DRIZZLE was the word of the day. Defending champion Roger Federer started the defence of his title on time, but was defeated by the Centre Court coverers after just 35 minutes. A rare British victory.
By mid-afternoon, the BBC also admitted defeat and started interviewing celebs. Little Britain’s David Walliams was led to the roof of the Broadcasting Centre to talk about his imminent cross-Channel swim for Sport Relief. He’d obviously come to SW19 for some last minute training.

HIGH noon on the first day of Wimbledon and the covers are coming off. But don’t put that brolly away just yet.
Rain was pouring down when I first looked out of my window at 5.15am today. By 10am it was falling in a diagonal direction. Anything to entertain the thousands who were queueing up outside the grounds at what looked like an international umbrella convention.

DAY one and the forecast is rain. Welcome to the 120th All England Lawn Tennis Club Championships. Walking around an empty Wimbledon, all is nearly ready for the half a million spectators who will follow me through the gates over the next fortnight. Ask the players what they think of the place and the one word you hear above all others is “special”. The annual sporting drama on English summer lawns is about to begin.