The opening day of Wimbledon promises to be a superb occasion once more as the reigning men's champion Roger Federer opens his title defence against Dusan Lajovic on Centre Court and there is plenty, beyond the obligatory Pimm's and strawberries, to look forward to. The top-half of the men's draw and the bottom-half of the ladies' draw are in action on Monday - we've picked out four 'must watch' matches:
Grigor Dimitrov v Stanislas Wawrinka
Undoubtedly the most eye-watching tie of the first round ties as Grigor Dimitrov takes on three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka. This could be a classic but Wawrinka isn't quite his old self yet as he is still recovering from injury and he looked someway short of his best when losing to Andy Murray at Eastbourne last week. The 33-year-old Swiss star hasn't always enjoyed Wimbledon, reaching just two quarter-finals, and it is Dimitrov who will start favourite.
Dimitrov has won his past four head-to-head meetings with Wawrinka, although the Bulgarian hasn't gone beyond the fourth round of Wimbledon since reaching the semi-finals in 2014. The 27-year-old is yet to deliver on his undoubted potential at Grand Slam tournaments and he could do worse than tap up his opponent for advice on Monday as Wawrinka didn't win the first of his three slams - the 2014 Australian Open - until he was 28.
#Wimbledon
Gael Monfils v Richard Gasquet
A meeting between the world number 29 and the man ranked 41st wouldn't appear to be the most appealing of clashes on paper but the match-up between a pair of enigmatic Frenchmen involves two of the most outrageous talents on tour and what a treat this could be. Monfils is capable of producing moments of sheer magic on the tennis court but his career has been plagued by injury and occasional lapses in concentration, while the backhand of Gasquet is a joy to behold but he too is prone to moments of madness.
Monfils holds the edge 9-7 from their past meetings and the pair met for the first time on grass in 2017, with Gasquet winning in Halle before Monfils gained revenge at Eastbourne.
Sloane Stephens v Donna Vekic
Sloane Stephens landed her first Grand Slam title with victory at the US Open last year and her recent run to the French Open final has seen the American move up to number four in the world rankings. The 25-year-old faces a stern first round test at Wimbledon though as she takes on Donna Vekic, the 22-year-old who has already claimed two WTA Tour titles. The Croatian won on the grass of Nottingham last year, beating Johanna Konta in the final, and the world number 42 has prepared well for Wimbledon this year as she reached the semi-finals of Nottingham before taking the highly-rated Elina Svitolina to three sets in Birmingham.
The pair have met once before, with Stephens winning in three sets on the clay courts of Strasbourg in 2016.
Cameron Norrie v Aljaz Bedene
Finally, two players who switched allegiances to Great Britain in recent years meet on Monday as Cameron Norrie takes on Aljaz Bedene, who actually represents Slovenia again nowadays. Bedene became a naturalised Brit from 2015 to 2017 as he hoped to represent them in the Davis Cup but he was denied and the 28-year-old returned to play for Slovenia in 2018.
He takes on the British number two, Norrie, who was born in South Africa and represented New Zealand as a junior before switching allegiances to Great Britain as a 16-year-old. The 22-year-old only turned professional in June 2017 but he did reach the second round of the US Open and he will be eyeing a big win at Wimbledon on the opening day.
