Wimbledon first-day attendance low after officials predicted 'record crowd'

Attendance on the first day of Wimbledon was markedly low despite people queueing at the gate overnight and organisers saying they expected a "record crowd".

Just over 36,600 people poured in to the All England Club in SW19 to watch sports stars including Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu as the tournament returned at full capacity for the first time in three years.

Organisers had expected 42,000 spectators daily – the maximum capacity – but many seats were left empty on Monday, even in Centre Court.

It came as thousands of people queued overnight for on-the-day premium tickets.

Several fans who had been camping outside said they felt attendance was lower, even in the queue, because of the absence of fan favourite Roger Federer this year.

Fears about Covid-19, which has already taken two players out of the running, and rainy weather may also have been putting some people off.

Colm O’Donnell, from Ashford in Kent, said: "This is my fifth year, and 2017, 2018, 2019, I’ve seen Roger Federer.

"This is the first year that I’m feeling neutral, not seeing my favourite player that I really would pay good money to see and watch on court."

Mr O’Donnell said he might have opted to enter through the ballot, as he has in previous years, if Federer had been playing.

The tournament has already been hit by coronavirus, taking out last year’s runner-up and one of the favourites for Wimbledon, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who tested positive on Tuesday.

His withdrawal follows that of Croatian former finalist Marin Cilic, who announced on Monday that he had also tested positive for Covid-19.

Officials had said that having the prestigious grass courts competition running for the full 14 days for the first time means that thousands