2023 Wimbledon Day 1 Preview: Djokovic Starts Another Title Quest, Swiatek Also In Action
| by Zachary Wimer
The 2023 Wimbledon starts on Monday, July 3rd, and already the first day of the event promises to be very exciting.
There's always a lot of excitement surrounding the start of a Grand Slam tournament, and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships will be no different. As always, the men's defending champion will open the Centre Court at 1:30 PM local time.
This year once again, it will be the second-seeded Novak Djokovic who will take on Pedro Cachin in his opening match in a quest to win his 24th Grand Slam title. According to many, only an injury can stop the Serb, as he'll bid to level Roger Federer's legendary eight titles in the All England Club.
The biggest favourite in the WTA draw, Iga Swiatek will start her tournament too, only thirty minutes earlier than the 36-year-old Serb. The top-seeded Pole will take on Lin Zhu on No. 1 in what should be a comfortable cruise into the second round of the competition.
After the World No. 1, last year's men's finalist, the 30th-seeded Nick Kyrgios was set to play against David Goffin on No. 1 Court. However, Kyrgios withdrew from the tournament ahead of the match, and the match was replaced by a meeting between the fourth-seeded Casper Ruud and Laurent Lokoli. The last match on the court will see an all-American battle as the seventh-seeded Coco Gauff will take on Sofia Kenin.
After Djokovic starts the proceedings on the Centre Court, two more matches will be played on the 'best grass-court in the world'. First, fans in London will see a battle of two wild cards as the five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will take on former World No. 3, Elina Svitolina.
After that, the eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner, who was one of a very few players that troubled Djokovic last year, will start his journey on the Centre Court. The young Italian will take on Juan Manuel Cerundolo in his first match at this year's tournament.
There will be many interesting matches all around the All England Club on Day 1 as the No. 2 Court also promises a lot of exciting matches. Jessica Pegula will play against Lauren Davis, before David Goffin's will meet lucky loser Fabian Marozsan in a match that was moved to the No. 2 Court.
The No. 3 Court will offer a lot of interesting matches too. The seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev will start the action against Max Purcell, before the fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia takes on Katie Volynets. The highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour, Taylor Fritz will also play a match on this court, taking on Yannick Hanfmann.
There are also some matches on different courts that are worth mentioning. Anett Kontaveit will be playing the final tournament in her career after announcing early retirement due to health problems. The Estonian will play the final match on Court 15, taking on Lucrezia Stefanini from Italy.
There should be many interesting matches on Day 1, and to stay in the loop, be sure to follow our reporting throughout the event, but also check the full schedule of play for Day 1 of the 2023 Wimbledon below.
