Why I love...Wimbledon
It is that time of year again when the great British Summer rolls around and we get the greatest sporting event on earth (my opinion) Wimbledon.
Don't get me wrong, I used to loathe Wimbledon with a passion. I was one of those kids who loved The Simpsons and back then the cartoon was shown on BBC2 every night at 18.00 sharp. For two weeks every summer that was taken from me. I was horrified. The matches appeared to be too long and I could not get my head around the scoring or the markings on the court. That little thing that beeps on the top of the net was just annoying too.
Then, magically, something changed. I was 14 years old and going on the most awkward date of my life. I was annoyed at my then boyfriend and wanted to punish him by going out with a lad in our year who had an infatuation with me. Yes, those were the days. The days when teenage drama was the biggest thing in the world and nothing else mattered. As a total aside the date was great if awkward but I kissed and made up with my boyfriend and nothing happened between me and this lad. He turned out to be a great listener and encouraged me to go back to my boyfriend.
Anyway, there is a point to the above. The day before the date my Mum had tried to explain the rules of tennis again for the gazillionth time in the hope that I would become a super-fan like her. Something started to sink in and I began to see how it all fitted together. I was not interested in watching it though. The year was 2001 and in the semi-finals was our British number one, Tim Henman, who was playing wild card Goran Ivanisevic. This was in the days before the roof on Centre Court and there were tons of rain delays (in the end I believe that play was suspended until the next day). The date I had was on the day of Men's Semi-Finals and my date's parents had a HUGE TV! I sat there mesmerised by the play of both athletes and finally the whole thing sunk in. I am sure the large TV helped my enjoyment of the game. Back at home we had a tiny, grainy TV and we could barely pick up the four terrestrial channels that were available at the time. Digital TV was in its infancy and we had not adopted it yet.
Eventually Goran Ivanisevic went on to win the semi and, against, all odds, won in the final! The first time I ever found tennis exciting. I understood the rules and I wanted to see more.
The following year a young Australian player by the name of Lleyton Hewitt came on the scene and smashed his way through to victory. I watched every match I could (when I wasn't at school) and sat on the edge of my seat until the end of the final.
A year later, in the very hot summer of 2003 I cemented my love of tennis. The first week of Wimbledon was a scorcher and I had a week off. I had just finished my final GCSE and I was waiting until the end of the week for my school leaver's ball. I would spend every morning in the garden and as soon as the tennis started I would rush in and watch it. My favourite player was the American, Andy Roddick. I discovered him that year and loved him. I was still a novice in the ways of tennis so his record breaking serves were amazing to me. I loved how he kept his cool when playing the volatile Greg Rusedski in the third round too. The second week I started my work experience at the county council and couldn't see an awful lot of tennis, but I followed it avidly. The semi-final came around and Roddick was pitched against a player I hadn't heard of at the time. His name was Roger Federer and he seemed to have a decent game on him. He slaughtered Roddick in that match and went on to win Wimbledon. Never mind, I thought, it must be a one off...
The thing that is exciting about Wimbledon is the rivalries that can develop. One that lasted a couple of years was that of Federer and Roddick. In 2004 and 2005 the two met in the final. I was convinced that Roddick would manage it at some point. The finals were epic feats of athleticism and I was so excited each time. However, Federer won both of those. There was another young player on the horizon though and I was keeping my eye on him. His name was Rafael Nadal, he was my age and from Mallorca. He had an epic clay court game and he started winning the French Open over and over again. His grass game was gradually getting better too.
Then came the Federer/Nadal rivalry. In 2006 and 2007 Federer and Nadal met in the final. In 2006 Federer saw Nadal off in four sets, in 2007 it was five. Then came the final of 2008. Again this was a five set match and there were two rain delays (still no roof on Centre Court). Every time there was a delay one or other of the players would come out fighting. At the end of the fifth set there was no apparent winner. The light was fading and the concern was that the match would need to be finished on the Monday. No one wanted that to happen but it was looking more and more likely. Then, Federer hit the ball straight into the net while Nadal had Championship point and the court, and our living room, exploded with screams and jumping around. I have this match on DVD now because it was so epic! I will never forget it.
Since then I have followed them and other great players. Federer went on to win it in 2009 when Nadal couldn't play due to injury, then Nadal won in 2010 when Federer was knocked out before getting to the final for the first time in years! 2011 saw Djokovic win and that began the start of his rise to the top. 2012 saw our new British number one, Andy Murray in the final against Roger Federer and there was a real chance for a British man to win for the first time in 75 years! Federer beat Murray and the nation fell in love with Murray as a result. That same year, London held the Olympic Games and the tennis was played at Wimbledon (it being a suburb of London of course). Where else could you play tennis if not at Wimbledon? The final for the gold medal was on Centre Court and again it was Federer and Murray. It was the young Brit who took home the gold. I call this second Wimbledon and it was amazing to watch. 2013 Murray finally did it when he beat Djokovic in the final and raised British tennis hopes for sure. 2014 was back to Djokovic but this year, who knows. The men in the semis this time are Djokovic vs Gasquet and Federer vs Murray. Three past champs are there and only one of them can win it. Exciting once again.
Wimbledon is always at the beginning of summer and so to me it signifies hot days and stormy nights with the endless sun beaming down and making everything feel pleasant. The sound of the planes that have taken off from Heathrow whir overhead and are picked up on the TV and it makes you feel safe in the world at that moment.
Wimbledon, of all the tennis championships, has the longest traditions. There are certain conventions of Wimbledon and they must be adhered to. Apart from the sponsorship logos, all players must wear white. At other tournaments and grand slams you can wear whatever your clothing sponsor gives you and it can be any interesting pattern. There was a lot of talk about Stan Wawrinka's shorts at Roland Garros (French Open) this year as they were pretty garish. He did win that tournament though. At Wimbledon it is a crisp, uniform white and it looks so beautiful against the green of the grass.
The British crowd are very respectful of the players and are generally well behaved. There are special days such as the Sporting Saturday where top sports people past and present are invited to Centre Court to sit in the Royal Box. Often, members of the Royal Family pop along for a match or two and go and support Andy Murray.
There is champaign and strawberries and Pimms. People get dressed up or go in silly costumes. There is still decorum at all times. It is such a 'British' thing to do. I adore the tennis that is played and the convention and it is so perfect for summer.
It is also something that my Mum and I have in common and that is a nice feeling too. There is something we can both talk passionately about and that is a very good thing.
So those are some of the reasons why I love Wimbledon.
Don't get me wrong, I used to loathe Wimbledon with a passion. I was one of those kids who loved The Simpsons and back then the cartoon was shown on BBC2 every night at 18.00 sharp. For two weeks every summer that was taken from me. I was horrified. The matches appeared to be too long and I could not get my head around the scoring or the markings on the court. That little thing that beeps on the top of the net was just annoying too.
Then, magically, something changed. I was 14 years old and going on the most awkward date of my life. I was annoyed at my then boyfriend and wanted to punish him by going out with a lad in our year who had an infatuation with me. Yes, those were the days. The days when teenage drama was the biggest thing in the world and nothing else mattered. As a total aside the date was great if awkward but I kissed and made up with my boyfriend and nothing happened between me and this lad. He turned out to be a great listener and encouraged me to go back to my boyfriend.
Anyway, there is a point to the above. The day before the date my Mum had tried to explain the rules of tennis again for the gazillionth time in the hope that I would become a super-fan like her. Something started to sink in and I began to see how it all fitted together. I was not interested in watching it though. The year was 2001 and in the semi-finals was our British number one, Tim Henman, who was playing wild card Goran Ivanisevic. This was in the days before the roof on Centre Court and there were tons of rain delays (in the end I believe that play was suspended until the next day). The date I had was on the day of Men's Semi-Finals and my date's parents had a HUGE TV! I sat there mesmerised by the play of both athletes and finally the whole thing sunk in. I am sure the large TV helped my enjoyment of the game. Back at home we had a tiny, grainy TV and we could barely pick up the four terrestrial channels that were available at the time. Digital TV was in its infancy and we had not adopted it yet.
Eventually Goran Ivanisevic went on to win the semi and, against, all odds, won in the final! The first time I ever found tennis exciting. I understood the rules and I wanted to see more.
The following year a young Australian player by the name of Lleyton Hewitt came on the scene and smashed his way through to victory. I watched every match I could (when I wasn't at school) and sat on the edge of my seat until the end of the final.
A year later, in the very hot summer of 2003 I cemented my love of tennis. The first week of Wimbledon was a scorcher and I had a week off. I had just finished my final GCSE and I was waiting until the end of the week for my school leaver's ball. I would spend every morning in the garden and as soon as the tennis started I would rush in and watch it. My favourite player was the American, Andy Roddick. I discovered him that year and loved him. I was still a novice in the ways of tennis so his record breaking serves were amazing to me. I loved how he kept his cool when playing the volatile Greg Rusedski in the third round too. The second week I started my work experience at the county council and couldn't see an awful lot of tennis, but I followed it avidly. The semi-final came around and Roddick was pitched against a player I hadn't heard of at the time. His name was Roger Federer and he seemed to have a decent game on him. He slaughtered Roddick in that match and went on to win Wimbledon. Never mind, I thought, it must be a one off...
The thing that is exciting about Wimbledon is the rivalries that can develop. One that lasted a couple of years was that of Federer and Roddick. In 2004 and 2005 the two met in the final. I was convinced that Roddick would manage it at some point. The finals were epic feats of athleticism and I was so excited each time. However, Federer won both of those. There was another young player on the horizon though and I was keeping my eye on him. His name was Rafael Nadal, he was my age and from Mallorca. He had an epic clay court game and he started winning the French Open over and over again. His grass game was gradually getting better too.
Then came the Federer/Nadal rivalry. In 2006 and 2007 Federer and Nadal met in the final. In 2006 Federer saw Nadal off in four sets, in 2007 it was five. Then came the final of 2008. Again this was a five set match and there were two rain delays (still no roof on Centre Court). Every time there was a delay one or other of the players would come out fighting. At the end of the fifth set there was no apparent winner. The light was fading and the concern was that the match would need to be finished on the Monday. No one wanted that to happen but it was looking more and more likely. Then, Federer hit the ball straight into the net while Nadal had Championship point and the court, and our living room, exploded with screams and jumping around. I have this match on DVD now because it was so epic! I will never forget it.
Since then I have followed them and other great players. Federer went on to win it in 2009 when Nadal couldn't play due to injury, then Nadal won in 2010 when Federer was knocked out before getting to the final for the first time in years! 2011 saw Djokovic win and that began the start of his rise to the top. 2012 saw our new British number one, Andy Murray in the final against Roger Federer and there was a real chance for a British man to win for the first time in 75 years! Federer beat Murray and the nation fell in love with Murray as a result. That same year, London held the Olympic Games and the tennis was played at Wimbledon (it being a suburb of London of course). Where else could you play tennis if not at Wimbledon? The final for the gold medal was on Centre Court and again it was Federer and Murray. It was the young Brit who took home the gold. I call this second Wimbledon and it was amazing to watch. 2013 Murray finally did it when he beat Djokovic in the final and raised British tennis hopes for sure. 2014 was back to Djokovic but this year, who knows. The men in the semis this time are Djokovic vs Gasquet and Federer vs Murray. Three past champs are there and only one of them can win it. Exciting once again.
Wimbledon is always at the beginning of summer and so to me it signifies hot days and stormy nights with the endless sun beaming down and making everything feel pleasant. The sound of the planes that have taken off from Heathrow whir overhead and are picked up on the TV and it makes you feel safe in the world at that moment.
Wimbledon, of all the tennis championships, has the longest traditions. There are certain conventions of Wimbledon and they must be adhered to. Apart from the sponsorship logos, all players must wear white. At other tournaments and grand slams you can wear whatever your clothing sponsor gives you and it can be any interesting pattern. There was a lot of talk about Stan Wawrinka's shorts at Roland Garros (French Open) this year as they were pretty garish. He did win that tournament though. At Wimbledon it is a crisp, uniform white and it looks so beautiful against the green of the grass.
The British crowd are very respectful of the players and are generally well behaved. There are special days such as the Sporting Saturday where top sports people past and present are invited to Centre Court to sit in the Royal Box. Often, members of the Royal Family pop along for a match or two and go and support Andy Murray.
There is champaign and strawberries and Pimms. People get dressed up or go in silly costumes. There is still decorum at all times. It is such a 'British' thing to do. I adore the tennis that is played and the convention and it is so perfect for summer.
It is also something that my Mum and I have in common and that is a nice feeling too. There is something we can both talk passionately about and that is a very good thing.
So those are some of the reasons why I love Wimbledon.
Comments
Post a Comment