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Chalk—the favorites, not the white lines painted throughout the All England Club—prevailed for the most part on Day 1. Sure, No. 23 seed Ana Ivanovic and No. 20 seed Kevin Anderson went down, to the shock of some so-called experts, and Gael Monfils lost to countryman Jeremy Chardy. But it was a relatively tepid Monday in England until the afternoon. That’s when Marcus Willis became a hero and England’s soccer team put up a zero. Willis stunned Ricardis Berankis, a player ranked 718 spots above him, in straight sets. Willis had to qualify for the qualifying tournament, and is now the lowest-ranked player to win a main-draw match at major since No. 923 Jared Palmer in 1988. His backstory is entertaining, fantastical and a must-read.
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As for the English soccer team, they suffered one of the most humiliating losses in European Championship history, going down to tiny Iceland in the round of 16, 2-1. You need to know this because it will be necessary context for today’s Wimbledon viewing experience, particularly when any Brit actually does something positive. To say the least, it has been a turbulent week in the United Kingdom. (FYI: There are no Icelandic tennis players in the Top 1,500 in either the ATP or WTA.)