French Open champion Alexander Zverev begins his campaign looking to put his previous troubles on the grass behind him.
Here, AFP Sport looks at three matches from the tournament’s second day that are worth watching:
Serena Williams (USA) in Maya Joint (Australia)
First meeting
— Williams will play a professional singles match for the first time since “retiring” from tennis four years ago when she faced fellow Australian junior Joynt in the first round.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion announced her shock return to the sport earlier this month and has since played two doubles matches, winning one and losing one.
The match against the Joint will mark the 44-year-old’s first singles appearance since losing to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 US Open.
“I expect to be nervous. I’ve been nervous in every match I’ve ever played in my life,” said Williams, who will also play doubles with older sister Venus.
“I’ve always had some nerves. But then I just dust them off and move on. I definitely expect to experience the same feelings.”
Serena could not have been given a better draw than facing the Joint, who have lost 13 of their last 14 matches.
Even getting into the ITF second division did not bring much joy to the 20-year-old athlete.
Joynt dropped to 87th place in the WTA rankings, having entered the world top 30 in February.
She will face a tough task on Tuesday with the crowd firmly behind her opponent.
Serena won the last of her seven titles at Wimbledon a decade ago, and her last Grand Slam triumph came at the 2017 Australian Open while she was pregnant with her first child.
Taylor Townsend (USA) – Iga Swiatek (FLOOR x3)
First meeting
Iga Swiatek has struggled for stability since winning Wimbledon 12 months ago © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP/File
— Defending champion Swiatek returns to the All England Club looking for answers after a disappointing clay-court season.
The four-time French Open champion struggled for form on her favorite surface and lost to Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round at Roland Garros.
It was Swiatek’s first appearance together at the French Open, coinciding with her last-16 debut in 2019.
Last year she responded well to pain in Paris, where she suffered a semi-final defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, including a 6-0 demolition in the deciding set.
Just weeks later, Swiatek won her first grass-court title at Wimbledon, losing just two games in the semi-finals before beating Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the final.
She hopes to use those memories to become the first back-to-back women’s title winner since Serena Williams in 2015 and 2016.
“When I look at myself from last year, I remember that I was so focused on the goal that I didn’t have much doubt,” Swiatek said before her first meeting with the experienced American Townsend.
Alexander Blokx (BEL) v Alexander Zverev (GERM x2)
Zverev leads in personal meetings 2-0.
French Open champion Alexander Zverev reached the semi-finals in Halle in preparation for Wimbledon © JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP/File
— Zverev finally ended his long wait for a first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, beating Flavio Cobolli in the final and taking full advantage of the shock early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
However, the German had always struggled at Wimbledon and had never progressed beyond the round of 16 in his previous nine appearances.
Zverev lost in the first round to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech last year and faces another tough test against rising Belgian star Bloxx.
Zverev has beaten the 21-year-old twice this year: on clay in Madrid and Rome.
Bloxx has not played since withdrawing from the French Open before the second round.
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