The 2008 Wimbledon Championships are described below in detail, in the form of day-by-day summaries.
Day 1
The first day of the competition saw World No. 1 and five-time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer breeze by his opponent to reach the second round, alongside Marcos Baghdatis, Fernando González, Feliciano López, Andreas Seppi, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer. 2007 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Tomáš Berdych was pushed in a five-setter by ATP No. 78 Evgeny Korolev, but eventually prevailed on the final score of 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, after three hours of play, while former World No. 1 and 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt survived a close, three-hours-and-a-half-long five-setter against Robin Haase, winning 6–7(4), 6–3, 6–3, 6–7(1), 6–2. Recent French Open semifinalist Gaël Monfils was forced to withdraw before his first match due to a shoulder injury contracted during his Nottingham Open semifinal against Ivo Karlović. Karlović was himself upset later in the day by qualifier Simon Stadler, while thirty-second seed Michaël Llodra retired against Mario Ančić due to a left arm injury. Canadian wild card Frank Dancevic produced the biggest upset of the day knocking out former finalist David Nalbandian in straight sets, and in a mere ninety-six minutes.
In the women's singles, French Open champion and new World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic easily defeated her first round adversary, and was followed in the second round by Nicole Vaidišová, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Agnieszka Radwańska, Ágnes Szávay, Alona Bondarenko, Amélie Mauresmo and 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli, as well as two-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, who was tested against Roland-Garros quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi, before winning the match on the score of 7–5, 6–3, and sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze, who won her first round encounter 2–6, 6–1, 8–6, saving all four match points her opponent Stéphanie Dubois held against her. Many women seeds fell on the first day, such as Virginie Razzano, who lost to Evgeniya Rodina despite winning the first set with a bagel; Dominika Cibulková, who fell to Zheng Jie; Alizé Cornet, who was defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova; Maria Kirilenko, who lost to Vera Dushevina; and Patty Schnyder, who was upset by Casey Dellacqua. Seeded players out: Gaël Monfils (withdrawal), Ivo Karlović, Michaël Llodra (retirement), David Nalbandian; Dominika Cibulková, Virginie Razzano, Alizé Cornet, Maria Kirilenko, Patty Schnyder.
The men's doubles competition saw no seeds advancing but Australian Open runners-up and Wimbledon defending champions Arnaud Clément & Michaël Llodra were forced to withdraw before their first match, because of Llodra's left arm injury, which had already caused his retirement in the singles earlier in the day.
In the women's doubles competition, French Open mixed doubles champion Victoria Azarenka & partner Shahar Pe'er proceeded to the next round. Seeded players out: Michaël Llodra / Arnaud Clément (withdrawal).
(Pictures from Day 1)
Day 2
In the men's singles, Queen's Club champion, 2006 and 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Rafael Nadal scored his first win, securing a second round spot along with Jarkko Nieminen, Nicolas Kiefer, Tommy Robredo, Richard Gasquet, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Radek Štěpánek, Gilles Simon, Nicolás Almagro, Mikhail Youzhny, James Blake, two-time finalist Andy Roddick, and twelfth seed Andy Murray, who overcame 'The Magician' Fabrice Santoro 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(5), in little more than two hours, while twenty-fifth seed Dmitry Tursunov battled during nearly four hours before claiming a 6–4, 6–7(8), 7–6(7), 3–6, 7–5 win over 2007 Queen's Club finalist Nicolas Mahut. ATP No. 116 Benjamin Becker provided the biggest upset of the tournament thus far with a 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 win over fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, whose first round exit was the fifth in seven Wimbledon appearances, and Croatian Ivan Ljubičić was upset in a close five-setter by 72nd-ranked, Austrian Jürgen Melzer, on the final score of 6–4, 7–6(7), 4–6, 2–6, 6–3.