“Honestly, I'm going to look at it in a realistic way. Obviously last year's grass season was great. But it's not like I always felt amazing on grass, so...

“Even though I won, I still feel like I have stuff to figure out. Like this year even, the Bad Homburg tournament didn't really get me that nice rhythm that I had last year.

“I feel like I'm starting from a totally different position and I'm really in a place that I'm keeping my expectations low. Even though everybody is talking about [being defending champion], I feel like I need to play matches. It's not going to be smooth because of last year.”

Novak Djokovic opens his Wimbledon campaign against China’s Wu Yibing on Monday.

The Serbian, 39, was knocked out of the French Open in the third round by Joao Fonseca last month, but he revealed his confidence is high ahead of Wimbledon is pleased with his preparation.

“I think it is different in terms of just the overall physical state,” he said. “I think I'm better prepared here than I was for Roland Garros.

“Obviously playing on grass, comparing to clay, you don't need to exert as much physical effort. So that's better for me,

“I always loved playing on grass. I have a very good history, here at Wimbledon. That gives me a higher dose of confidence coming into the tournament.”

Emma Raducanu appeared in good spirits as she practiced ahead of Wimbledon, despite still wearing strapping around her right ankle. She trained for an hour, was moving during points and suggested she would speak later on her condition.

Raducanu plays Antonia Ruzic tomorrow, in the first match on Court No 1.

Even at the age of 39, Novak Djokovic still believes he can peak at the right time when Wimbledon rolls around.

A month after his third-round exit at the French Open to the hands of the teenager Joao Fonseca, a defeat that appeared to signal another changing of the guard, Djokovic’s task upon returning to the All England Club is restoring the natural order. Djokovic has not played a competitive match since Roland Garros, which isn’t rare for him at this stage of his career, but arrived at Wimbledon pleased with his preparation and expressing confidence in his physical condition.

Serena Williams will make her Wimbledon comeback on Centre Court on Tuesday when the 44-year-old returns to action against Australia’s Maya Joint.

In what is a blockbuster day on Centre Court, Williams will follow the defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek, who plays Taylor Townsend, and Jack Draper’s battle with sixth seed Taylor Fritz.

Williams could therefore take to court for her first singles match in four years at around 6pm BST on Tuesday evening. Here’s the intended order of play:

CENTRE COURT

1:30PM Start

1. Taylor Townsend (USA) v Iga Swiatek (POL) [3]
2. Taylor Fritz (USA) [6] v Jack Draper (GBR)
3. Serena Williams (USA) v Maya Joint (AUS)

NO.1 COURT

1:00PM Start

1. Alexander Blockx (BEL) v Alexander Zverev (GER) [2]
2. Lois Boisson (FRA) v Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [2]
3. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) v Matteo Berrettini (ITA)

The All England Club continues to face legal hurdles in its bid to expand its grounds to Wimbledon Park, while the other major events flaunt their capacity to turn tournaments into ‘three-week’ events

Defending men’s Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner will open play on Centre Court against Miomir Kecmanovic while Novak Djokovic, Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu will also be in action on day one of the Championships.

Sinner, the favourite to defend his title with two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz absent, has not played a match since his shock second-round exit from the French Open last month, which came while the Italian was feeling unwell in the intense heat.

The men’s No 1 has been drawn in the same half of the draw as seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who begins his latest bid for a 25th time grand slam title against China’s Wu Yibing at the age of 39.

Sabalenka, the women’s No 1, also begins her campaign against Teodora Kostovic, while a potential third-round rematch with British No 1 Raducanu could await later in the tournament.

Raducanu, who lost to Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon last year, came into the tournament with a slight injury worry and plays Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, on her favoured No 1 Court, in her first match.

Earlier this month, the All England Club announced record prize money for this year’s tournament, confirming their biggest ever uplift in prize money and increasing the overall prize pool by 20 per cent. Wimbledon’s prize money now stands at an overall £64.2m; the breakdown of which sees the singles champions win a record £3.6m each and first-round losers receiving £80,000.

Sabalenka has been racked with tension at key points in her last two tournaments, but a blueprint from an unlikely source could help her rediscover her title-winning ways this summer

One year on from a devastating defeat in the Wimbledon final, Amanda Anisimova returns to the All England Club with greater self-belief and resilience from a series of setbacks