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Whenever Nishikori ventures out into Tokyo - and he daren't do it too often - he disguises himself with a hat, sunglasses and a mask. Here in London, Nishikori's celebrity is of a much lower order
and he can potter around Wimbledon Village without a disguise and not cause a crush. Of course, going on a deep run this fortnight would change all that.
While the Japanese has played in a US Open final, as well as quarter-finals at the Australian and US Opens, he has never gone beyond the fourth round at the All England Club. This summer, his preparations for Wimbledon were
omplicated by a back injury, and he might well have an awkward time in his second round against Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky, a qualifier who is best known here among the hydrangeas for his defeat of Roger Federer at the
same stage of the 2013 Championships. You might recall that Stakhovsky's win was the centrepiece on a day of surprises known as Wacky Wednesday
Wild Wednesday or Wimblegeddon. Nishikori beware; Stakhovsky is never more dangerous than on Day 3 of The Championships
Petra Kvitova The sight of Kvitova's hand surgeon strolling around the All England Club - here as the former champion's guest - has been another reminder of the Czech player's
astonishing story. If Federer's run to this January's Australian Open title is currently seen as the ultimate tennis comeback,
there might have to be a reassessment over the coming days. What if, in a women's draw missing Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, Kvitova were to win Wimbledon again?
Kvitova looks at her two previous Wimbledon victories a little differently. Her 2011 triumph came as a shock, while in 2014 she was able to enjoy
it a little more. If she could win this summer, it would be the most extraordinary of all her Wimbledon titles, as it was just six months ago that an
that an intruder in her apartment in the Czech Republic cut her dominant left hand with a knife, leaving her with career-threatening injuries.
Away from the courts, the former French Open champion gets her kicks by driving (very) fast in her car. On the courts, she also likes to keep it interesting. With the 37-year-old playing her last season of tennis, how better to say goodbye to
grass court tennis than to experience one last great adrenaline surge at this garden party?
The unseeded Schiavone is playing the No.4 seed in the second round - which at first glance would appear to be a mismatch
but Ukraine's Elina Svitolina has a modest record at The Championships, having never previously gone beyond the second round. Schiavone, meanwhile, is a former quarter-finalist.
Daniil Medvedev What now for a 21-year-old Russian nicknamed 'The Bear', who in the opening round launched himself on the grass court world by beating Stan Wawrinka?
There is no grander stage than the All England Club's Centre Court on which to register a first win at the majors, especially when your opponent came to London, as Wawrinka did
with ambitions of completing a career Grand Slam. But after such an emotional day, Medvedev must now re-focus. There have been
a fair few unseeded players over the years who have beaten a top seed at Wimbledon and then played some very flat tennis on their next appearances. In his second round against Belgium's Rubens Bemelmans, Medvedev has the opportunity to show he's going to do things differently.
Madison Keys "Just be nice," Keys suggested the other day when discussing cyber bullying and President Donald Trump. But there is one area of Keys' life where she is anything but civil: on the lawns of the All England Clu
When this young American is cuffing the ball without pain or inhibition, she is nothing less than a grass court force (which is why she has been spoken of a future winner of the Venus Rosewater Dish)
Keys' abilities were evident at the 2015 Championships when she made the quarter-finals for the first time. And now, after having an operation on her wrist between Roland Garros
and Wimbledon, to deal with some of the complications brought about by the first operation, she is playing without pain again. She faces Italy's Camila Giorgi in the second round.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Safarova Just as Hollywood couples' first names are sometimes blended into one (see Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's 'Brangelina', now defunct, or Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's 'Bennifer', also in the past)
elite doubles teams now have the same treatment. And what a pairing 'Team Bucie' has become in the women's game. After their success at last year's US Open, and then at this season's
Australian Open and Roland Garros, they have the chance here to achieve the non-calendar-year Grand Slam. If Mattek-Sands and Safarova score this title -
they start against the all-American team of Jennifer Brady and Alison Riske - you can be sure that somebody somewhere will have a name for it.