Yes, I went to the French Open last May for the first time. It was a great experience, but pales to Wimbledon. Here is my Wimbledon story from 2009. BTW, the tournament starts tomorrow morning.
I went to Wimbledon back in 2009. I thought you might enjoy this, again! I would place it at the top, along with the Masters Golf Tournament, Indy 500, and the Kentucky Derby.
It is the eve of the fortnight. We have a new Princess, lots of good beer, and a wide open tournament on both the mens and womens sides.
My story about Wimbledon, one of many stories: my spectator sports trifecta (along with the Indy 500 and the Kentucky Derby), I am headed to London, England to attend the Wimbledon Tennis Championship, otherwise known as the All England Lawn Tennis Championship. The Club began in 1868 as a private croquet club in another location. In 1875, lawn tennis was added to the clubs activities. And in 1877, the name officially changed to the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. I have wanted to do Wimbledon, Indy and the Derby for most of my
In 1877, the only event held was Gentlemans singles won by Spencer Gore, with a field of 22, and spectators numbering 200. The lawns at the Club were arranged in such a way that the main court was situated in the middle, with the others around it, hence the name, Centre Court. In 1922, the Club moved to its current location on Church Road. began in 1884, with Maud Watson winning the title with a field of 13 players. The same year, Mens began.
As popularity increased, the Club improved spectator facilities. Permanent stands were installed, and by the mid 1880s. people flocked to see the famous British Renshaw twins separately, and as doubles players. At the turn of the century, tennis became more of an international game. In 1905, May Sutton of the United States became the first overseas champion. In 1907, Norman Brookes of Australia became the first overseas Mens Champion. Since then, there have been only two British Mens Champions, Arthur Gore, and Fred Perry. Five British ladies have won, including Ann Jones and Virginia Wade.
Four Musketeers from France (included Rene LaCoste, yes that one), and Bill Tilden of the U.S. who won his third title in the 30s. The late 30s were considered the Golden Era of Wimbledon, led by Fred Perry, Donald Budge, and Helen Wills Moody (from Berkeley).
During WW2, the Club stayed open but barely managed to stay operational. But soon after, American dominance of tennis was led by Jack Kramer, Tony Trabert, Maureen Connolly, and the first Black champion, Althea Gibson. Then the Autralian period continued on to the 70s with Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Roy Emerson, and John Newcombe.
Then in 1968, the Open era of tennis began, when Rod Laver, and Bilie Jean King won their singles titles. In recent years, Swede Bjorn Borg, Americans Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, dominated the championships. The last few years have enjoyed the Williams Sisters, Rafael Nadal, and the Roger Federer of Switzerland. I have been fortunate to see many of the games greats play tennis, including: Pancho Gonzalez, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Martina, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and the infamous Renee Richards. A friend of mine, Annie Kiyomura won the womens doubles here back in the 70s.
It will be interesting to attend this great event. I expect to stand (sit in the large, grassy park down the road) several hours in a queue to get tickets for the days matches. They only allow 500 day of match tickets for the grounds each day. I am sure the weather will play a big part in the length of the lines as well. Rain would be my friend to a certain extent, resulting in a shorter line (I hope). So, I will root for Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, along with the Williams sisters, and Andy Roddick. Rafa Nadal just withdrew yesterday, so Roger the Dodger has a clear path to his 15th Slam title.
