WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer has won Wimbledon a record eight times, which meant on Monday, following tradition, he for the eighth time played the first match on Centre Court on the tournament’s first day.
Federer, 36, has played more than 100 matches at the All England Club since he first made the main draw in 1999. But that doesn’t mean the butterflies were absent when he stepped on the court with his first-round opponent, 58th-ranked Dusan Lajovic.
“It remains a little bit nerve-racking, you know, in all honesty,” Federer said at a news conference Sunday. “It’s a big deal.