Wimbledon: Murray back; Gauff follows up star turn
Now 17, she’s ranked 20th in tournament
WIMBLEDON, England — This is what went through Andy Murray’s mind while catching some of Novak Djokovic’s French Open semifinal clash with Rafael Nadal on TV:
“There’s a bit of me that’s jealous watching that. Like, I would love to be playing in those matches,” Murray said recently. “I would love to still be competing with them in semis and stuff of Slams. I would love that. I’m not going to try to hide that.”
And that is at least part of why the 34-year-old from Scotland stuck with his sport after two hip operations and is back at Wimbledon, where play begins Monday, ready to compete in singles for the first time since 2017 at the place where he won two of his three Grand Slam titles.
The former No. 1-ranked man returned to action at the Queen’s Club tuneup after going three months between singles matches and is outside the Top 100, so he needed a wild-card invitation to enter the main draw.
Murray is scheduled to play on Centre Court on Day 1, facing No. 24 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.
As part of his preparation, Murray practiced with Roger Federer last week.
Here’s what else to know about the 134th edition of Wimbledon:
Coco comes back
The last time Wimbledon was held, Coco Gauff announced herself to the world.
Then 15 and ranked outside the Top 300, the American became the youngest qualifier in tournament history to earn the chance to make her Grand Slam debut and, as if that weren’t enough, went on to beat Venus Williams and two other players before losing to eventual champion Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Now 17, Gauff has kept making strides, including two WTA singles titles, an appearance in the French Open quarterfinals this month and a rise up the rankings that allows her to be seeded 20th at Wimbledon.
Sitting out
Some other big names in tennis are missing from the brackets. That includes defending champion Simona Halep and four-time major titlist Naomi Osaka, and two of the top five men in the ATP rankings (Nadal and Dominic Thiem).
Ch-ch-changes
Among the changes to the oldest Grand Slam tournament, which was first contested in 1877:
■ A serve clock has been added for matches, aligning Wimbledon with the other major tournaments, which allow 25 seconds from when the chair umpire announces the score to when the next point should begin.
■ The pre-match warmup is being reduced from five minutes to four.
■ All courts have the electronic replay review system that allows players to challenge calls; the system was added to Courts 4-11. There still will be people making the initial calls, though: While the 2021 Australian Open and U.S. Open did away with line judges, Wimbledon did not.
■ This is Wimbledon’s last year with the traditional Middle Sunday off. When competition is added on that day in 2022, it will turn what is currently the only 13-day Grand Slam tournament into a 14-day event, like the U.S. Open and Australian Open (the French Open lasts 15 days).