Alcaraz and Murray win, Federer watches on otherwise rainy day at Wimbledon

A rough day of weather in London did nothing to stop Carlos Alcaraz and Andy Murray from storming into the second round of the Wimbledon Championships.

Nor did it stop Roger Federer from making an appearance at the All-England Club.

Federer, an eight-time champion in SW19, was part of the Royal Box on Centre Court along with his mom, dad, Kate Middleton (the Princess of Wales), Severin Luthi, and more. A brief ceremony that included a video tribute to the 41-year-old Swiss was held prior to him taking a seat in the box.

Defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina overcame Shelby Rogers in three sets before Murray took center stage. In an all-British contest with Ryan Peniston, Murray cruised 6-3, 6-0, 6-1. The 36-year-old struck five aces without double-faulting at all and he did not lose serve a single time while advancing in exactly two hours.

“Obviously it’s amazing to be back here playing on Centre Court,” Murray told the crowd during his on-court interview. “I started off the match quite nervous at the beginning; I want to do well here. But once I got the break in the first set I played good tennis as the match went on…. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt physically this good coming into Wimbledon. I hope I’m fit and ready for a good run.

“It was amazing to have some royalty here–but also some tennis royalty, as well. It’s amazing to have Roger here supporting the tournament. The last time I played on this court and Roger was watching was at the Olympics against Stan Wawrinka and he was rooting against me! It was nice to have a few claps from him this time…. Hope you’re doing well, Roger.”

Joining Federer in retirement is Jeremy Chardy, who played the last match of his career under the Court 1 roof. the 36-year-old Frenchman lost to Alcaraz 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 53 minutes.

“I think I played really well at the beginning of the match,” Alcaraz assessed. “In the third set he found his level. I was in trouble, but I like to play rallies; I like to play battles. I’m really happy to have played a great level–both of us in the third set. I’m really happy to get through this first round.”

Chardy had an 18-year career, during which he won a single ATP title (Stuttgart in 2009) and peaked at No. 25 in the rankings 10 years ago.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.