Wimbledon 2024: Alcaraz, Raducanu, Gauff and Sinner in day one action – live

Dimitrov has taken set two off Lajovic, so now leads 6-3 6-4. He’s now a reliable negotiator of first weeks and made the last eight in Paris, so will be feeling pretty good about himself. Should he win, he meets Garin or Shang next – that’s a pretty severe upgrade of opponent – and if he sticks around here, he’s seeded to meet Medvedev in round four, a match I’d not be surprised to see him win.

And of course as I’m trying to watch a little more of that match, I miss Tiafoe breaking Arnaldi then being broken back; the Italian leads 7-6 1-2.

Jarry is making a better fist of his second set against Shapovalov. I’ve not been concentrating on this match as it’s my fourth screen, i.e my phone – apparently watching that many, all with volume up, is (yet further) evidence of ADHD – but he now trails 1-6 4-4. Shapovalov, though, has a serve you’d back in a tiebreak.

Watson, meanwhile, serving at 5-6, has just sent down a double that makes 0-40, Minnen – her doubles partner – only needs the first of her three set points, and that’s a 7-5 set over, seven breaks later.

Garín is in all sorts now, broken in the opening game of set two to trail Shang 5-7 0-1. And lets’s round up from elsewhere too: Dimitrov, seeded 10, leads Lajovic 6-4 4-3 with a break; Casper Ruud, seeded eight, leads Alex Bolt 7-6(2) 1-1; Fognin leads Van Assche 6-1 4-3; and Pavlyuchenkova, seeded 25, leads Townsend 7-6(4).

Imagine that! One day you’re not involved, then the next you’re marching out on to Centre Court to take on the home favourite. You’d take it.

A new opponent for Emma Raducanu

Tiafoe saves the first two, but here comes a third on the Arnaldi serve; it’s a biggun, the return bounces up at the net, and the putaway is definitive, concluding a 7-6(5) set. Nor is he the only one putting it on a seed: Shang holds easily and leads Garin 7-5!

Fine hitting from Shang from the back then, when Garin gets a net-cord, he sprints in and flicks back as terrific response that earns him a break at 6-5 in the first. Meantime, Arnaldi makes 6-3 and Tiafoe now faces three set points.

Watson has broken Minnen back to trail 3-4, while Garin, holding more easily than Shang, has put him under pressure at 3-5. On Court 15, meanwhile, Arnaldi and Tiafoe are about to play a breaker.

A forehand error from Arnaldi hands Tiafoe a break; the American will now serve for the set. And the way he fist-pumps tells you he knows how difficult a match this is – so too the next game, in which he now trails 15-30. Then another good point from the youngster sees him unable to return a fierce backhand, and a double means we’re back level at 5-5. This has the look of a match that might still be going this time tomorrow.

Shapovalov’s power-game is currently too much for Jarry – he takes the first set 6-1, just as, in the women’s competition, Dayana Yastremska, seeded 28, has done against Nadia Podoroska.

Bit of Olympics news

The same is so of Shapovalov, another dangerous floater. He’s much better suited to grass than Jarry and leads him 4-1 30-0.

Griggzy Dimitrov is into stride quickly, up 3-0 on Dusan Lajovic, while Arnaldi has broken and been broken back by Tiafoe, to lead 2-1. He’s a really good player, the 23-year-old Italian, and on a bit of a major tear. He reached round two in Melbourne and round four in Paris, having done likewise in New York – but on his Wimbledon debut last term, he lost in four to Roberto Carballes Baena. Still, he’s a nasty first-round draw for Tiafoe and I’d not be surprised to see an upset.

BBC don’t appear to agree with my judgment. None of the matches I’m into have commentary, and on the main show they’re showing Heather Watson – down 0-2 to Greet Minnen now that you ask.

Shang saves break point with a flick down the line and eventually hangs on but, more importantly, Tim Henman thinks Naomi Osaka will win the women’s competition. I may or may not have deposited money with my local turf accountant pending the same inevitability.

Garín holds to love against Shang, who I think will love facing a seed in round one. He’s flashy, charismatic and has plenty of shots; I’m not sure he’s quite got the game to get right to the top, but he’s got something.

Ready, play. Here we go!

The players in our various matches are knocking up.

A match I’m buzzing for later on: Brenda Fruhvirtova v Mirra Andreeva (24). Both are 17 and excellent; I’ve not a clue why it’s tucked away last on Court 12, but here we are.

What to watch? To begin with, I reckon a bit of Cristian Garín v Jerry Shang, Nicolas Jarry (19) v Denis Shapovalov and Matteo Arnaldi v Francis Tiafoe (29).

Yeah, and cloudy for the rest of the week. This country.

Enid Blyton memorably advised that if there’s enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers, it’s going to be a fine day, and that’s where we are currently. The Met Office, however, think it’ll be cloudy – which is enough for us.

Preamble