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On a day when we traditionally welcome a host of sporting superstars to the Royal Box, our illustrious guests will be able to watch a rare treat - a Briton taking a shy at a defending Wimbledon champion on Centre Court.

We probably ought not to mention it to Katie Boulter (above), but the record for home players tackling the holder of the Venus Rosewater Dish makes for pretty grim reading.

Down recent years, Naomi Broady, Elena Baltacha, Naomi Cavaday, Jane O'Donoghue, Clare Wood, Amanda Grunfeld, Julie Salmon and Jo Durie have all had a crack at knocking out the reigning Ladies' Singles Champion of the day - and they didn't muster a set between them.

But here's the good news for the Leicester wild card. The last British woman to defeat the holder was Virginia Wade in 1977, defeating Chris Evert - and we all know what happened next in Silver Jubilee year as Virginia, pink cardigan and all, went on to collect the Dish from Queen Elizabeth II.


THE STORY OF DJOKOVIC VS BERRETTINI
This time, Boulter, our No.1 and the last Brit standing, has to ruffle the seemingly unflappable Elena Rybakina, who just shrugs in her own unassuming way that “I’m a calm person” and promises that any potential for Katie-mania will wash over her.

But Boulter has a big, aggressive game, and promises to shoot for the stars. "It's a super great opportunity for me," she enthuses. "I've got nothing to lose. It's time for me to test my skills against an incredible champion, I'm going to have a swing and go for it."

Just as she did last year when, quite unfazed on the same stage, Boulter eliminated the 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova in three sets.

After the defeats for Andy Murray, Liam Broady and Cameron Norrie quite took the wind out of British sails on Friday, the hangover can be lifted swiftly with the quality of the Saturday fare fit for those sporting greats.

Like the belter on No.2 Court between Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov. Or what about Matteo Berrettini, looking wholly rejuvenated despite saying he nearly pulled out of the tournament last week with abdominal trouble, on No.1 Court against Olympic champion Alexander Zverev?


CARLOS ALCARAZ
Berrettini is playing with that real swagger again, ridding himself of what he felt was "a really sharp pain" that's lingered from not being able to play Wimbledon last year after being struck by COVID.

"I probably was in the best shape in my career... it was really tough mentally to overcome," he recalled. "I was really sad - but that's why I'm back here this year."

And with a vengeance, sweeping aside the Queen's Club finalist Alex De Minaur in front of the Aussie's girlfriend Boulter on Friday with the sort of blistering, 38-winner efficiency that transported him to the 2021 final.

De Minaur lost that Queen's Club final to the grass court novice Carlos Alcaraz. But look at the young Spaniard now; after a seventh straight win on the surface, and his first on Centre Court, against Alexandre Muller on Friday, he was already sure he "belongs in that court".


ONS JABEUR
Ominous news then for Nicolas Jarry, Alcaraz's latest opponent on Centre, but the towering No.25 seed from Chile will surely relish the occasion.

Ons Jabeur has become a bit of an inspiration as an Arab and African sporting trailblazer, and she's also deeply impressed her Centre Court opponent Bianca Andreescu, who, it's wonderful to see, is making a stirring comeback after all the injury misery which has beset her since she won the US Open four years ago.

"She's a fighter, I look up to her as well off the court, she speaks a lot about women's tennis and women's rights, which I appreciate very much," says the Canadian, who revealed that Jabeur has even helped her on the comeback trail at practice at Roland-Garros.


RISING STAR MIRRA ANDREEVA
It's always a pleasure to discover the latest young shooting star and, on No.3 Court, the brilliant 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva appears to be fitting that bill admirably, ready to take on the No.22 seed Anastasia Potapova after a fairytale run which has already seen her come through Qualifying and oust former Roland-Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova.

Her every move is being followed by Netflix cameras and she's clearly the next big thing, but it's nice to know that when she saw her "beautiful" idol at the All England Club the other day, she was still star-struck enough to gush: "I was too shy to talk to him - it was Andy Murray!" Still, who knows? She's so good, maybe the great man will one day be asking for Mirra's autograph.

New this year:

See the draw like never before, with interactive Path to the Final view of the draw by clicking a player's name on the draws page

See the projected Path to the Final of every player in the Gentlemen’s and Ladies' singles draws with IBM Likely to Play

View how favourable or difficult a player's draw is, with IBM AI Draw