Wimbledon day one: Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu take centre stage

Carlos Alcaraz will have a target on his back as Wimbledon gets under way while Emma Raducanu headlines British hopes on the opening Monday.

Reigning men’s champion Alcaraz starts play on Centre Court as he looks to retain his title in what has been called the most open tournament in 20 years.

The women’s singles will be as competitive as ever, with Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka among those playing on day one who will be looking to make it eight different winners in as many Championships.

Here, we have a look at the opening day of action.

For the first time since 2003, Centre Court will open with a men’s champion not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray.Alcaraz, who stunned Djokovic in last year’s final, is now looking to emulate the Serbian and Federer by retaining the title, but he faces a host of challengers and could meet world number one Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev believes this summer will be “the most open Wimbledon championship that we maybe had in 20 years”.

But once again among the favourites – after a remarkable recovery from a knee injury – is Djokovic, who is one title away from matching Roger Federer’s haul of eight on the Wimbledon grass.

Djokovic is not the only player who has had a ‘will they, won’t they’ hanging over them heading into the fortnight.

It remains to be seen whether two-time champion Andy Murray will be fit enough to play singles on Tuesday – he is expected to make a decision on Monday evening – while fellow Britons Dan Evans and Liam Broady have had injury problems this year.

And women’s third seed Sabalenka has admitted she is not 100 per cent fit due to a shoulder injury that is affecting her serve.

Emma Raducanu is back at