With tennis’ most prestigious and oldest Grand Slam at the halfway stage, we examine what has been learned from the first week of Wimbledon.

Old Order here to stay

The Big Four have won every men’s singles title at Wimbledon since 2003, and that doesn’t look like it will be changing anytime soon, with all four top seeds into the round-of-16 in London.

Reigning champion Andy Murray is gaining confidence as he improves his fitness with every passing game and looked to be inspired in his testing four-set victory over Fabio Fognini on Friday. Similarly, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have been imperious in their three matches so far, displaying great robustness in their straight set wins.

Roger Federer, who is gunning for a record eighth title, hasn’t dropped any sets either and is looking fresh and on song. He will be hoping that the grass quickens up in the second week to give him an even greater chance of dominating his opponents and taking the championship.

Indeed, although the likes of Milos Raonic and Marian Cilic are posing a threat to the elite’s grip on SW19, if this supreme quartet can maintain their momentum into the second week, we could very well end up with an all Big Four semi-final shootout on Friday afternoon.

Kerber on the way back

After a dreadful first half to 2017, world number one Angelique Kerber has shown the kind of resolve in the past week to suggest that she can make a genuine charge for the Wimbledon title.

Such renewed resilience was demonstrated in her third-round encounter on Friday, when a set and a break down to young American Shelby Rogers, Kerber responded with the fighting qualities to come back and win the match.

Certainly, the German appears to have rediscovered the passion and motivation within her game that got her to the final last year. Hence, if the 29-year-old can keep focused, with Serena Williams out of the equation, her chances of Wimbledon glory widen extensively.

But first, she will need to overcome a tricky fourth-round tie against, former French Open champion and 2015 Wimbledon finalist, Garbine Muguruza.

Venus eyeing super six

At 37, it would be very easy to write off Venus Williams as a contender for the Wimbledon title. However, with sister Serena not playing, and hotly tipped Petra Kvitova and number three seed Karolina Pliskova knocked out, the American is now emerging as a favorite.

The Californian is the oldest woman to reach the fourth round at the All England Club since Martina Navratilova in 1994 but, having won the tournament five times, Venus will be hoping her broad experience can prove pivotal in the latter stages in SW19.

Last year, the seven-time Slam winner reached the last four at Wimbledon, before being halted by an inspired Kerber. Yet, with more confidence and momentum this time around, Venus should be feeling optimistic that she can go all the way.