A Scottish granny on Centre Court sports puzzle-piece earrings and nurses a canvas-mounted photograph of a jubilant Novak Djokovic from her Beatles tote bag.
It is the scene-stealing image from the world No.1’s opening outing at The Championships for 2021 and poses the question – how will a member of his Nole Fam fanbase top that on Day 3 at the All England Club?
Should it be possible, it will all become apparent on Wednesday when the five-time champion opens proceedings against a big-serving familiar foe in Kevin Anderson on Centre Court.
“This lovely lady made my day. Honoured,” Djokovic tweeted when footage of his “super fan” reached him.
Teenage wild card Jack Draper had a fair crack at rattling the defending champion two days ago in front of Djokovic’s “super fan” – he even dared snatch a set before he ended up on the receiving end of a serving masterclass.
It is now over to the only player who served more aces on Day 1 – Anderson's whopping 41 to Djokovic’s 25 – in a rematch of the Wimbledon final from three years ago.
“I think I probably had one of the best serving performances that I can recall on any surface. I think I matched, someone told me, the record I had whether it was earlier this year or last year in Australia,” Djokovic said of his first match.
“Yeah, I could not be more pleased with the rhythm of my serve. On grass, the quickest surface in our sport, it helps a lot getting a lot of free points on that first serve.”
Only five men in the draw have experienced that knotted-up stomach, having emerged from behind the wall to a rapturous ovation on the final Sunday of The Championships.
For the 35-year-old Anderson, this will be his first appearance on the most celebrated arena in tennis since the Serbian rolled past him for a fourth gentlemen’s singles crown in 2018.
The affable South African was coming off consecutive five set triumphs over Roger Federer (13-11 in the fifth) and John Isner (26-24 in that decider) last time round, but ensured his ascent to a career-best mark of world No.5 soon after.
He has had a torrid time of it since, having undergone two right knee surgeries – in 2019 and last year – and fallen to his current ranking of No.102.
The ledger now reads 9-2 in Djokovic’s favour – three of those at Wimbledon – including a quarter-final comeback from two sets down in 2015.
A fellow former champion who may well have raised a querying eyebrow at Djokovic’s Scottish fan will return for Wednesday’s third match on Centre Court against German qualifier Oscar Otte.
Four years since he last competed at his home Grand Slam, the metal-hipped Andy Murray resumed his winning ways on Monday when he brought down Georgian No.24 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Like Anderson, Murray has slipped outside the top 100 as a result of his extended stint on the sidelines, but was a touch perplexed at a persistent line of questioning since his return.
“I keep on being asked will it be my last match or my last Wimbledon,” Murray said. “I don't know why I keep on being asked. I want to keep on playing. I enjoy it and I can still play at the highest level.”
Murray has never fallen to a player ranked as low as world No.151 Otte and boasts a commanding 47-8 record against qualifiers at Tour level.
The Scot should put paid to any queries about his playing future for a good while longer should he navigate a path past the 27-year-old Kölner.
Five-time women’s champion Venus Williams went some way to doing the same when she navigated a rain-delayed opener on Tuesday to reach the second round.
The 41-year-old became the fourth-oldest woman in the Open era to win a singles match at Wimbledon, but a third round ticket would not come easy. Williams must deny Birmingham champion and No.21 seed Ons Jabeur to advance.
Her 26-year-old opponent owns a Tour-leading 30 match victories this season and could become the first Tunisian into the last 32 in SW19.
The tremendously gifted Aryna Sabalenka is yet to experience the third round at Wimbledon. Elevated to a lofty No.2 in the seedings, in the absence of Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep, she will need to advance against the Centre Court crowd’s will when she meets word No.219 wild card Katie Boulter.
The 23-year-old Belarusian has every weapon in her artillery to do well on the grass, but to date has managed only one fourth round showing at a Grand Slam. She beat the 24-year-old from Leicester at the Australian Open two years ago.
Two straight waterlogged days to begin The Championships have ensured 49 first-round clashes are yet to be completed. One of those pits in-form seventh seed Matteo Berrettini against Argentine Guido Pella.
Following his second career Grand Slam quarter-final in Paris earlier this month, the rocket-serving 25-year-old made a seamless switch to grass, where he felled three Brits in four matches – Murray, Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie – to claim the silverware at Queen’s Club. He will be on his guard against the world No.59, however, having lost two of his three Grand Slam meetings with southpaws.
