Why there’s nothing quite like it
By Margie David Collins
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:07:00 07/04/2008
LONDON, England—Andy Murray is a Scot, but tonight, having beaten the No. 8 seed Richard Gasquet in a thrilling best-of-five match, everyone in the United Kingdom has adopted him as one of their own. This is his first-ever quarterfinals in the grand slams, and we are all rooting for him. The last time a Briton won the men’s singles final was 72 years ago, when Fred Perry won it.
On this beauteous summer evening on “Murray Mound,” that area of grass known as Aorangi Picnic Terrace, fans and spectators wrapped the Union Jack around themselves, cheered wildly and celebrated Murray’s win. We’ve been here before with Tim Henman; poor blighters to carry the heavy cargo of British expectation on their shoulders, in this quintessentially English spectacle and tournament that is the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club championships, in the leafy London suburb of Wimbledon.
There is nothing quite like it in the world—not the French, Australian and US Opens. The spiritual home of world tennis had its beginnings, in 1868, as a private English croquet club. Seven years later, lawn tennis was introduced to the club by Walter Clopton Wingfield.
From its roots as a “garden-party” tournament, the first lawn tennis championship was held in 1877. By the turn of the century, Wimbledon had become a prestigious event in the international sporting calendar.
Sexist rants
Today, Wimbledon, the only tennis championships played on grass, is watched by millions of viewers around the world; some tickets, especially for the finals, are touted and are known to change hands for thousands of dollars. Proceeds from the championships usually benefit charities and tennis-foundation trusts; the All England Club, whose patron is HM The Queen, is a not-for-profit body.
We have been entertained this year by Justin Gimelstob, an American pro tennis player who, in a recent radio interview, gave us the benefit of his sexist rants on some of the world’s top-seeded female players. “Female tennis players lack social skills; they don’t go to high school, they don’t go to parties,” he said.
A former mixed-doubles champion who commentates on Wimbledon for an American cable channel, Gimelstob described semiretired Anna Kournikova as “a bitch. I just despise her to the maximum level, just below hate. She has a great body, but her face is a 5. I wouldn’t mind my younger brother, who’s a kind of a stud, nail her and then reap the benefits of that.” He called Tatiana Golovin, ranked 21 in the world, as a “sexpot.” Opining that there are fewer lesbian players than 15 years ago, he said, “that’s because they’re all Russian chicks. And there are some cute ones out there.” Fault!
Sex magnets
Ah, yes, the sex magnets of Wimbledon. Ice Man Bjorn Borg, who won the men’s title five times in a row, recently said: “I was the first sex symbol at Wimbledon.” Hysterical female fans ran across the grass in their stilettos to grab and touch him. Players describe Marat Safin as “consistently a stud,” and James Blake’s and Rafael Nadal’s performances on Centre Court have caused female fans to swoon.
A fan sent Gabriela Sabatini 500 red roses and ball-boys were known to fight over her used towels.
Marriage proposals were shouted in mid-match at Kournikova who once described herself as an “exotic, expensive item on a gourmet menu that people look at but can never afford.” The American Ashley Harkleroad appears centerfold in the August issue of Playboy.
The latest sweetheart is the Serbian brunette and top-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who succumbed to straight-sets defeat by unseeded Zheng Jie, a wild-card entry from Chengdu province. At Wimbledon, players routinely receive fan mail and flowers; there is a special booth for autograph hunters.
If as likely Roger Federer and either of the Williams girls win this weekend, they each pocket £750,000 ($1,470,000); she goes home lugging a sterling silver rosewater dish; he the silver gilt cup on which is inscribed “The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World.”
Remembering his own triumphs at Wimbledon, Borg said: “It’s the greatest tournament in the world; it’s the title that everyone wants to win.”
The alluring mystique of Centre Court—which seats 15,000 spectators—is as the showcase for dream performances, displays of discipline, artistry, strength, and the searing power of physical endurance.
English summer
There are 13 glorious days of Wimbledon and, in that time, the grass surface must have even and consistent bounce. The courts are sown with 100-percent perennial ryegrass, cut to a height of 8mm; to keep them dry and firm, the courts are rolled and covered when not in use.
An English summer is said to consist of three fine days and a thunderstorm. We’ve had wind and a bit of rain, but the weather so far has been intermittently sunny and generally benign. The forecast from Wednesday of this second week is 60 percent chance of rain. Regulars and diehards know that umbrellas, sunscreen, sunglasses and hats are de rigueur on any day of Wimbledon. Next year, in a riposte to the elements, a retractable roof will be in place at Centre Court.
On Sunday, vats of Pimms and lemonade will have been imbibed; some 29,000 kg of the finest strawberries grown in Kent and 7,000 liters of cream will have been sold, at £5 a punnet. One hundred and 31 years of the championships at Church Road, London SW19, have seen some spectacular players—Boris Becker, at 17, the youngest player to win the men’s singles; Martina Navratilova, the first player to win the ladies’ singles six times in a row and notching up an all-time record of nine victories; Pete Sampras; John McEnroe; Steffi Graf.
Regulation white
Today’s players are taller, bigger, faster, more driven. The rackets are made of graphite and titanium—materials used to build space stations and F1 cars. Anti-doping and blood tests are routinely carried out after matches. Demand for tickets always exceeds supply. Ball-boys and girls, who are chosen from local schools, “retire” after two years to make way for a new crop of usually 15-year-old students who must pass tests on the rules of tennis and hand-eye coordination.
Players must wear regulation white, but can exercise their fashion flair—or lack of it. To mixed reviews, Ralph Lauren has designed the Club’s navy-and-cream uniforms. The Royal Family has a box for entertaining guests, but these days, only the Queen merits a curtsy and Prince Charles a bow.
The village fastness that is Wimbledon continues to charm, with its open and verdant spaces, quaint shops, cafés, bars and restaurants. Some things will not—we hope—change: the air of civility and good manners, players and officials treating each other with courtesy, playing and winning well.
As the English summer wends its way, as the sun sinks down on Sunday and we hear the last of the balls’ thwacks and players’ semi-erotic grunts, another Wimbledon year, when the titans of tennis have battled it out once again on the most famous center court of all, slips into history.
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