Wimbledon 2024: Alcaraz v Lajal, Osaka v Parry, Sabalenka forced out by injury – live | Wimbledon 2024

In the royal box, there’s a right old chinwag going on … between Cliff Richard and Graeme Le Saux. Of course there is!

The French Open runner-up is absolutely loving life, and she meets Greet Minnen next.

Sorries Tormo sorribes tormoes, taking back breaks only to be broken again, Paolini, who’s played well today, will now serve for the match at 5-3 in the second.

I guess we all saw this coming: Alcaraz breaks Lajal to lead 7-6 6-5, and will shortly serve for 2-1 lead. Oh, and as I type, Mertens finishes Hibino 2-6 6-2 6-4 and will face Zarazua or Raducanu next.

Next on No 2 Court: Naomi Osaka v Danielle Parry. Noice!

A decent effort from Broom, but Wawrinka is still too good, and at 39 he moves into round two, where he’ll face Monfils or Mannarino; Monfils has just gone 2-1 up, taking the third set 7-5.

I like the look of Lajal, and not just because those are fun words to repeat. He’s hanging with the champ at 4-4 in the second while Broom has forced Wawrinka to serve for the match at 5-4 in the third. And Sorribes Tormo has, I’m afraid collapsed, trailing Paolini 5-7 1-4. If she could get her head right she’d be very good, but here we are.

Next on No 1 Court: Marta Trevisan v Madison Keys (12).

Kovacevic played pretty well but ultimately he isn’t quite good enough to trouble Medvedev. The number five seed faces Muller or Gaston next.

A huge win for the young American, who meets Kotov or Thompson next; currently, the latter leads 4-2 in the fifth.

Broom finally stops the rot, winning his first game in nine by breaking Wawrinka in set three. His arrears are now a perfectly manageable 3-6 5-7 2-3.

And again, after being broken Alcaraz breaks back immediately for 7-6 2-2, whole Wawrinka gets a double-break in set three. On court 12, Fucsovics has won the third to trail Berrettini 2-1; Monfils and Mannarino are 1-1 4-4; and Nakashima is serving to finish Baez at 6-2 6-3 5-4.

Poor Broomz. Wawrinkz breaks him for 2-0 2-0, and from nearly 1-1, this is nearly did

Lajal does it again, breaking Alcaraz at the first time of asking in set two. We actually saw him do this kind of thing in the first round of Roland Garros against Jesper de Jong, who he beat in four. I guess he should be more settled now – he was returning from injury then – but we know he’ll have enough to do whatever is asked of him.

Paolini takes the first set off Sorribes Tormo, taking a smash-cum swing volley out of the air for her third break – one which gives her a 7-5 lead.

Medvedev is now up set and a double-break against Kovacevic, leading 3-0 in the third. He’s played well today, keeping his opponent on his bike, but I’d still be unsurprised were he to lose to the first high-level player he meets.

On which point, the below reaches us over the wires:

Andy Murray was continuing to mull over whether to play singles at Wimbledon after a practice session on Monday afternoon. The 37-year-old showed definite signs of improvement hitting against fellow British player Kyle Edmund but remains unsure whether he is in good enough physical shape to play his first-round match against Czech Tomas Machac on Tuesday.

Murray was leading Edmund 6-3 2-0 when they reached the end of their session, and he said afterwards: “It was good. I’m going to go and have a chat with my team now, speak to my family this evening and then make a decision. It’s getting better and the testing and stuff I’ve done has been good, I just need to decide whether it’s enough to compete.”

Murray, who underwent surgery to remove a spinal cyst nine days ago, was serving well and hitting some strong groundstokes but his movement undoubtedly remains compromised and he was struggling when pulled out wide.

Machac, ranked 39, is certainly no mug and is likely to make the match physical, although he is inexperienced on grass.

Er yeah, Wawrinka serves out to lead 6-3 7-5, and Broom may never get a better chance to take a set off a grand slam champ.

She’s got a non-unfriendly draw and might just be able to do something here. Next for her: Korpatsch or Miyazaki.

Paolini and Sorribes Tormo are now at 5-5 in set one – I’m watching them instead of Tiafoe v Arnaldi – Medvedev is now up a set and a break against Kovacevic – and Berrettini leads Fucsovics 7-6 6-2 1-4.

Ach, Wawrinka breaks to lead 6-3 6-5, and that’s the thing: the best players are consistent, whereas your Brooms of this world can play well for a bit. Meantime, Alcaraz is inches away from diving on to a Lajal pass but can’t, also hurling his racket at it; he sees the funny side, showing how close he was with his fingers, then wins three points on the spin for a 6-3 lead … and takes the set at the first opportunity.

Charlie Broom will be feeling very poorly – though far less so than poor Arnaldi, who looked peaky in the extreme on his way off court. Nevertheless, he misses a pass and a volley to secure the set and eventually sits up a drop that Wawrinka punishes. From 2-5 it’s now 5-5 while, on Centre, Alcaraz and Lajal are playing a first-set breaker.

A huge win for, as the chain around his neck says, Big Foe. He meets Borna Coric next, the Croatian having seen off Felipe Meligeni Alves in three.

Tiafoe breaks Arnaldi for 5-3 in the fifth! He’ll now serve for the match! On Centre, meanwhile, Lajal and Alcaraz are 5-5; on No 1 Court, Medevedev is serving for a 2-0 lead against Kovacevic; and on No 3, Broom, playing his first Wimbledon at the age of 26, is serving to level his match against Wawrinka at 1-1.

Er yeah, Alcaraz breaks back immediately and to love – though hold tight the 21-year-old, who’s forcing him to play better. Otherwise, Paolini has broken Sorribes Tormo back for 2-2, Kostyuk, seeded 18, leads Sramkova 6-3 4-2, Monfils leads Mannarino, seeded 22, 6-4 1-2 with a break, and Nakashima leads Baez, seeded 18, 6-2 4-2

Lajal, though, is playing nicely – as you might assume of a kid with that on his heed, he’s not nervous, while Alcaraz hasn’t got his feet going. As such, only the second Estonian ever to play in the men’s championships breaks for 3-2 and the champ is under a spot of pressure.

So while we’re here, here’s Joy of Six: ponytails, including some chat on steps and Roger Federer.

I promised Lajal’s barnet and here it is. Who’s going to tell him?

I’ve binned Wawrinkz v Broom at 6-3 0-2 to check out Paolini v Sorribes Tormo; the Spaniard currently leads the no7 seed 2-0.