The Queen of England returned to AELTC after a gap of 33 years. While this trip lacked the poignant richness of her previous visit when she decorated Virginia Wade for becoming the last British Champion at Wimbledon with the equally majestic Venus Rosewater Dish - Andy Murray did his best to entertain Her Royal Highness with some fluent grass court tennis as he made his way to the third round. The world number one Rafael Nadal got through an entire season on clay for the loss of two sets. On Thursday Nadal dropped two against an opponent ranked 151 in his second round match, before coming back from a two sets to one deficit to make the third round defeating Robin Haase 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in two hours 22 minutes. And of course on Court 18 there was the final chapter of the epic tale, one that fans who were lucky enough to be present might say I was there on the Tuesday when Isner and Mahut were locked at 2 sets all, I was there on the Wednesday when play ended on the 10 hour mark or I was there on the Thursday when Isner collapsed in triumph 70-68!

Rafael Nadal needed five sets to overcome the stiff challenge from a big serving qualifier in Dutchman Robin Haase. The 151st ranked player stayed with Nadal through the first set, before pulling away in the twelfth game to the surprise of the world number one and the crowd on Centre Court. Nadal served a double fault at 30-15, before netting his backhand to hand the 23 year old from Hague his first set point. And Haase put away a brutally struck drive volley with his forehand to literally pinch the set from Nadal.

There were five Indians scheduled to compete in doubles action at Wimbledon on Wednesday, however, one of them - Mahesh Bhupathi - missed out due to other matches on his court running longer than anticipated. Three of the four who competed survived, and that is the best Indian fans could have hoped for with Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman on opposite sides of the court.

Sania Mirza was the first one in action as the crowned Queen of Indian tennis joined hands with tennis' latest pin-up princess, young Dane Caroline Wozniacki. While a very accomplished singles player, having made the US Open final last year, Wozniacki has not set the doubles arena alight, having made 6 first round exits in her 11 Grand Slam appearances, and never having gone past the 3rd round. Mirza on the other hand is a former Australian Open Mixed Doubles champion.

Wimbledon and history are literally two sides of the same page but even the hallowed club wasn't ready for the epic battle between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. The scoreboard on court 18 stood still at 47-47 in the fifth set, before blowing out two games later. The two gladiators have been locked in a mother of all marathons - 163 games, 193 aces, 10 hours on court - incredibly no result yet. They were forced off the court when play was suspended due to poor light with the score reading, hold your breath, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 59-59. The reigning champion Roger Federer continued to struggle with his inconsistency as he fought over four sets to carve his way to a 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over 152nd ranked Ilija Bozoljac to move into the third round.

Federer was troubled by his inability to read the booming serve of Bozoljac who made the main draw through the qualifying lawns at Roehampton. The champion though had his own serve working well and remained unbroken through the match. But there was plenty of drama and it took a lot of tennis from Federer to get past his obdurate Serbian opponent. That Federer had to drop a set in a match with a first serve percentage of 70 and a winner to error ratio of 69 to 13 is indicative of the quality of the Serbian's surprisingly quality game.

While Day 2 may traditionally be Ladies Day at Wimbledon, there was the usual smattering of men's seeds as the lower half of the draw launched its assault on the Championships. World number one Rafael Nadal was smooth as the cream that seasons the strawberries at this fine tennis haven, in dismissing Kei Nishikori in a manner that seemed to suggest a deviant desire to reclaim this territory from the strong grasp of Roger Federer. Nadal showed no strain in transitioning from the slow, sliding clay of Paris to the slick, slippery grass in London to win 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 5 minutes. Joining him in round 2 were 4th seed Andy Murray and super slugger Robin Soderling, but it proved to be a harsh day for many members of the Spanish Armada as Fernando Verdasco, Nicolas Almagro and Juan Carlos Ferrero were all sent packing.

Nadal marked his return to the scene of his epic triumph in 2008 with an emphatic straight set victory that showcased the Spaniard's uncanny ability to translate his unparalleled success on clay to the other surfaces including the grass at Wimbledon. He got into a rhythm in the very first game to nullify a 40-0 advantage to break serve and put himself ahead in the match. Nadal broke serve a second time in the seventh game before sealing the set on his first set point in the eighth game.

It was Ladies Day at Wimbledon and the top half of the draw lead by Serena marched through the lush green meadows at SW19 striding majestically to the second round on Thursday when she will exhibit her wares to the Queen of England. Serena was supremely confident in thumping 17 year old Michelle Larcher de Brito 6-0, 6-4 in just 63 minutes. Joining the world no.1 in the second round were former champion Maria Sharapova (a potential fourth round opponent for Serena), 2-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and the young Dane Caroline Wozniacki among others.

Larcher de Brito has toned down her grunt after being politely told off by the officials at the club. Either that or the imposing figure of the reigning queen of Wimbledon left her groping for a game that was competitive enough to survive across the net from her accomplished opponent. The last time the young Portuguese played the world number one in Stanford she was fearless in advancing to a 6-4, 2-0 lead before contriving to loose in three sets. On Tuesday the teenager was all at sea to fall behind 0-6, 0-2 before registering a score on the sheet.

The 124th edition of the most pristine Championships in sport got off to a maelstrom start that threatened to wreak mass havoc at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the London Borough of Merton. The show courts of Wimbledon were invaded by burglars who threatened to rob the tournament of its finest men, albeit with some fantastic tennis. The top seed Roger Federer was just five points away from a straight set defeat, before clinging on to a slim thread of hope to somehow recover to win in five sets 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0. The third seed Djokovic added his own script to a dramatic day before recovering from a break down in the fifth set to survive his first round match. And if you thought that was enough action for a day in the tennis park, hold your breath - the world number five Nikolay Davydenko played out a titanic fifth set that was decided in its sixteenth game.

The women had a more orderly outing, as Venus Williams, Jelena Jankovic, Kim Clijsters and Justin Henin had a straight forward day at the office winning their matches in straight sets. The Serbian Ana Ivanovic lost in straight sets, but the former world number one has slipped into an abyss from where a loss does not evoke a reaction anymore. The French Open champion Francesca Schiavone lost her first round match against Russian Vera Dushevina to become the biggest upset victim of a turbulent Monday at SW19.