HAnd welcome to the Telegraph Sports coverage of the Wimbledon Championship 2022.
First, there’s one of the tournament stories so far at Katie Vaulter.
After her heroic action on Thursday’s Center Court, Wimbledon officials unexpectedly decided to put a match against Harmony Tan on Court 2, which caused a bit of turmoil.
There is no doubt that Vaulter defeated runner-up Karolina Pliskova in July last year in the second round, achieving outstanding results for this year’s powerful collective home show.
What she did two days after her grandmother’s death tells a lot about Vaulter’s attitude and resilience in the face of adversity.
At the age of 25, she did a lot to deal with her teenage fatigue illness and frustratingly frequent injuries.
A spinal stress fracture in 2019 retreated her when she appeared to be in the top 100, but she was put aside by a leg injury for three months this year.
“Every time I lose a tennis match, or every time something happens in my life, I think I can check a little bit of reality,” Vaulter said. “I feel like the type of person who returns strongly no matter what happens.
“I’m fortunate to be able to provide such great support around me. It makes a big difference. There are great people, great boyfriends, great teams that push me every day.
“Without that network, I don’t know where I am, but in the end I’m a fighter and I’m standing here today to overcome many of these problems. I hope they’re gone someday.”
After defeating Serena Williams in Round One, France’s Tan is running the best Grand Slam.
“I actually saw her match against Serena,” said Vaulter. “She makes it very difficult. There’s a reason she beat a really good player this week. It’s going to be a tough fight, but in the end it’s going out and having fun, Hopefully I’ll play good tennis. “