On Saturday, the opening qualifying matches brought plenty of excitement to the stands, as tennis fans young and old gathered to watch the first action of this year’s tournament on Centre Court and the brand-new Court 1. No fewer than eight qualifying matches took place throughout the day, marking the start of the race for a place in the main draw. Fans also had the chance to discover some new additions to the venue, with Court 1 now located right by the entrance, allowing spectators to dive straight into the tennis action as they arrived.

There was also plenty of Swedish interest, with several home players taking to the court. Sweden’s Olle Wallin faced a tough challenge against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, who came through in two tight straight sets, 6–4, 7–6(6), to book his place in the second round of qualifying. Swedish wildcard Karl Friberg also put up a fight against Great Britain’s Toby Samuel. The opening set went to a tie-break, but the Briton ultimately prevailed 7–6(5), 6–2. On Court 1, Inaki Montes de la Torre and Aleksandr Shevchenko secured their places in the qualifying finals. Sweden’s last hope of the day, 23-year-old Jan Simonsson, took to the court against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The five-time ATP singles champion secured an impressive win over the Swede with a straight sets win 6-4, 6-1.

On Sunday, Swedish fans will have another opportunity to cheer on their home favourite, with Elias Ymer taking centre stage in the afternoon as the tournament’s main draw gets underway.