Wimbledon day two: British players march on but Serena Williams loses thriller

Serena Williams lost in three sets to Harmony Tan on her return to grand-slam tennis on a memorable day for British players at Wimbledon.

Six home players out of the 11 to complete matches on Tuesday progressed, making it the first time since 1997 that nine British singles players had reached the second round.

Williams’ dramatic deciding-set tie-break defeat to world number 115 Harmony Tan concluded the Centre Court action, which started with Iga Swiatek winning her 36th consecutive match – breaking the 21st century record set by Venus Williams in 2000 – and was followed by Rafael Nadal winning in four sets.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at second-day events in SW19.

I’m so emotional now because she’s a superstar. When I was young I was watching her so many times on the TV. For my first Wimbledon… it’s just wow.- Harmony Tan on Serena Williams

A day after Marin Cilic, the 2017 runner-up, announced he was “heartbroken” at having to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a positive coronavirus test, Matteo Berrettino had to follow suit.

The Italian lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic but on Tuesday revealed “the dream is over for this year.”

Later in the day, France’s Alize Cornet appeared to suggest Covid-19 had been rife at Roland Garros but very few players admitted it.

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