LONDON, UK - Having shared her thoughts and experiences from tournaments earlier in the 2006 season at Charleston and Estoril, Australia's Bryanne Stewart made her career Grand Slam blogging debut at Wimbledon. And with all the events and attractions of the fortnight, there's no doubt it'll be an interesting read.
-----
Monday, July 10, 2006
Last year, I made the semifinals of the ladies' doubles with Samantha Stosur. This result gave me the privilege of joining the Last Eight Club. Not long after we had completed our match, the All-England Club had been busy engraving our names into a coin confirming our entry in the club. Being in the club entitles me to come back to Wimbledon with a guest each year for the rest of my life.
On the second Tuesday, I took my dad over to check out the club near Gate 5. The club room is very old fashioned; it looks like an old country tennis club. There were several older ex-tennis players in there chatting about legendry matches and the time they spent on the Tour many years ago.
One of those enjoying the comfortable surroundings was Daphne Fancutt, an ex-player from Queensland, Australia. She and her husband Trevor are both members of the club, making them one of the few married couples to have reached the quarterfinals or better at Wimbledon. I have known Daphne many years so she took me under her wing and gave me a passionate tour and history lesson of the club that was founded in 1986 by Buzzer Hadingham, the chairman of the All-England Club.
Buzzer came to form the club due to bumping into a ex-finalist of Wimbledon wandering the grounds without a ticket into the Centre Court. He decided there was something wrong and thought players that have given tennis so much should be rewarded after their careers were finished, bringing the idea to dedicate a club for all singles quarterfinalists, doubles semifinalists and mixed doubles finalists.
Wimbledon was the first to set up the Last Eight Club and over the next few years the other Grand Slams followed suit with their own forms of the club. Some of the perks, other than being invited back each year, are discounts at player hotels, two tickets to a musical and cocktail parties some evenings, but most importantly the chance to come back to Wimbledon and relive the memories of playing at a tournament like no other.
-----
Monday, July 3, 2006
Finding a mixed partner for the Grand Slams is always a bit of a hassle, players who aren't organized have to drop by the referee's desk, where two lists are set up, one where men can leave their name plus mobile contact and ranking then another where female players can do the same. It ends up looking like a personal list of eligible singles.
As I was on the prowl for a mixed partner, I added my name to the list the day before sign-in closed. Last month at the French Open, ATP player Dmitry Tursunov and I toyed with the idea of playing mixed together. For those who didn't read my last blog in Estoril, I was involved in blog war against Tursunov, who was blogging for the ATP website. It got a bit heated at times but we remained friends somehow. The thought was that instead of going head-to-head, we could join forces on the court and then write of the experience for the websites. However, Dmitry decided that in fact singles was his priority and after taking out Henman in the second round he wanted to save all his energy for his next singles and not have to chase down all the balls I missed or left for him. Although disappointed, I stopped bugging him to play and we decided to re-assess at Wimbledon.
As the sign in deadline was looming and I hadn't bumped into Dmitry for a few days, I decided to send a post-it note from the ladies' locker room to the men's asking him if he could upset his focus and play some mixed? His reply was no he wouldn't play mixed as he still thinks singles is more of a priority than mixed doubles - what's he thinking? Oh and another reason is partially because you are stalking me!!!
So I guess the war is back on and I am looking forward to when the ATP invite him back to the blogging world.
-----
Sunday, July 2, 2006
One of the great things about Wimbledon is the atmosphere, which isn't just reserved for the grounds; it spills out to all the surrounding streets of Wimbledon, from the lines of people spending the night on the side walk queuing for tickets with tents and mini barbecues to the crowds making their way home by public transport.
But the place to be seen and catch up with other players is a stroll up the hill from the courts to a quaint area known as The Village.
Wimbledon Village is jam-packed with boutiques, restaurants and at least six pubs to celebrate or commiserate the day's matches.
As my dad and I are staying at the bottom of the village we have had the chance to sample many of the eateries and join friends and other players for dinner, and now I am out of the tournament, a couple of quiet drinks at some of the pubs. The old favorite is the Dog and Fox to congregate but this year SW19 has taken the number one seeding as it boasts plasma TVs on most walls, making it an ideal place to watch and support the World Cup.
The middle Sunday is a tennis-free day at Wimbledon, and this year the sun was shining as we are in the middle of an unusual heat wave. So after a quick run through Wimbledon Common, I and most other players relaxed for the day around the cafes and shops of the village.
-----
Friday, June 30, 2006
I don't have a problem with Wimbledon transport; it's all very well-organized and the drivers are lovely but this week I have been mixing up my way of arriving for my matches. The quickest way, I have found, is by jumping on the back of my friend's vespa, winding in and out of traffic down the hill, and being dropped at the competitor's entrance. Although it doesn't hit huge speeds, I do get a bit of a buzz with the wind on our backs and the adrenaline is flowing by the time I'm warming up for my match.
Maybe if tournaments are struggling to find courtesy car drivers or as the price of petrol keeps going up, each player could be given a vespa to zoom around on all week and make the parking spot next to the player locker rooms so we can fly away after a bad match? Don't know how they would deal with insurance but it's just a thought.
I have been tempted to borrow one of the Wimbledon horses from the village stables and trot down the hill with my racquets on my back. That would be the most romantic way of arriving for a match, probably not great for the hips through.
