Wimbledon superfan waits 57 hours to watch favourite player after braving 30 degree heat

Wimbledon superfan waits 57 hours to watch favourite player after braving 30 degree heat EXCLUSIVE: The queues to get into Wimbledon on the first day opened early on Saturday morning and fans have been camping out in the heat to make sure they can watch the biggest stars The first players at Wimbledon in 2026 will step out on court on Monday morning but for hardcore fans like Florence Chan, the week began much earlier. Chan, from Hong Kong, joined the queue at 7.30am on Saturday morning in order to make sure she can watch her favourite player Novak Djokovic. Of course, the wait is due to go on a bit longer. While play begins in the morning, Djokovic isn’t expected on court until after 4pm, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner up against Wu Yibing of China in his opening match. “I also got a centre court ticket [last year] but my number was 171, so not too bad,” Chan told Mirror Sport. This year she was determined to get an earlier number and ended up with the earliest of them all. Temperatures on Saturday hit 30 degrees as fans camped out in tents in the shadow of the All England Club. It was a little cooler on Sunday, though, and those lucky enough to enter the grounds on Monday morning will have far more manageable conditions for the first day’s play. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! All the best sports news and much more on our dedicated Facebook page Chan has been to the US Open before, once paying $500 (£378) to watch Djokovic. She’s only ever queued at Wimbledon, though, and this year has come along with friends she made in the queue 12 months ago. Her best memory from last year is just soaking up the environment inside. “It’s very impressive how grand it is. It’s like nowhere else,” she said. “I’ve been to the US Open and it’s very different. As for her fondest memories of queueing? “To meet new people. I made some new friends [in the queue] and then we came together this year.” There will be plenty of entertainment on show on Monday, even if Chan is only focused on watching veteran Djokovic vie for an eighth title at SW19. Defending champion Jannik Sinner is first up on centre court against Miomir Kecmanovic, followed by world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka kicking off her women’s singles campaign against Teodora Kostovic. Djokovic goes into this year’s tournament off the back of a frustrating early exit at the French Open, having surrendered a two-set lead against Joao Fonseca. However, he’s feeling good as he aims to finish on top for the first time since 2022. “Roland Garros was physically very draining, demanding,” he said. “Three matches that I played, all of them went almost four hours. But I'm proud of the effort. I lost in the third round against a 20-years-younger opponent, fought until the end in the five sets almost, four and whatever hours that we played. “Maybe not the result I was looking for, but the effort was there. Anyway, I was planning to peak at Wimbledon after the injury of the shoulder that kind of kept me away from the tour for several months. “I knew not having any… official matches on the tour, going pretty much straight into Roland Garros, is going to be quite difficult. Maybe too big of a challenge for me at the moment. That's what happened. “But I knew that's going to give me a bit more time to get myself prepared for Wimbledon. So hopefully I'll have a good tournament here.” Wimbledon 2026 is just around the corner and Seat Unique has tickets on sale now with VIP access.