledon, where 87 matches across the men’s and women’s singles draws are scheduled to be completed Wednesday at the grass-court major.

After light rain forced an initial delay to the day's action, play began at approximately 12:45 p.m. local time (BST) in south-west London. The showers returned just after 1 p.m., however, forcing the players to return to the locker room. Play resumed at approximately 2 p.m. on the outside courts, before play was suspended on all courts again just 15 minutes later.

A host of top ATP stars will be in action in the men's singles draw. On Court 2, ninth seed Taylor Fritz and Yannick Hanfmann will resume their first-round clash that was interrupted by rain on Monday with Fritz leading 3-2 on serve in the fifth set. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem will then complete their opening-round meeting, which began on Tuesday. Thiem leads the fifth-seeded Tsitsipas 6-3, 3-4.

Daniil Medvedev began his campaign against home wild card Arthur Fery, with the pair level at 5-5 in the opening set when the rain came. The retractable roof can be used to cover Court 1 if required for the Medvedev-Fery match to be completed, as well as for Jannik Sinner's clash against Diego Schwartzman.

On Centre Court, which is also fitted with a roof, defending champion Novak Djokovic’s second-round clash against Jordan Thompson is the final match on Wednesday’s schedule.

Kei Nishikori continued his impressive return on the ATP Challenger Tour Tuesday with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 win in the first round of the Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The former No. 4 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings last month returned for his first action in 20 months. The 33-year-old has not missed a beat. Nishikori won his return event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico with the loss of just one set.

On Tuesday, Nishikori lost just three games, the most lopsided scoreline of his comeback. The 12-time ATP Tour titlist saved all four break points he faced and converted four of his five break chances to advance after 66 minutes. The wild card will next play former World No. 53 Denis Kudla or Tunisian Skander Mansouri.

Nishikori began his comeback without a Pepperstone ATP Ranking. With his six victories, he has returned to the Top 500 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

Watch Match Replay: Kei Nishikori vs. Adam Walton

After a day in which rain wiped out most of play at Wimbledon, fans are scheduled to see plenty of action on what promises to be a manic Wednesday at The All England Club with the likes of Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem all in the order of play.

Djokovic will play his second-round match Wednesday while players who did not compete Tuesday due to rain — or those whose matches were suspended Monday evening due to darkness — will be in first-round action.

Thiem took a 6-3, 3-4 lead over Tsitsipas on No. 2 Court before play was suspended due to rain. Thiem leads the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-4.

See below for the Wednesday schedule at SW19.

CENTRE COURT - 1:30 p.m.
Ladies' Singles - Second Round Daria Kasatkina [11] v Jodie Burrage (GBR)

When Yannick Hanfmann steps on a tennis court, he has more than one motivation in his mind.

The 31-year-old German, who was locked in a fifth-set battle with ninth seed Taylor Fritz on Monday before rain suspended play at Wimbledon, has a plan in place for some of the money he earns as a professional tennis player. Inspired by a 2017 visit to a cheetah conservation centre in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Hanfmann aims to use his success to contribute to a cause close to his heart.

“Cheetahs were my favourite animal when I grew up and they still are,” Hanfmann told ATPTour.com last month. “I’m trying to put some money to charity every year, depending on how I play. The first few years it was the cheetahs in Stellenbosch and now it shifted to orangutans in Borneo.

“I love animals in general, but orangutans, gorillas, certain monkeys and cheetahs [are my favourites]. I see documentaries and stuff and I just can’t help but feel emotional about them. It’s something I’m passionate about.”

Facing Novak Djokovic on Centre Court at Wimbledon has become one of the biggest tests in sport in the past decade. The Serbian has not lost a match on one of tennis’ grandest stages since 2013, when Andy Murray defeated the World No. 2 in the final.

Seeking a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title and record-equalling eighth overall, it will take quite a performance to stop the 36-year-old.

Australia’s Jordan Thompson is hoping he can be the player to do so. The 29-year-old rallied from two-sets-to-love down against Brandon Nakashima in his opening match to set a first meeting against Djokovic on Wednesday.

“Playing Novak is the toughest task in tennis at the moment,” Thompson told ATPTour.com ahead of the clash. “I know you have Rafa at Roland Garros. I've played him in Paris and that was incredibly tough, but this up there. You can look at his records and his stats. It's unbelievable. He has 23 Slams. The odds are firmly in his favour.”

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Andy Murray opened his 2023 Wimbledon campaign with a grass-court clinic on Tuesday afternoon, when the home favourite outclassed his fellow Briton Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 on Centre Court.

The two-time champion was rock-solid from the baseline and showcased top-quality movement on the grass in his two-hour win. After fending off the first two break points of the match in the third and fifth games, respectively, Murray converted six of 12 break points of his own to charge to victory and set a second-round blockbuster against Stefanos Tsitsipas or Dominic Thiem.

“It’s obviously amazing to be back here playing on Centre Court,” said Murray in his on-court interview. “I was quite nervous at the beginning, coming out I wanted to play well but I started off a little bit tentatively. But once I got the break in that first set, I played some good stuff as the match went on and there were some good signs there.”

SIR ? ANDY ?@andy_murray cruises past Peniston 6-3 6-0 6-1 to advance in #Wimbledon @Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/RAT6JHVv9Q

Playing under a closed roof in rainy London, Murray faced an early test from Peniston as the No. 268-ranked wild card went toe to toe with the former World No. 1 and twice carved out opportunities for the first break of the match.

I wish Roger Federer was on my court!

That was a thought that went through Carlos Alcaraz’s mind after he completed his first-round victory against Jeremy Chardy on Tuesday at Wimbledon. The Spaniard emerged victorious on No. 1 Court, while Federer was sitting in the Royal Box on Centre Court watching defending champion Elena Rybakina.

“After the match I was with the phone checking everything I have, all the stories, all the posts. I saw that Roger Federer was here. I was a little bit jealous,” Alcaraz said, cracking a smile. “Honestly, I want Roger Federer to watch one of my matches obviously. I wish to talk a little bit with him. For me, [that] would be amazing. I hope to see him around more than once.”

The good news for Alcaraz is not just that he managed to win, but that he played at all. Most matches have been suspended or cancelled around the grounds at The All England Club due to rain. Since the rain began early in the day, play has only taken place on Centre Court and No. 1 Court.

“It's really important for me. I think the players that play with the roof in the Centre Court have more luck, let's say, to be able to finish their matches. Not to wait for the rain is something that is [an] advantage from the other players,” Alcaraz said. “So for me it's really, really good to have finished the match and not wait for the rain. Let's see if my opponents are going to finish the match. But for me, it's really, really good.”

Multiple matches have been cancelled at Wimbledon on Tuesday following lingering light rain at The Championships.

As of 5.15pm BST, these 22 gentlemen's singles matches scheduled for Tuesday had been cancelled:

Daniil MEDVEDEV [3] vs Arthur FERY (GBR)
Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [19] vs Gijs BROUWER (NED)
Marc-Andrea HUESLER (SUI) vs Yosuke WATANUKI (JPN)
Adrian MANNARINO (FRA) vs Alexander SHEVCHENKO
Frances TIAFOE (USA) [10] vs Yibing WU (CHN)
Sho SHIMABUKURO (JPN) vs Grigor DIMITROV (BUL) [21]
Jiri LEHECKA (CZE) vs Sebastian OFNER (AUT)
Ilya IVASHKA vs Federico CORIA (ARG)
Dominic STRICKER (SUI) vs Alexei POPYRIN (AUS)
Francisco CERUNDOLO (ARG) [18] vs Nuno BORGES (POR)
Shintaro MOCHIZUKI (JPN) (vs Tommy PAUL (USA) [16]
Milos RAONIC (CAN) vs Dennis NOVAK (AUT)
Kimmer COPPEJANS (BEL) vs Alex DE MINAUR (AUS) [15]
Alejandro DAVIDOVICH FOKINA (ESP) [31] vs Arthur FILS (FRA)
Marco CECCHINATO (ITA) vs Nicolas JARRY (CHI) [25]
Matteo ARNALDI (ITA) vs Roberto CARBALLES BAENA (ESP)
Jiri VESELY (CZE) vs Sebastian KORDA (USA) [22]
Jason KUBLER (AUS) vs Ugo HUMBERT (FRA)
Christopher EUBANKS (USA) vs Thiago MONTEIRO (BRA)
Lloyd HARRIS (RSA) vs Gregoire BARRERE (FRA)
Maxime CRESSY (USA) vs Laslo DJERE (SRB)
Zhizhen ZHANG (CHN) vs Botic VAN DE ZANDSCHULP (NED)

As at 5.15pm BST only one men's singles match has been completed. Playing under a closed roof on Court 1, top seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.

Among matches that started but were suspended due to rain, Dominic Thiem led the fifth-seeded Stefanos 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.

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz wasted little time reaching the second round at Wimbledon on Tuesday, soaring past Jeremy Chardy, who was competing in his final singles match.

Under the roof on Court 1, the Spaniard overpowered the 36-year-old Frenchman with his destructive groundstrokes, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory in one hour and 53 minutes.

“I think I played really well at the beginning of the match,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “In the third set, he found his level. I was in trouble, but I like to play rallies, I like to play battles, and I’m really happy to have played a great level. Both of us in the third set. It was really close, but I’m really happy to get through this first round.”

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The 2022 US Open champion Alcaraz is chasing his second major title this fortnight, and he could not have made a better start to his Wimbledon title bid, with his main scare coming at the start of the first set when he slipped on the slick court.

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.”