Wimbledon 2023: The past and the future collide in the first round

Summer arrived at Wimbledon. Covers went down. Brollies went up. Roger Federer in the Royal Box whispering into the ear of the Princess of Wales. England in July is cricket and tennis and the weather, and on Tuesday all of the characters played to type.

Truth be told, the theme was rather overplayed, as the rain fell in stair rods and drenched fans fled from the outside courts as the story line on the men’s side of the draw went something like out with the old and in with the new.

The lucky thousands who had tickets for the roofed Centre Court and Number One court saw that play out in real life and in real time thanks to the first-round meeting between Spain’s 20-year-old world number one Carlos Alcaraz and the 36-year-old Jérémy Chardy, who was contesting his last singles match.

In time Chardy may reasonably choose to have selective memory of the match, the first set a 22-minute spectacle which had the crowd oohing and aahing, Alcaraz playing like a carefree upstart, taking Chardy’s serve three times and holding his own to skin the Frenchman 6-0.

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At that point it seemed like Chardy was being ushered off the stage rather than allowed to leave with dignity. But the fearsome bulldozing by the US Open champion slowed in the second set, with Chardy reassembling himself and chalking up two games for 6-2. Even then it was in danger of becoming a shutout as the rain began to pound the tournament.

So heavy did it fall that at times in the third set, the thud of it beating down on the roof drowned out all other sounds - even the ball coming of the players racquets went unheard. To the crowd’s delight Chardy demonstrated some resistance and, come the retelling, the third set is the one the Frenchman will recall best, as he took the Alcaraz serve and stretched him to a few set points before handing back the initiative.

Ultimately the top seed worked for his win. But there was an inevitability about the outcome. The story was written. Alcaraz toughed it out to prevail 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.

“I have a lot of confidence right now,” he said afterwards. “The main goal for me this tournament is to win it.

“I mean, every day you learn something new. Every time that I get out to the court playing, it’s better for me. I get more experience that is really, really important in that surface.”

Shortly after the Spaniard showed his grass credentials, Andy Murray, at the same age as Chardy, stepped onto Centre Court in what he hoped would be resurrection day. Maybe even part of resurrection week.

The Centre Court placement was a blessing given the tempest raging outside and, given his world ranking of 40, it also represented a doffing of the cap to Murray’s past glory - specifically when he restored British pride with his triumph there in 2013, a success he repeated in 2016. Winning Wimbledon twice during the most competitive era of elite men’s tennis is a feat to be remembered by anyone who might underestimate Murray.

It was 10 years ago to the month that he overcame Novak Djokovic in straight sets to scratch the 77-year itch and become the first British winner of the men’s singles title since Fred Perry in 1936. Since then he has been hampered by injury. This time he came up against fellow Briton Ryan Peniston, who had the unenviable task of trying to cull a national hero. He soon found there is fire in the old dog. Playing on a court he knows well, Murray shot ahead to take the first set 6-3, the second falling even quicker at 6-0.

The 267-ranked Peniston never recovered, leaving Murray to end the evening early in just a minute under two hours. As one master performed on the court, another, Roger Federer, watched him from the Royal Box. Murray was bullish about his chances.

“It’s been a long time since I have felt physically good coming into Wimbledon,” he said, to loud cheers. Given that he has a metal hip, that was a brave pronouncement. “I’m fit and ready for a good run,” he added.

Murray plays the winner of the match between the number five seed Stefanos Tsipitas and the former US Open champion Dominic Thiem. When play in their match was stopped by rain, Thiem was 6-4, 4-3 ahead.

“I think the main thing that Andy did really well today was he was just relentless on every point,” said Peniston, whose next tennis will involve playing Challenger events in Spain. “I had quite a few games where I was 30-Love up, things like that, had game points, but he was relentless on every point. That’s why the scoreline was like it was.”

Murray will become a running theme from here on. Not quite Murraymania just yet, but give him another win with his four kids watching and absolutely anything is possible.