Home crowd advantage! Emma Raducanu leads biggest contingent of British players at Wimbledon in over 40 years... as 23 hopefuls prepare to do battle with foreign rivals - and the sweltering sun

Daily Mail​

14 hours ago

Emma Raducanu today leads the biggest contingent of British tennis stars to storm Wimbledon in over 40 years – on the hottest ever opening day of the championships.
The UK No 1 is spearheading the nation's hopes alongside Katie Boulter and Cameron Norrie, while UK men's top seed Jack Draper kicks off his campaign tomorrow.
It is a bumper year for Britons with an army of 23 players taking over SW19 – the most to get through since 1984.
But they will have to contend with sweltering heat as the mercury soars to 35C (95F) today, smashing the previous opening day record of 29C (84F).
Ms Raducanu, 22, said she is 'ready to embrace' the sizzling temperature as she faces highly rated Mimi Xu, 17, in an all-British first-round clash on No 1 Court.
'I'm prepared. I'm going to stay hydrated,' added Ms Raducanu, who is the world No 40. Organisers are hoping the many British hopefuls and scorching weather will see tennis fever sweep the nation after years of washouts and Covid. And punters were already braving the Queue yesterday.
Billy Harris, 30, who is among those kicking things off, said there was a 'good atmosphere' in the locker room.
'Brits have been doing well recently, and it's great to see everyone pushing each other,' he added. But there has been controversy over the decision to drop line judges at the world's oldest tennis tournament. All line calls will instead be made by Hawk-Eye.
Axed officials say they have been poorly treated, with particular upset over how veteran Charles Falconer, 77, was cruelly denied a 50th year without any recognition of his service.
Others claim they have been forced to compete to become 'glorified toilet attendants'. But while last year's ladies singles winner Barbora Krejcikova said that she liked 'the old way', world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 27, was more conflicted.
She said: 'Wimbledon has always been with the line umpires, and historically you see the referees there. So I don't know, maybe I would prefer that.
'At the same time, I don't want to have that doubt in my head every time – like, should I challenge or not?'
Michelle Dite, Wimbledon operations manager, said: 'It's an adaptation for the sport. That's what happens over time.'
British No 2 Ms Boulter, 28, today faces Spanish No 1 Paula Badosa, and Norrie, 29, takes on Spain's Roberto Agut.