Sharapova's long wait
Tennis years unfurl like dog years. Well, they do according to Boris Becker, who was thinking about how much happens in every season: a year is a long time when the narrative moves as quickly as it does in this sport.
Even if we're still counting in the normal fashion, it's been an age since Maria Sharapova last won the Venus Rosewater Dish: 14 human years. In her own words, she was a "baby-faced" 17-year-old back in the summer of 2004.
Should she win her second this Fortnight, the 31-year-old would set a record for the longest gap between ladies' singles titles at The Championships. Sharapova, who is competing at the All England Club for the first time since 2015, opens against a fellow Russian in qualifier Vitalia Diatchenko.
Edmund's mission
To date, the highest-ranked opponent Kyle Edmund has defeated in the main draw of The Championships is Alexander Ward, a British wild card who last summer was the World No.869. In fact, Ward is the only player Edmund has defeated at The Championships proper here. After four first round defeats from 2013-16, Edmund made the second round for the first time last year, where he was beaten by Frenchman Gael Monfils. This year, he starts against Alex Bolt, an Australian qualifier ranked No.204.
For all Edmund's adventures across the tennis map, including making the semi-finals of this January's Australian Open in Melbourne, it will ultimately be the Yorkshireman's results at the All England Club that will define his relationship with the British public. That is especially true this summer, in the absence of Andy Murray, and with Edmund playing Wimbledon for the first time since becoming the highest-ranked British man. This is the first year since 2006 that someone other than Murray has been the British No. 1 at Wimbledon.
Flower power
Now that Garbiñe Muguruza is a member of the All England Club, by virtue of winning the ladies' singles title for the first time last summer, she is now taking a new interest in the quality of the flowers around the grounds. "Every flower is perfect. You don't see a flower that is ugly," said Muguruza, who plays British wild card Naomi Broady in the first round.
Lucky losers
Tuesday sees that rare occurrence: a match between two men who have both already lost at Wimbledon this summer. Australia's Bernard Tomic and Poland's Hubert Hurkacz were both beaten in the qualifying competition at Roehampton, and both were subsequently given second chances after others withdrew; they play each other in the first round on Tuesday. It is seven years now since a teenage Tomic made the last eight, so becoming the youngest male quarter-finalist since Becker in 1986.
Coolest Thing in Tennis
That was the headline that GQ magazine put on a profile of Naomi Osaka. That's quite the label for the 20-year-old Japanese to carry around on the lawns this summer, starting against Romania's Monica Niculescu. As she has said: "That's so embarrassing. They should have titled it, 'the most awkward person in tennis'."
Last summer, Osaka made the third round here, where she found her route blocked by Venus Williams. After her success on American hard courts this spring - landing the Indian Wells title and beating her idol Serena Williams in Miami - expectations have been raised ahead of her return to the grass.
