Frances Tiafoe admits he has been struggling physically and mentally coming into Wimbledon. 

A former top 10 player at his best and US Open semi-finalist, the American is yet to reach top form this season. Out of 15 tournaments played since the start of 2024, he has only won back-to-back matches in two of them. As a result, his ranking has dipped from 16th to 30th over the past six months. The last time he was ranked this low was in March 2022. 

To make matters worse for Tiafoe, he has been nursing an MCL sprain, which is a sprain that can be caused by direct trauma to the knee. Despite this, he defied the odds at Wimbledon on Monday by staging an epic comeback to defeat Matteo Arnaldi  6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Making it the first time he has won a match after losing the first two sets. 

“It’s brutal. Highs and lows. Think about where I’m at,” Taifoe said of his own experiences when talking about mental health issues in men’s tennis.
“Literally this week last year I was 10 in the world and now I’m barely seeded here (at Wimbledon). Losing to clowns, I hate to say it but I’m just gonna be honest. 
“I took the game for granted and got a little too comfortable. You stop having fun with it and you find yourself in a weird position. Then you kind of forget what you were doing to win?”

The rollercoaster journey has led to Tiafoe questioning his abilities in the sport despite his credentials. A three-time ATP Tour champion who goes by the nickname Big Foe, he has recorded almost 200 Tour-level wins at the age of 26 and earned more than $10M in prize money. 

“You start doubting yourself and all these kinds of things,” he continued.
“But it’s the game. It’s like anything, nothing is peaches and cream all the time. It’s about how fast you can kind of get out of that. And there is always light at the end of the tunnel, whether you either try and find it with small wins or continue to feel sorry for yourself and continue to play victim, that’s where it just gets darker and darker and darker.”

Tiafoe’s situation is one that many players on the Tour can relate to but how did he manage to get out of his slum? 

“God has been helped me quite a lot,” he said.
“But friends and family. They were just like, ‘Dude, you got you to start having fun. Your life is okay from where you started. What you’re doing is consuming way too much. Just Just have fun.”

As for his upcoming match against Borna Coric, fun and enjoyment will take priority over everything else. An approach Tiafoe hopes will help him return towards the top of the men’s game. 

Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his quest for a second consecutive Wimbledon title with a tricky opening win over Mark Lajal.

The 21-year-old withstood some stern resistance from the Estonian world No.269 before fighting his way to a 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2, victory in what is only his 12th main draw win at the All England Club. He has extended his perfect record over qualifiers to 7-0. In his latest match, he hit 44 winners against 28 unforced errors.

“Stepping on this court, Centre Court of Wimbledon … I still get nerves when I’m playing here,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “I practiced 45 minutes on Thursday, and it’s the first time that I was nervous on a practice, just because I’m playing here. I’m glad, and I’m privileged, to play here on this court.
“I tried not to think about it. This is a new year, a totally different tournament … to play at the same level as last year if I want to repeat the same result.”

Taking to Center Court, the Spaniard was made to work by Lajal, who is exactly one week younger than him and was making his Grand Slam debut after coming through the qualifying rounds. Lajal was hoping to become only the second man from his country to reach the second round at Wimbledon and the first since 1967.

On paper, the showdown should have been a one-way encounter for Alcaraz given that his rival had never faced a top 30 player on the Tour until today. However, Lajal relished the challenge and caught the world No.2 off guard by breaking him in the fifth game. The underdog’s threat didn’t last long as Alcaraz hit back immediately with a 10-point winning streak to nudge back into the lead in what was a closer-than-expected opening set. Eventually, Alcaraz weathered the storm to clinch a 7-6 lead after 54 minutes.

The cat-and-mouse chase continued in the second frame with Alcaraz yet again going down a break before battling back to draw level. Then towards the business end, he snatched another break for a 6-5 lead before sealing the second set with a love service game.

Storming towards the finish line, the former world No.1 sealed the match by winning six out of the last eight games played. Claiming victory with a forehand winner.

“He played a really good match,” Alcaraz said in tribute to his rival. “He surprised me a little bit because I didn’t see him too much playing, practicing, but I think he has the level to go up a lot.
“He’s really young, he’s my age, so I’m sure I’m going to see him really soon in the tour and play against him more often.”

It is the fourth year in a row that Alcaraz has won his opening match at The All-England Club. He is bidding to become the first man outside the Big Three to defend his Wimbledon title since Pete Sampras in 2000.

Casper Ruud returned to winning ways on the first day at Wimbledon in what was also his first match on the grass this year. 

Ruud, who is seeded eighth in this year’s draw, battled to a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4, win over Australia’s Alex Bolt where he dropped serve only once in the match. Despite being a multiple Grand Slam finalist, the Norwegian is yet to find his footing at Wimbledon and has never been beyond the second round so far in his career. 

“I’m just happy to go through. Every match win on grass for me, it’s important, and I’m happy about it. So happy to move on.” Ruud told reporters. 

Ruud’s preparation for the tournament has been far from ideal. Whilst playing Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals at Roland Garros, it was noticeable that he was feeling unwell. At the time, he was unaware of what the issue was. Tests later revealed that he was infected by a parasite which was likely caused by dirty water. However, it is not known when the infection occurred. 

Symptoms he suffered from included a loss of appetite and fatigue which left him bed-bound for more than a week. 

“I had this kind of uncommon small parasite that I had been infected with through not sure where, but the most kind of normal place where you can get infected from it is through just unclean water.” He said. 
“Symptoms can last and bother you for about two weeks. I was mostly in bed for 11 — 10, 11 days, which was not what I was kind of hoping for. Those days are my kind of days off after a busy stretch of five months in a row with a lot oftournaments.”

Fortunately, Ruud now says he feels close to full fitness and he isn’t dwelling too much on the timing of his illness. 

“I’m back for 10, 11, 12 days already eating pretty well, so it’s not a problem anymore.” He stated. 
“It was just kind of unlucky that it happened in the semifinals (of the French Open) but at the same time, it would be worse if it happened in the first round.
“It was still a good run for me in Paris. Just a bit unfortunate that I started feeling it there and that I wasn’t able to play any golf for the days to follow.”

Ruud is one of 10 players to win multiple Tour-level titles before Wimbledon this season. He has now won just five Tour-level matches on the grass so far in his career. 

Awaiting him in the second round will be Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, who defeated France’s Luca Van Assche 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, earlier in the day.