WIMBLEDON, England—On a day filled with far more rain drops than drop shots at Wimbledon—light, but persistent, showers prevented the completion, or even start, of dozens of matches—Roger Federer and Andy Murray provided the highlights.
The retired Federer, who won a men’s-record eight of his 20 Grand Slam titles at the All England Club, was in the front row of the Royal Box. Federer was saluted with a 1 1/2-minute standing ovation during a pre-match tribute to his career at Centre Court on Tuesday.
Hours later, Murray was down below, competing.
Murray won two of his three Grand Slam titles and one of his two Olympic gold medals on that rather famous patch of grass and—even if those triumphs were long ago; even if he is now 36 with an artificial hip—the locals fondly remember those good times, especially his 2013 championship that made him the first British man in 77 years to win the event. They hope for an attention-grabbing show this fortnight, so Murray got most of the full-throated support that reverberated under the closed roof of the main stadium during a 6–3, 6–0, 6–1 victory over wild-card entry Ryan Peniston in an all-Brit first-round match….