Will someone serve up a fairytale? Who’ll be ace? Let the games begin...

7 THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR AT SW19

Federer the favourite: It wasn’t all that long ago that people believed Roger Federer’s best days were long behind him. He hadn’t won a Grand Slam title since 2012, and as he entered his mid-30s, he was missing big tournaments for the first time in more than 15 years because of injury.

And now? He extended his record with an 18th major championship in Australia, opened the year 19-1, took some time off and then won a grass title at Halle. With defending champion Andy Murray off-form and battling a niggling hip injury, Federer, above, is a popular pick to win a record eighth time. Nadal goes from clay to grass: There was a time that Rafa Nadal excelled on any surface, winning Wimbledon twice and reaching the final on three other occasions while marching his way towards ten French Open titles and completing a career Grand Slam, too. But then his knees became a real problem on grass and he not only started losing early at the All England Club, he started losing to players ranked 100th or worse. “When Rafael is good with his knees,” said Nadal’s uncle and coach, Toni, “he can play well on the grass.” Who’s missing: Seventime champion Serena Williams is absent because she’s pregnant and so is 2004 champ Maria Sharapova, who was forced to sit out last year’s tournament during a 15-month doping ban. She would have needed to qualify this time around but is now injured. Their absences lend the same sort of wide-open feel to the women’s draw that the French Open had. Venus and Kvitova: The two past winners in the women’s field are Venus Williams, a five-time champion, and Petra Kvitova, a two-time champ. Both will get plenty of attention, for very different, non-tennis reasons. Williams was sued last week by the estate of a Florida man who died after a car crash police say she caused. The lawsuit came one day after Palm Beach Gardens police released a report saying Williams caused the 9 June crash that left the man with a fractured spine and numerous internal injuries (he died on 22 June).

Kvitova, meanwhile, was stabbed by an intruder at her home in the Czech Republic in December. She wound up with cuts to her left hand – the one she uses to swing a racket – and needed surgery. Wimbledon will be the third event of her comeback; she won the second, last week on grass. Which djoko vic will be there?: Novak Djokovic has won three Wimbledon titles and normally would be considered a top candidate for a fourth, but he has not played up to his usual standards in the past year. He went from winning four consecutive Grand Slam titles to failing to defend any of those championships; he lost in the third round here in 2016. He tried to look on the bright side recently, saying: “For a change, it’s good to not be one of the top favourites. It releases a bit of pressure.” Ostapenko’s followup: After coming out of nowhere to win the French Open, what will Jelena Ostapenko, below, do for an encore? She arrived in Paris unseeded, ranked only 47th and without a title of any sort on tour, then used a fearless brand of high-risk tennis to win the championship. Now there are new expectations, and no opponent will overlook her, but consider this: Grass is her favourite surface; she was junior champion at Wimbledon in 2014. No 1 up for grabs: Both Andy Murray and women’s No 1 Angelique Kerber could lose their spots atop the rankings after the tournament. Murray, Djokovic, Nadal or Stan Wawrinka could all leave the All England Club with the top spot. Kerber is one of several women who could be No 1 on 17 July; among the others are Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep.