It may sound absurd, as we’re only four days into The Championships, but are we allowed to entertain wild imaginings about a 36-year-old dad-of-four with a metal hip working a sporting miracle?

It’s too premature to contemplate Andy Murray’s chances of a third title here, but there was such an air of certainty and, yes, even grandeur about his opening Centre Court salvo that it was easy to keep believing in this most indomitable of national treasures.

Even Roger Federer gave the emperor’s thumbs up from the Royal Box, mouthing ‘very good’ to his old sparring partner. And very good Murray really was.

Yet today we may start to get a real feel for whether Murray can really defy the most improbable odds this year as he tackles Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.

On paper, the No.5 seed looks a dreadful early stumbling block and, naturally, Murray is suitably respectful about the danger posed by this year’s Australian Open finalist.

But could the fellow who floats around the court resembling a Greek god actually have an Achilles heel? His record at Wimbledon does not reflect his talents, having not passed the fourth round in five attempts.

And while Murray was practising on a leisurely Wednesday, Tsitsipas was otherwise engaged in the most dramatic and draining duel with former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, before prevailing in a four-hour epic.

Of course, in theory, Tsitsipas should start as favourite but just listen to Murray enthuse about his own form. “Physically, I feel absolutely fine,” he said. “I’m playing well enough to beat most of the players in the draw if I play well.”

The same can be said of ladies’ champion Elena Rybakina, who feels pretty upbeat too after overcoming some early returning-champion jitters to ease into the second round.

But those nerves won’t be helped by knowing that her latest opponent on Centre Court will be Alize Cornet, a time-honoured drama magnet and giant-killer queen from across the Channel.

Alize, at 33, is a fighter who seems to really only come alive when the spotlight’s on her. Last year, she caused the sensation of The Championships when she ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match unbeaten streak, the longest women’s winning run since the turn of the millennium.

“Last year, I was a giant-slayer, it is true. People just know I can do it, and I know it, too. I think I play so good against top 10 players because I have no expectations," Cornet mused this week.

But it wasn’t just last year. You can go back nine years to when she downed Serena Williams at Wimbledon. For every champion, the indestructible Cornet represents a walking nightmare.

Everyone, naturally, wants a date on Centre Court but one of our home-based wild cards Liam Broady tried to pretend he wasn’t too fussed where he ended up today.

“I'm playing the No.4 in the world Casper Ruud, second round of Wimbledon,” he beamed. “I'll play him back up in Stockport if I have to – I don't mind.”

Guess what: Broady’s not going to be on Stockport’s Bramhall Park LTC; he’s got his Centre Court dream after all.

And it’s safe to say they’re hoping up in Broady’s hometown that their new favourite son – once upon a time it was Fred Perry – can offer up more magic after he beat part-time conjuror Constant Lestienne in the first round.

Hey presto, even his beloved European champions Manchester City have been tweeting support for Broady, who sees an eerie similarity between the club’s phenomenal striker Erling Haaland and his Norwegian compatriot, Ruud.

“Both beasts in their own right. Haaland, physically a beast; Casper has a beast of a game,” offers Broady.

Perhaps the beast is beginning to stir in Daniil Medvedev, too. After dispatching Wimbledon’s own Arthur Fery on Wednesday, the No.3 seed is back today for a fascinating encounter with the always entertaining and idiosyncratic Adrian Mannarino.

Mannarino famously never bothers to look at his draw, so you could almost imagine him strolling up to No.2 Court and asking, ‘Ooo, by the way, who am I playing?’

Medvedev definitely will know and won’t exactly be overjoyed, having just lost to the awkward, flat-hitting French southpaw three weeks ago in the Netherlands.

The weather has scuppered schedules aplenty so far, but there’s one luminary who’ll be more grateful than most that he’s finally going to make his 2023 debut today; Alexander Zverev, who takes on Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer on No.1 Court, after waiting patiently for three days.

New this year:

See the draw like never before, with interactive Path to the Final view of the draw by clicking a player’s name on the draws page

See the projected Path to the Final of every player in the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles draws with IBM Likely to Play

View how favourable or difficult a player's draw is, with IBM AI Draw Analysis