Avengers Assemble to make sure Sunday packs punch

Nostalgia of Centre Court’s centenary celebration delights fans but belies the tournament’s radical changes

- Emma John

What is there to do on the first Sunday in Wimbledon? Well, if you head to the common, you can join up with the classic car owners parading their highly polished Caterham Sevens and Austin Allegros at the monthly meeting of the Southside Hustle. Wander past Rushmere pond and you can join the locals as they pick up their weekly necessities – artisanal cheeses and heritage aubergines – at the farmers’ market.

Or you could carry on through the village, a place whose extravagant and tangential shop-front floral arrangements suggest the cost-of-living crisis has not yet hit the allium industry or the honeysuckle trade, a place where no pub patio goes unturfed for Wimbledon fortnight. You could even head down a steep hill and arrive at the gates of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and – ticket-dependent – help yourself to a dose of grand slam tennis.