Andy Murray's day of destiny: Wimbledon legend will announce TODAY whether he is fit enough to compete in final tournament with fans queuing overnight as Murraymania hits SW19

Tennis fans at Wimbledon are set for an emotional day should Sir Andy Murray declare himself fit for one last campaign at the All England Club.

The two-time former champion, who will give himself until the last minute to decide if he is able to play, is one of 12 Britons scheduled for singles action today.

Defending women’s champion Marketa Vondrousova will open play on Centre Court while seven-time winner Novak Djokovic begins his bid to reclaim the men’s title.

The Met Office forecast for Wimbledon today is for cloudy conditions with a chance of showers throughout the day, wind gusts of up to 15mph and highs of 18C (64F). 

Murray has been a headline act in SW19 since 2005 but this year is set to be his last appearance. His participation has been in doubt since pulling out during his last-16 match at Queen’s Club and undergoing surgery to remove a spinal cyst.

Queues built up this morning, with some fans citing the ‘Andy Murray effect’ and saying there were 4,000 people in line by 6.30am including 1,500 campers.

One fan wrote on X: ‘The Queue is rammed this morning. Andy Murray effect. Well over 4,000 already. Over 1,500 campers! After the football finished last night, the numbers rose sharply. You will be not getting in before 2pm if you arrive 7am+.’

Another wrote at 5am: ‘Early start queuing for tennis at Wimbledon. Queue busier than last year. Arrived 20 minutes earlier and 700 places further down. People here to see Murray for the last time?’

And a third said: ‘I was here at Wimbledon when Andy Murray played his first professional match. 

‘Had to come and queue overnight just to get one more opportunity to see him play. Whatever he decides later today I am OK with it. It’s always a treat to come here.’

Murray is yet to announce whether he will play or not but he had an encouraging practice session with Kyle Edmund yesterday afternoon.

Should Murray choose to play, he faces world number 39 Tomas Machac in the final match on Centre Court.

Machac was Murray’s opponent in March when the former world number one suffered an ankle injury in Miami.

Murray has never lost a first-round match at the All England Club and the competitor in him will be determined to ensure that record remains intact.

Murray was leading Edmund 6-3 2-0 when they reached the end of their session yesterday, and he said afterwards: ‘It was good.

‘I’m going to go and have a chat with my team now, speak to my family this evening and then make a decision. 

‘It’s getting better and the testing and stuff I’ve done has been good, I just need to decide whether it’s enough to compete.’ 

Murray, who underwent surgery to remove a spinal cyst nine days ago, was serving well and hitting some strong groundstokes but his movement undoubtedly remains compromised and he was struggling when pulled out wide.

Machac is likely to make the match physical, although he is inexperienced on grass.

While Murray is understandably desperate to make a final singles appearance at the All England Club before retirement, he would want to be able to give a good account of himself.

Murray is one of 12 British players scheduled for action today.

British number ones Katie Boulter and Jack Draper will respectively start on Court Three against former semi-finalist Tatjana Maria and Court Two versus Sweden’s Elias Ymer.

Cameron Norrie, looking to rekindle the form that took him to the semi-finals in 2022, takes on Argentinian Facundo Diaz Acosta while Dan Evans faces 24th seed Alejandro Tabilo.

British number two Harriet Dart faces Bai Zhuoxuan while Fran Jones takes on former top-15 player Petra Martic.

Billy Harris and Paul Jubb, both enjoying impressive grass-court campaigns, take on Jaume Munar and Thiago Seyboth Wild respectively.

Jan Choinski faces Luciano Darderi, Jacob Fearnley plays Alejandro Moro Canas and reigning Wimbledon boys’ champion Henry Searle makes his senior grand slam debut against Marcos Giron.

Also today, Vondrousova will have to fight history as she starts her title quest.

Nobody has successfully defended the Venus Rosewater Dish since Serena Williams won in 2015 and 2016.

Six different women have lifted the title in the six tournaments since then, so the odds appear stacked against another Vondrousova success.

But the Czech beat the odds last year, becoming the first unseeded winner of the women’s title, and has since risen to sixth in the world.

And she is a heavy favourite to start with a win in her opening match against world number 83 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

As for Djokovic, his long reign as Wimbledon champion was ended 12 months ago by Carlos Alcaraz.

His presence at this year’s Championships was in doubt after he needed surgery following his French Open-ending knee injury.

But he has made a rapid recovery and, with a favourable draw, appears primed for another attempt at equalling Roger Federer’s record of eight titles.

Yesterday, Emma Raducanu was victorious on her return to Wimbledon but the standout British success of the day came from her former junior rival Sonay Kartal.

The 22-year-old, who has been held back by injuries and health concerns, came through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw and won 10 games in a row to upset 29th seed Sorana Cirstea 3-6 6-2 6-0.

It was Kartal’s first victory at any grand slam and by a big distance the best win by ranking of her career.

The Brighton player, who next faces France’s Clara Burel, said the win was ‘my greatest and definitely my proudest’.

She added: ‘I think getting a first win at any slam, and to have it at Wimbledon makes it extra special. I think going through qualifying was the best thing for me this year.’

Raducanu had expected to face 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova but the big-hitting Russian withdrew because of illness yesterday morning and was replaced by lucky loser Renata Zarazua.

The Mexican presented a very different challenge with her excellent drop shots and chopped forehands, and she made life difficult for Raducanu on Centre Court.

But the 21-year-old, who missed last year’s tournament following wrist and ankle surgeries, found a way through, winning 7-6 (0) 6-3.

Afterwards she revealed she had taken inspiration from England’s scrappy win over Slovakia at Euro 2024, saying: ‘For sure, I sympathise with the players who are being told they need to play a lot better, need to play perfect.

‘I think at the end of the day it’s about getting over the line. Today I used it as motivation.

‘It doesn’t need to be beautiful, it doesn’t need to be perfect. As long as you get through the opening rounds, you give yourself another chance to play better.’

The third home victory of the day came from Lily Miyazaki, who claimed her first Wimbledon win by beating Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-1.

Miyazaki, who next faces 14th seed and Eastbourne champion Daria Kasatkina, said: ‘I think it’s one of my best wins of my career. Obviously she’s a top-100 player. I’m pleased with it.’

Arthur Fery narrowly missed out on a first grand slam win, losing in five sets to Daniel Altmaier, while there were also defeats for Liam Broady, Heather Watson and debutant Charles Broom.

Fery led by two sets to one but faded physically and fell to a 4-6 7-6 (6) 1-6 6-3 6-1 loss.

‘I definitely felt like the better player for the first three sets,’ said the 21-year-old.

‘I think a lot of the match was decided on that second set. I didn’t manage to close it off. I think that kind of bit me. Fourth and fifth, I was obviously struggling physically. He’s got a lot more experience playing best-of-five grand slam matches. Definitely a frustrating one.’

Broady was playing just his second singles match since returning from months out with an ankle injury followed by a concussion suffered when he hit his head on his car boot.

Broady, who reached the third round last year with a famous win over Casper Ruud, went out 6-2 4-6 6-3 6-2 to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

He considered pulling out after suffering a migraine on Monday morning, but said: ‘Fortunately for me, I felt well enough to play. I’m glad I did. I am pleased that I got through the match and that I did manage to find some semblance of the tennis that I know I can play.’

Watson’s 14th Wimbledon singles campaign came to a swift end with a 7-5 6-4 loss to doubles partner Greet Minnen while Broom was beaten 6-3 7-5 6-4 by Stan Wawrinka, failing to take four set points in the second set.

Meanwhile it was revealed yesterday that a statue in the grounds of Wimbledon could be on the cards for Sir Andy after he retires.

Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton hinted that the British legend could join Fred Perry in having a statue somewhere in the grounds at SW19 once his playing career is over.

However, she also seemed to suggest that may not be outside Centre Court.

‘You could argue that’s a bit of an obvious location,’ she said.

‘As we reflect on the shape of these grounds and we think about the potential development over the road, we’ve got time to think about where any kind of physical celebration of Andy’s career might be.

‘And, in any event, we’d want to work with Andy on that and he understandably is not ready to have those conversations just yet. We will make sure we get this right because this is for all time.’

It comes after American tennis great John McEnroe called for Sir Andy to receive a statue last week.

Sir Andy was the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years when he defeated Novak Djokovic in 2013.

McEnroe was quoted in the i newspaper as saying: ‘If I was making that decision, I would say absolutely, yes, because that’s a long drought, 77 years.

‘He’s absolutely changed the way people look at British tennis. He’s one of the greatest competitors that I’ve ever seen play tennis.

‘It would be well deserved, and it’d be awesome, because two of his three grand slam wins were at Wimbledon plus the Olympics. So that would seem to make a whole lot of sense.’

Sir Andy’s fans have been queuing since Saturday for the chance to see the British star play what could be his last singles game at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Tennis fan Catherine, from Belgium, is first in the queue to see the Scottish player, and has been there since 10am on Saturday.

‘I’ll be very happy and sad at the same time, because I know it’s probably going to be the last time,’ she said.

The 33-year-old said she has been a fan of Sir Andy for the last 20 years. ‘I’ve been a fan for a long, long time – since he started really.

‘So I really like him, like his playing style. ‘The way he behaves on court was really appealing because I was quite similar myself.’

Scottish mother and daughter Christine Small, 63, from Peterhead, and Lorna Kennedy, 40, from Dundee, have been queuing to see Sir Andy since 9am on Sunday.

‘He feels like one of our own,’ Ms Small said. ‘He’s done so well and he’s just been so good for the sport.

Ms Kennedy said seeing him will be ’emotional’.

‘I don’t actually care if he just walks out and plays two games and says ‘I’m done’, I’ve been able to cheer him one last time on Centre Court and that would be enough,’ she said.

She said she and her mother feel they understand Sir Andy because he is Scottish.

‘We’re Scottish, so we get him,’ she said. ‘He’s really dry, he’s really funny, but he’s also an advocate for women’s tennis.’

She added he is a ‘good role model’.